It’s made using the Scottish oatmeal, Aberdeen Angus beef fat and the finest quality spices from around the world. But the winner of Scotland’s National Black Pudding Championship said he can’t give away any more secrets about his coveted recipe. Nigel Ovens, owner of McCaskie’s Butchers in Wemyss Bay has retained the title for 2024, with an unprecedented fourth championship win.
The undisputed King of the black pudding said he was ‘absolutely delighted’ to hang on to the title in one of the industry’s most fiercely contested competitions. Around 1,000kg of black pudding are produced at Wemyss Bay every week to supply customers across the UK. Nigel’s latest champion is a new recipe created for the company’s Pirie’s sub brand, which narrowly pipped McCaskie’s existing title holder to lift the West of Scotland Regional Championship, before going on to secure the national title in the Scottish Craft Butchers Awards.
‘If the renowned McCaskie’s black pudding had to be pushed out of the running, I’m absolutely thrilled that it was by another of my recipes,’ said Nigel. ‘We naturally didn’t want to change anything about the 2022 McCaskie’s champion, but our Pirie’s brand gave us the chance to experiment with a slightly sweeter version – and it has proved a winner on its first outing.” ‘We’re incredibly honoured to retain the title – it’s one that every butcher aspires to and we don’t take this achievement lightly.
‘It makes me i.