The long-awaited competition, which puts the planet’s finest cuts to the test and gives steak producers and suppliers the opportunity to showcase product quality on a global stage. Categories for 2022 are fillet, ribeye and sirloin.
Hugh Phillips Gower Butcher’s owner, Cath Butler, has once again been asked to travel to Ireland to judge the prestigious World Steak Challenge held in Dublin later this month.
Asked about this great honour, now in her 6th year of judging at the event, Cath had the following to say “Some great news for me this week. The World Steak Challenge is back and I’ve once again been asked to be a panel judge. I have been lucky enough to have been involved with this brilliant since 2016.”
Cath explained her relationship with the event started when she first took over the business in 2016. “We wanted to ask the question; Are there were any other females who not only have a slaughtering licence had but also ran their own abattoir?” The resulting publicity drew the attention of the people at World Steak Challenge, and they approached Cath along with her growing reputation in the industry and asked if she would become a judge.
“I judged twice at London’s The Magic Roundabout Bar and Grill. And since then, The World Steak Challenge has grown so much had to look for a new venue. They decided it would be good to go to Dublin to the Fire steakhouse restaurant which has been voted the best Steakhouse in Europe.”
Cath doesn’t take the honour of being asked to judge lightly, and she leads the family business with the same pride and passion that she brings to judging the best steak in the world.
“It is a massive privilege to be involved in such an event and to be ranked alongside other butchers, chefs, food critics, bloggers etc is just mind blowing! Every judge brings their own unique style and judgement and so you know when you have a good steak as we all agree.”
Over the years, Cath’s involvement has grown too, as she becomes increasingly well thought of in the industry. Since being part of World Steak Challenge where she started as a normal judge under a panel of judges, she has progressed to now leading her own team of judges.
“As of last year, I was asked to be a panel judge, meaning I oversee a table of fellow judges. And this year I was asked to participate in a meeting designed to improve the event year on year. They wanted to know how I thought the challenge could be improved!”
The Swansea based butchers started out almost 145 years ago, and nowadays is at the forefront of the modern industry with outstanding environmental credentials. They promise extremely low food miles, ‘from gate to plate’ as Cath puts it, and she is personally developing an online store.
bestonlinebutchers.co.uk allows customers to buy the fantastic cuts and recipes Hugh Phillips are building a name for, foremost among which is the fantastic, award-winning Gower Salt Marsh Lamb, and have it all delivered fresh and direct to the door anywhere in the UK.\
Cath is typically modest when it comes to talking about her achievements in becoming a panel judge at the event, in the same way she is modest about the amazing growth of the family run business.
“Not only does the Steak come from all over the World, but so do the judges and I am really happy to be representing Wales.”
Further information on The World Steak Challenge can be found online with a full list of judges at www.worldsteakchallenge.com and look out for some mouth-watering offers on steak that will run through September to celebrate this year’s event on www.bestonlinebutchers.co.uk
Being a judge at the World Steak Challenge prevents us from entering our own steaks in the competition but that doesn’t mean we don’t have candidates for the challenge!
This year’s event will be looking at sirloins, rib-eyes and fillets and to mark our appreciation we’ve put together an eye-watering steak pack we hope you’ll consider world class.
