Bristol brewery pub burger makes it into national finals

A dish created by a Bristol brewery has been selected as a finalist at this year’s National Burger Awards.

Now in its ninth year, the 2023 event will see chefs from across the hospitality sector – including restaurants, pubs and street food traders – face-off in a live cooking competition to see whose signature burger recipe will be named best in the UK.

Jasper Prickett, Development Chef at Liberation Group, owners of Butcombe Pubs & Inns, will go head-to-head with other national pub groups and independents from across the UK who have also made the final.

The Butcombe Burger features a smashed beef patty, from Stokes Marsh Farm and smoked beef brisket which has been slow-cooked in Butcombe Original beer.

Slices of Somerset-made Lye Cross Farm smoked Cheddar and American cheese rest on top along with shallots pickled in Butcombe Goram IPA and buttermilk braised onions caramelised in brown butter.

A secret burger sauce and Rose Farm BBQ relish complete the burger, all wrapped up in a Hobbs House Bakery bun baked in Chipping Sodbury.

Its creator, chef Jasper Prickett, said: “I wanted to showcase some of the fabulous local produce we rely on for the menus in our pubs, as well as highlighting the importance of including Butcombe beers in our cooking methods. The result is a burger that is a true celebration of West Country produce.

“To be included in this year’s finalists at the National Burger Awards is a real delight, and to be competing alongside some of the industry’s big hitters is a real honour. There’s always been a variety of burgers on our menus, and we believe that they have always been worthy of recognition!”

In addition to the signature round, chefs will take part in a technical showdown challenging them to create a burger from a selection of ingredients in a bid to be crowned Burger Chef of the Year.

Genna Ash-Brown, organiser of the National Burger Awards said: “With so many stellar entries flying in for this year’s National Burger Awards, narrowing it down to just 16 finalists really was a painstaking (and hunger inducing!) task. But we got there in the end – and what an exceptional line up it is!”

The Grand Final will take place at the end of February in London.