A TOP Inverclyde butcher whose shop was voted best of British in a prestigious UK-wide industry awards has admitted: "I still can't take this in."
Nigel Ovens and his McCaskie's team at Wemyss Bay are still celebrating their triumph at the Butcher Shop of the Year bash in Birmingham last week.
They trimmed off competition from Scotland, three regions in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to take the coveted accolade.
Nigel told the Tele that the honour 'hadn't quite sunk in yet'.
He added: "I said to my wife last night 'I just can't take this in'.
"We were up against amazing people.
"I honestly didn't expect to win the Scottish title never mind the UK.
"When we won the Scottish title, one of the other finalists in the Scottish category said
'Do you know Nigel, you could win this'.
"I was listening to everything out of sheer interest.
"We're completely surprised and didn't have any expectation at all."
Nigel submitted an entry to competition organisers, Meat Trades Journal, telling the story of the business alongside a few photos.
The store was then 'mystery shopped' several times over two months, with the business judged on customer service, product range, and quality of the products.
Nigel added: "We had no idea when the shoppers would appear.
"They were going home and cooking the products so it's great knowing that our food did so well."
McCaskie's was one of between 150 and 200 entries overall, made it into the initial group of 36 finalists and down into the final six.
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Nigel said the competition is a very highly-respected contest and said the win is a great thing for butchers across the country.
The McCaskie's win is the second consecutive win for a Scottish butcher in the overall Butcher's Shop of the Year category.
The title was scooped by S Collins & Son of Chryston in Glasgow last year.
Nigel added: "Some of the shops were were up against are multi-million pound operations in London.
"Having the second Scottish winner in a row is fantastic for the Scottish meat trade."
After the event, Nigel thanked his mum Elizabeth who has worked for the business for more than 60 years, his wife Helen and his amazing team.
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He dedicated the honour to his mum and his late dad who he said would be 'over the moon' about the award.
Nigel says it's been great to receive amazing feedback from other Scottish businesses following the win.
He added: "To receive plaudits from other Scottish butchers has been amazing.
"There are very few who haven't congratulated us, so that's been really special."
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