Butchers Vie to Set Sausage World Record at Taste of Grampian

An attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for the most sausages produced in one minute will take place live at this year’s Taste of Grampian festival.

Two of Scotland’s top butchers are honing their skills to ensure they are on sizzling sausage-making form this Saturday June 4th at 1.30pm in Ring 3 when the record attempt will take place, using a Specially Selected Pork recipe mix.

In a battle of the bangers, David Patterson from Yorkes of Dundee will go up against Steven Cusack from Davidsons Butchers in Inverurie to attempt to earn the title of Guinness World Record holder.

The record attempt, arranged by Quality Meat Scotland, is expected to attract a large crowd of supporters to cheer on the two Scotch Butchers Club members as they expertly prepare the quality assured Specially Selected Pork sausages, casing and linking as many as they can in one minute.

And to add to the fun auctioneer Colin Slessor, one of the stars of the very popular BBC series “The Mart”, is set to join the butchers and try his hand at the art of sausage-making! Colin will also be interviewed by STV presenter Rachel Stewart and the audience will have the chance to quiz him on his TV stardom experience as well as life as an auctioneer.

Quality Meat Scotland’s Graeme Sharp, who runs the Scotch Butchers Club, said: “There’s real excitement building around the event and bets are on to see which butcher will perform best and beat the current record.

“Everyone’s looking to get a taste the action, even BBC’s Colin Slessor will be trying his hand at the skillful sausage challenge. It’s sure to be a landmark moment in Scottish, and indeed global, sausage history!”

The record was originally set in June 2015 by Scotch Butchers Club member Alastair Paul from A & I Quality Butcher but has since been beaten, with the current record standing at 44. To ensure the same standards are in place and Guinness criteria is met, the record attempt will be witnessed by several officials including time-keepers, a surveyor and a “pillar of the community”. The record attempt will also be captured on film and via photography.

The Quality Meat Scotland initiative aims to raise awareness of the skills and innovation displayed by traditional butchers throughout the country as well as the importance of using top quality ingredients such as Taste of Grampian sponsor, Specially Selected Pork.

Both butchers taking part are members of the Scotch Butchers Club, the network of around 300 butcher retailers who support the Scotch Beef, Scotch Lamb and Specially Selected Pork brands.

Specially Selected Pork is the main sponsor of this year’s Taste of Grampian where it will be showcased by top celebrity chefs as well as starring in two BBQ demonstration sessions when the makers of Thistly Cross Craft Cider will be talking through some great pork and cider food pairings.

Quality Meat Scotland is currently running a campaign urging Scottish shoppers to “Do More With Pork”.  The six week campaign, which is set to reach over three million consumers, aims to showcase the quality, affordability and versatility of Specially Selected Pork, which is underpinned by quality assurance schemes which make animal welfare a priority.

Caption: Auctioneer and star of BBC’s The Mart, Colin Slessor, will be joining in the sausage-making fun on Saturday at Taste of Grampian.