A burger made by a North Wales butcher has been named the best in Britain. As the UK enters BBQ season a blind taste test was done by food experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute.
There were 22 burgers tested with the Welsh Honey and Rosemary Pork Burgers made by Edwards at their company’s base on the Morfa Conwy Business Park coming out on top. The burger beat stiff competition from 22 of Britain’s biggest and best known retail brands, including Aldi, Waitrose, Sainsburys and Asda.
The judges from the Good Housekeeping Institute, the independent consumer testing arm of the popular lifestyle magazine of the same name, said: “Our winner is not actually beef but pork, and it’s bursting with the fresh flavours of honey and rosemary – the perfect flavour-packed patty for your summer barbecue. Created by Welsh butcher Edwards, our testers loved the combination of well-seasoned British pork, Welsh honey and aromatic rosemary. They also make a great lighter option for those not as keen on traditional beef burgers.”
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Edwards’ tastebud teasing pork burgers were launched with online supermarket giant Ocado just in time for this year’s barbecue season. They’re now also available at the Welsh butcher’s “mothership shop”, Edwards of Conwy, on the High Street in the picturesque castle town where the company was founded by master butcher Ieuan Edwards in 1983.
Since then the wholesale side of the business, Edwards – The Welsh Butcher, has also gone from strength to strength and now supplies all major retailers in Wales and part of the UK, including 35 new Asda stores recently added to its portfolio.
All new products have to be approved and signed off by Ieuan Edwards himself, including two others, the Edwards Firecracker Pork Sausages and Edwards Honey, Ginger & Garlic Pork Meatballs – that have also just been launched on Ocado.
They were all created by the company’s New Product Development Manager Natalie Bestwick and her team of taste makers.
She said: “The recognition from the Good Housekeeping Institute is brilliant because it’s like the bible of domestic and culinary excellence. We’ve worked on developing a range of pork burgers that are big on flavour, and by combining Welsh honey with the delicate herby notes of the rosemary we have created a tender, juicy pork burger that is an alternative to beef.
"At a time where consumers are seeking great value without compromising on taste. It’s lovely to see that they’ve been an instant hit with our consumers."
Finding the right ingredients for the pork burgers has been a labour of love for Supply Chain Manager Jon-Marc Owen. He said: “The biggest challenge was getting enough Welsh honey because at the moment we’re using between 200 and 300 kilos a month.
“It’s a lot of honey considering what a bee produces and there wasn’t any individual producer who could supply all the honey we need. The honey is coming from a collective from across Wales, much of it from North Wales.”
According to Brand Manager Laura Jones, the good news from the Good Housekeeping Institute came totally out of the blue.
She said: “We didn’t know that the pork burgers had been entered and they were assessed without our knowledge – the first we knew was when we received an email telling us the fantastic news that they are the best burger for a barbecue this summer. We were up against the biggest brand names in the nation, including Waitrose, Sainsburys and Aldi, so it’s a huge achievement.
“The best thing about this brilliant accolade from Good Housekeeping is that it’s completely independent and based on a blind tasting of products. It’s totally consumer focused. It means a lot because it’s a brand that consumers trust – their endorsement is hugely significant.
“What was important to us when we developed this product was that it wasn’t a thin breakfast patty – Natalie went to great lengths to ensure that this is nice thick, juicy burger with a meaty bite.
Laura added: “The secret of our success is that we combine our traditional skills as craft butchers with the ability to produce in volume, without compromising on quality and taste. We replicate butcher shop quality on scale. At heart we are still proper butchers and we hold those values dear as we continue to grow as a company, something that’s been underlined by the success of the Welsh Honey and Rosemary Pork Burgers.”
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