TREALY Farm at Monmouth has been presented with an array of prestigious gold awards for its charcuterie in a national catering competition.

The triumph came in the BPEX Foodservice Pork Product of the Year competition 2012, which recognises and rewards quality pork products and dishes that can be found on menus in pubs, restaurants, schools and hotels.

The competition is held in high esteem by the food industry and drew in products from chefs, butchers, bakers and manufacturers across the six categories: Fresh Pork Cut, Pork Ready Meal, Best Cold Eating Product, Pork and Pastry, Best Cured Product and Best Innovative Pork Product.

Trealy Farm owner James Swift collected six gold awards for products entered. In addition, two of these were selected as category finalists and appeared at a special awards luncheon at Butchers Hall in London. These were 'Beech Smoked Air Dried Ham' and 'Fennel Salami', both of which were awarded second place in their respective categories.

James Swift said: "Food service is a growing part of our businesses so to get recognition in this national competition is fantastic – particularly as it is the first time we've entered!

"We supply many top restaurants and catering outlets via a national supplier and our Fennel Salami is used by Pizza Express. To be able to tell them that it has been named as one of the best catering products is very exciting."

The company, which has recently moved into state of the art premises, produces around 40 varieties of charcuterie. James added: "Quality is very important. We use 100 per cent free range pork from UK-raised rare breed pigs from selected farms, nearly all in South Wales and the South West. This coupled with our blend of cutting-edge technology and traditional practices, means we can provide the very best in cured meats."

BPEX foodservice trade manager, Tony Goodger, said: "We received a fantastic array of entries this year, demonstrating outstanding quality and innovation, which made judging very tough indeed. Gold awards are only given to products that satisfy the judge's strict criteria, which make these accolades important to not only the product manufacturers but also the establishments serving them and the customers who dine there.

"Pork and pork products continues to be a real favourite with the nation when dining out, so to be selected as one of the best products in the catering industry is an incredible feat."