Corrigin’s Black Label Berkshire piggery cleans up at 2023 Perth Royal Food Awards

Corrigin’s Black Label Berkshire piggery has been crowned WA’s branded pork grand champion after scooping two major awards at this year’s Perth Royal Food Awards.

Black Label Berkshire was awarded the trophies for champion export pork and champion heritage breed pork at the October 27 event.

Organised by the Royal Agricultural Society of WA and held at Claremont Showground, the annual awards celebrate the State’s best premium producers.

An expert judging panel had the tough job of scrutinising 16 beef and 13 pork entries in the branded meats category, with entries scored according to raw visual appeal, tenderness, juiciness and flavour.

Black Label Berkshire co-owner Linton Batt said he was excited and grateful to receive the accolades after participating in the event for the past six years.

“We’re thrilled to have been very, very lucky tonight,” he said.

“It’s not always about the trophy. What we’ve found … (is) it actually makes our product better, every day of every year, and the feedback’s been essential for us.

“Thanks … to our team for producing our pork, and we have our distribution partner here as well, with Ryan’s Quality Meats, and that means a lot to us.”

Based in Jandakot and Bunbury, Ryan’s Quality Meats was crowned WA branded beef grand champion for its Stirling Ranges Beef by Butterfield, and Stirling Ranges Beef — Bluff Knoll products.

It also won the award for champion bacon for its Frankland River Free Range Rindless Bacon.

RASWA chief executive Robyn Sermon said the competition’s “robust integrity” meant not all categories were awarded a champion if the produce was not up to quality and standard.

“These awards provide Western Australian consumers a great guide for selecting WA’s best Christmas ham, best steak or fine salamis for the festive season,” she said.

“If you want to know the best ham to buy for Christmas, you can’t go past the Perth Royal Food Smallgoods Awards, champion ham won by Eurostyle Smallgoods for their traditional ham on the bone.”