A Rotorua butcher thinks he's got the secret to winning this year's 100 per cent New Zealand Bacon and Ham competition.
It's the first year Calum Sutherland, the butchery manager at New World Westend, has entered the competition but he's confident the store has a good chance of winning.
"We have an
advantage over bigger companies because we have the time and machinery to try new combinations and customise our bacon," Mr Sutherland said.
"But the secret is the cure and temperature for a great texture and easy to slice bacon."
He said positive comments from customers and wanting to get professional feedback on his bacon were the two main reasons for entering.
The Westend supermarket is entering two varieties of streaky bacon - one is salt reduced and one middle bacon cut.
Mr Sutherland is a streaky bacon fan himself and says it's something customers love to treat themselves to.
"If everyone was vegetarian I think bacon would be the hardest thing for people to give up.
"We try to price it cheap so customers never have to consider a world without bacon."
The butcher is no stranger to the meat industry, he has been working with pork for the past 10 years and, last August, won the Alto Young Butcher of the Year award.
Carnell Meats in Opotiki is entering the competition for the third time.
Owner Brent Carnell said it was the prospect of winning that kept him coming back.
This is the fourth year New Zealand Pork have run the competition but the first time ham has been included.
New Zealand Pork chief executive Sam McIvor said it was a great opportunity for businesses to showcase bacon and ham.
"They do it mainly for the honour and prestige but people know that if they win their business will explode."
He said the motivation behind starting the competition was to raise awareness of New Zealand grown and produced pork.
Research done this year, by a NZ bacon provider, showed 90 per cent of Kiwis want to buy local pork but only 60 per cent are sure that what they buy is produced in the country. The contest will be judged on July 29.