Diamond Award for Bo'ness butchers

The product won the coveted top Diamond Award in the 2024 Scottish Craft Butchers “Make It With Pork” evaluations, marking it out as the best in Scotland.

Thrilled owners, sisters Jane Ross and Emma Burns, revealed that they had used their 2020 Scottish championship-winning speciality pork sausage as the basis of their new title taker – crafting one champion around another.

And they acknowledged Jane’s teenage butcher son Luke as the brains behind their latest winner.

“Luke is the creative genius behind our artisan craft products and he came up with the truffled hog specially for the competition,” said Jane. “He used our national award-winning specially selected pork, applewood smoked cheese and leek sausage mix to create the filling for the new product.

“He then used a flattened slice of lean pork tenderloin to wrap the mix and create a little pig shape, coated in truffle glaze and finished off with cheese snout and ears.”

Enthusiastic customers helped trial, tweak and perfect the truffled hogs before they went up against competition from craft butchers from all over Scotland.

Jane said: “We entered several of Luke’s pork products for the evaluation but couldn’t believe it when we lifted the Best In Scotland accolade – it’s absolutely brilliant. It’s great for Luke, the business and the town.

“Even as a little boy Luke loved animals so it seems right that his creation in the form of a little pig should win him the title.”

Thomas Burns & Son is the last butchers shop in Boness – the sole survivor from 10 at one time.

Emma said: “This business was started by our grandfather Thomas Burns in 1954, with dad joining in 1965 and Jane and I taking over several years ago. Our pork sausage mix recipe dates back to the 1950s and it’s terrific that it’s still a winner.”

The sisters also secured a Gold Award in the Dalziel Ltd. Sponsored evaluation for both their pork and mango chilli hotpot and pork, sundried tomato and mozzarella basket entries and a silver for their nacho pork tacos.

Scottish Craft Butchers (SCB) Executive Manager Gordon King said the winning truffled hogs were exactly what judges were looking for.

He said: “It is the epitome of Make It With Pork and the innovative piggy parcels will appeal to people of all ages and encourage children to enjoy pork.

“Thomas Burns & Son has a great track record for title winners by thinking outwith the box and showing Scotland’s independent craft butchers at their best. Their truffled hogs are an inspiration and a very worthy winner of our Diamond Award.

“It was so clever of them to use their award-winning specialty pork sausage as the basis of the new creation – using what they already know is a champion to bring something new to the table.”

The 2024 Make It With Pork evaluation was staged in September to allow butchers to promote their products during Porktober – a month-long celebration of locally sourced and produced pork.