AN ILMINSTER business is celebrating after taking home four more top awards.

Bonners the Butchers of Ilminster received two gold awards and two silver awards at the recent National Federation of Meat Traders’ annual open competition.

The event is open for all retail butchers and farm shops in the country.

The Silver Street butchers picked up two gold awards, for their steak and otter ale pies and for their steak and stilton burgers.

There were also two silver awards, for their chicken and watercress sausages and scotch eggs.

Clinton Bonner said: “We have been developing a range of homemade products since our new kitchen has been added. We have now achieved a lot of success in many competitions. This latest collection of awards is thanks to the hard work of all my staff.

“The gold awards were for our steak and otter ale pie and our steak and stilton steak Burger. Silvers were for very low fat chicken and watercress sausage and our pork and Devon chutney pie.

“The kitchen was put in about 24 months ago and now allows us after trial and error to produce 95 per cent of all our pastry and meat products before we had to buy them in.

“Our sales of these to both retail and wholesale have risen by over 500 per cent. This is due to us providing the finest meat and producing these award winning products.

Felicity said: “I can’t believe how things have changed , it’s now all full on in the kitchen and I never stop and Clinton is definitely getting his pound of flesh.

“It’s great that we enter these completions and it proves we must be doing things right.”

Phil said: “If you read the press sausage sales are declining. I have made a rod for my own back as I am now making more than I ever used too. We put only the best meat into our sausages and our customers come back time and time again as they realise they are a far superior product.”

The competition was organised by The National Federation of Meat & Food Traders (NFMFT) and held at The MEATUP exhibition within the MK Arena, Milton Keynes.

The event attracted 48 entrants and a total of nearly 300 products.

For more information, visit www.nfmft.co.uk/competition-results.html.