AN award-winning Elderslie business has been hailed as ‘the Barcelona of Butchers’ after seeing off all opposition to net another prestigious prize, writes Gregg Kelly

Elderslie Butchers have carved out a glowing reputation since setting up shop in Stoddard Square.

Now the firm has added another accolade to its list of achievements after being crowned UK Butcher of the Year at the 2019 Farm Shop & Deli Awards.

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And this latest success prompted owner Gavin Colquhoun to use a football analogy when summing up what makes his business better than the rest.

“You could call us the Barcelona of Butchers,” Gavin told The Gazette. “We think that quality breeds success, so we want to be the best at what we do.

“It also helps that everyone who works with us absolutely loves their job – and we love them and their enthusiasm.

“We’ve set such a high standard here that, if we enter a contest like this and don’t win anything, we’re disappointed but we use our disappointment to push us forward to further success.”

Having developed the Elderslie Butchers brand into a thriving business empire, Gavin now employs 50 people in the Renfrewshire area, having opened a further two cafes, as well as the Butchers Steak and Grill restaurant in Elderslie’s Main Road.

Among the previous titles won by the company are Best Burger in Scotland, Best Steak in Scotland and Best Bridie in Scotland.

Shedding some light on his creative process, Gavin said: “We have hundreds of loyal customers and we let them try tasters of new recipes we develop. We love their honesty. If the recipe doesn’t work, they’ll tell us the truth.

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“It means that we’ll only ever serve the best quality food.”

Gavin said his team is always looking for ways to cement its place within the local community.

He added: “We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for our amazing customers. That’s why we support charities in the area, sponsor football teams and, at Christmas, made sure we gave something back by feeding around 500 homeless people.”

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