Two Monmouthshire butchers hit the jackpot at a prestigious south Wales butchers awards ceremony organised by Meat Promotion Wales, winning 18 gold awards between them for their high quality products. Raglan butchers, N S James, won three gold awards for their Steak and Kidney Pie; Beef Burger and Pork Burger product entries. Neil, who specialises in rare breeds, has won numerous awards over the years Abergavenny burchers, H J Edwards & Sons also struck gold, scooping an impressive 15 gold awards for their Traditional Pork Sausage; Pork & Cracked Black Pepper Sausage; Pork & Country Herb Sausage; Pork & Leek Sausage; Pork, Ham & Pineapple Pie; Pork & Stilton Pie; Steak & Ale Pie; Traditional Pasty; Curried Lamb Pasty; Lasagne; Faggots, Peas & Mash; Sheperds Pie; Beef Burger; Lamb Burgers and Home Cured Bacon product entries. A record 359 independent butcher product entries battled against each other in an intense competition for the twelve champion categories presented at this years HCC South Wales Counties Innovation and Excellence in Meat Products, held at the Towers Hotel, Jersey Marine, Swansea on March 12th. Graham Titchener, HCC's Marketing Executive, said: "A creative and innovative range of products were showcased at the awards with a high standard of entries in every category. Wales' independent butchers are continually developing their products with the consumer in mind and these awards are highly regarded within the industry." Photo: Neil James with some of his many awards