Apprentice butcher Ryan Smith from Bradwell Butchery, Bakery and Delicatessen is enjoying his new career even more so after being the East of England Young Sausage Maker. Just nine months into his new role the enthusiastic 23 year old clearly has a flair for the job. The ex-army recruit started learning the art of sausage making just a few months ago and now has three award winning products under his belt; a Traditional Pork Sausage which achieved a gold award and the overall title, a Cantonese Pork Sausage (gold award) and Lemon Pepper Pork Sausage (silver award).

Ryan said: “I absolutely love this job. I applied after coming out of the army and looking for a new career. It has been brilliant; I enjoy all aspects of the butchery trade and have put my own spin on these sausage recipes. I’m really proud to see the awards up in the shop and my very own sausages go on sale in the window.

In addition to the Young Sausage Maker awards, Bradwell Butchery picked up a further 20 awards, which as proprietor Andrew Edmonds pointed out, is a great way of proving that their products keep to the highest possible standards.