Butchers across Scotland are celebrating the first ever National Black Pudding Day today (18 March).
Whether by accident or design, the event is nicely timed to follow yesterday’s St Patrick’s Day celebrations, given the blood sausage’s reputation as a hangover cure.
The national day follows a call for the foodstuff to be awarded similar acclaim as its famous Scottish cousin – the haggis.
Scotland’s current Black Pudding Champion, Inverclyde butcher Nigel Ovens of McCaskie’s Butchers and Café in Wemyss Bay, said: “Black pudding is one of the most important butchers’ traditional staples in Scotland and people should be proud of this heritage food and celebrate it in style.”
The national day has gathered support across Great Britain, with National Craft Butchers adding their weight to the event, involving hundreds of butchers in England and Wales.
And once today’s festivities have died down, it will be time for Scotland’s butchers to start perfecting their recipes as the hunt for the nation’s next Black Pudding Champion begins in earnest.
Scottish Craft Butchers president George Jarron explained that the coveted title would be fiercely contested by some of Scotland’s finest butchers on 2 May.
“Scottish butchers are at the forefront of making the very best black pudding in the world, using the highest quality ingredients and traditional skills,” he said. “They have an incredible passion for crafting the very best and the Scottish Black Pudding Championship is an accolade we all aspire to.”
Sponsored by Scobies Direct, the championship will identify five Scottish regional champions from which a national champion will be chosen.
