Bolton butchers wins ‘best burger in Britain’ at national craft butchery awards

A butchers in Bolton can now lay claim to the title of ‘best burger in Britain’, at least according to an annual nationwide craft butchery awards ceremony.

Pies, comedy, arguably the best ‘kebabs’ in the world and now burgers – Bolton really is a Northerner’s dream, isn’t it?

Taking home not just one but two Diamond awards in two different categories at the 2025 Smithfield Awards where the best of British butchery is put on show each year, Fraser’s Butchers in the suburb of Great Lever got the top nod from the top dogs in the world of meat and more.

Already beloved by locals and multi-award-winning by various regional and national bodies, it doesn’t come as that much of a surprise but Boltonians are nonetheless buzzing for their go-to butchers.

As mentioned, it wasn’t actually just one particular type of patty that Fraser’s were praised for: the butchers, which has been open since 2003 and is famed for its fresh farm produce, won two prestigious national awards for its ‘Mega Burger’ as well as their Minted Lamb and Halloumi Kebab.

The highly-celebrated Bolton brand’s Diamond double was announced at the Butchers’ Hall in London back at the end of February, beating out nine other artisan butchers from across the UK to be crowned top of their class.

Organised by the Q Guild of Butchers, the awards which have run for more than three decades judge the UK’s finest craft butchery products including sausages, bacon, burgers, steak, game products, BBQ products and more.

Winning in both the Burger and BBQ categories, respectively – in what is widely recognised as the meat trade’s most high-profile and challenging product evaluation – it’s a big accolade in the butchery world.

Products are awarded a Bronze, Silver or Gold award by a panel of independent judges, with all Gold products in each category then pitched against each for the category champion Diamond Award.

Scoring full marks from the Q Guild representatives, Fraser’s popular Minted Lamb and Halloumi Kebab was described by judges as a simply “excellent product.”

As for the ‘Mega Burger’ itself, it scored an impressive 67 points out of a possible 70, with judges noting that it “looks and feels premium and has a lovely blend of flavour.” But the props don’t stop there either.

The butcher also made the final shortlist in the Hot Eating Pie category with its Roast Chicken and Gravy Pie and its Meat and Potato Pie, the Bacon category with its Home-Cured Streaky Bacon; the Al Fresco Dining category with its Pork Pie and the Best Butchers Steak category for its Black Garlic Ribeye – with all five receiving Gold award status.

Fraser’s was also awarded silver status for its Traditional Pork Sausage. Basically, they’re bloody good.

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Andy Hull from Fraser’s said: “The ethos of our shop is quality. We start with good quality meat and our butchers work together to make a fantastic quality product whatever it is we do. The Mega Burger is definitely our bestselling burger and we’re very proud of it.

Our Minted Lamb and Halloumi Kebab is another product where we start with good quality ingredients. It’s testament to the BBQ products that we make as we sell them all year round including Christmas week and we never take them out of the counter!

People travel from all over the NW and Greater Manchester to shop with us because they know they’ll get excellent quality meat.”
 
Gordon Wallace from Q Guild added: “The standard of entries this year was as high as ever, making Fraser’s achievement even more impressive. Being crowned best in class in two categories, along with securing five additional Gold awards, is a fantastic accomplishment.”

Be right back, we’re just making a quick trip to 272 Rishton Lane…

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Featured Images — Supplied/Fraser’s Butchers (via Facebook)