Nolans is 'best butcher shop in Ireland'

Nolans Butchers has been awarded the accolade of the Best Butcher Shop in Ireland, at the Star Shop Awards presented at the Shop 2010 exhibition in the RDS, Dublin.

The awards are presented by the Associated Craft Butchers of Ireland, which had a large themed pavilion at the exhibition. Nolans also won the Rural Butcher Shop Category.

Judging took place during July and August. The competition was scored by mystery shopper visits, and is aimed at raising standards and making CraftButcher shops 'destinations of choice' for consumers.

In addition, last week they entered eight products in the Leinster qualifiers of the Craft Butchers Sausage & Puddings Competition, judged by the Irish Food Writers Guild. And they came away with eight gold medals. The products are produced in the premises by Fred Mitchell, most of them recipes devised by Andy Nolan.

"It has just been a great experience for us this last while," a very happy James Nolan told the Diary this afternoon. James is Andy's son, and now runs the business set up by his great-grandfather. Both are pictured above when the shop won the Best Retail Store in the FBD Retail Excellence awards 2008.

The shop is a nationally-known element of the 28,000 sq ft complex which was designed by James as a state-of-the-art food retail store, abbatoir, boning hall and curing facility, and all the required ancillary services.