National Trust estate picks up top award for food

THE Calke Estate has every reason to celebrate after placing first in the food category at this year’s annual Fine Farm Produce Awards.

Their rare breed hogget achieved the highest food score overall, fighting off competition from around 27 other producers.

Now in their thirteenth year, the awards celebrate the very best produce from the Trust’s 1,500 tenant farmers and estates, whose products are assessed not just on taste, but a range of environmental standards too.

“Our Fine Farm Produce Awards have attracted a great range of winning products this year,” said Rob Macklin, the National Trust’s Head of Food and Farming.

“The quality of entries has been as high as ever and it has been a pleasure for the judges to see that the highest standards of farming can deliver excellent produce and work hand in hand with nature.”

The Calke Estate in Derbyshire won the Overall Food Award for their Portland hogget, a rare breed of sheep that has long been associated with the estate.

Sold as hogget at 1-2 years old, this meat is said to have developed a grassy aroma, great tex- ture and a deep, gamey, buttery mutton flavour which impressed the food judges and received the highest food score overall.

Bill Cove, countryside manager at Calke Abbey, said: “Portland sheep have been associated with Calke Estate since 1760.

“Letting the lambs mature into hogget is a real investment in time compared to selling them as lamb, but pays dividends in terms of flavour.

“The meat is butchered on site too and profits go straight back into the estate here.”

For more information about the awards and or find out more about this year’s award winning products and producers, visit www.nationaltrust. or g . uk/ f i nefar mproduceawards