Butcher crowned first haggis world champion
- Published
Winner Laura Black said she entered in hope rather than expectation
A butcher from North Lanarkshire has won what organisers say is the first Haggis World Championship.
Laura Black perfected a 40-year-old family recipe to take top prize at the event in Perth on Sunday.
The owner of Coopers of Bellshill described the win as a career highlight. "I've never entered it in competition before and I'm so proud and pleased," she said.
Head judge John Wilkin described the winning haggis as "near perfection".
"Laura's haggis is worthy of the world championship title - it's absolutely superb," he said.
Almost 70 entrants from Scotland were in the running to take the title.
Judges said the flavour of the winning haggis was "spot on"
Laura is keeping the award-winning family recipe secret. She said: "Let's just say we only use fresh ingredients and a secret combination of spices that brings it to life.
"I inherited the recipe from my parents when I joined the business in 2017 and every time I taste it I think, 'that's a damn good haggis'. Now the world thinks so too."
Event hosts Scottish Craft Butchers (SCB) said the first world haggis title reflected the status of the "iconic dish" and superseded the current Scottish haggis championships.
SCB president George Jarron said: "We have been running a Scottish haggis championship for the past 30 years, but this is the first ever world championship," he said.
"We decided that haggis was such an iconic dish the world over that it was deserving of a global championship title to let the world know we had recognised and rewarded the very best.
"And it was only fitting that the first world title for a product so quintessentially Scottish should be staged in Scotland.