John Gilmour Butchers win two gold medals at 2022 World Steak Challenge

John Gilmour Butchers in Macmerry was honoured at the ceremony at Dublin’s Fire Steakhouse and Bar in front of 60 independent judges from across the globe.

The award tops off a great few weeks for the firm, which claimed the Scotch Product of the Year prize at the Scottish Food and Drink Excellence Awards last month.

In Dublin, its premium cuts went up against the best in the world, including famed Japanese Wagyu and Argentinian beef.

The prestigious competition, which showcases product quality, breed credentials and processing standards, saw John Gilmour Butchers enter a sirloin, ribeye and fillet from its Black Gold range, taking home the highest honour for its ribeye and sirloin.

John Gilmour’s Black Gold range is described by the company as “a premium steak range that sets restaurants apart from their competition” and is hung in the firm’s own Himalayan salt chamber for a minimum of 60 days to produce the perfect product.

Brothers and co-managing directors Simon and Daniel Gilmour have been celebrating success on the global stage for John Gilmour Butchers

Dan Gilmour, co-managing director of John Gilmour Butchers, was delighted with the success.

He said: “We are incredibly proud to showcase the best of Scotland at the World Steak Challenge.

“We were up against competitors from all over the world, but our two gold medals show that Scotch beef is truly some of the best in the world.”

Simon Gilmour, co-managing director of John Gilmour Butchers, added: “We are of course delighted at this recognition, but even more delighted at what this means for Scottish farming.

“We truly believe that our partner farms produce the best that Scotland has to offer, and seeing it winning awards on a world stage just shows what we have on our doorstep; the Wood family at Garson Farms [in Orkney] are an excellent example of this.”

The family business started shortly after the Second World War when brothers John and William began working at a butcher shop on Prestonpans High Street.

Brothers Daniel and Simon, John’s sons, now run the business alongside their sister Rebecca and mum Tina following John’s death at the beginning of the pandemic.

'Massive for us'

Daniel told the Courier that carrying on his father’s legacy of success played a “massive” role in what they were trying to achieve now.

He said: “We all love this business, it’s how we make our living and we employ over 70 people now so all of our employees rely on this business doing well and thriving.

“To be able to carry on what dad’s achieved is massive for us. We are very happy we have been able to fight our way through Covid and it’s incredibly pleasing to know we are building on what dad started – and we had a great starting place because he built a fantastic company.”

The company is also in the process of expanding, with plans to create a new butchery as well as a processing facility for a new range of plant-based foods, a deli and food hall at Barbachlaw Farm, Wallyford, at land previously earmarked for a greyhound stadium.

Daniel added: “We are really proud to be standard bearers for East Lothian food and drink.

“We are building a new factory in Wallyford and we have plans for a really nice retail shop in there.

“We are going to stock as many other East Lothian food and drink items as we can – it’s going to act like an East Lothian deli, somewhere for people to go and buy East Lothian products.”