A butcher from Islay has won this year's best Scottish speciality food product for his traditional steak sausages at the Great Taste Awards which were held in London last night (Sunday, 9 September, 2001)

Gilbert S.MacTaggart received the award at the Speciality and Fine Food Fair 2001 from the director of growing businesses at Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), Douglas MacDiarmid.

HIE sponsor the Great Taste Awards, which saw over 2,000 entrants from the UK and overseas compete in the food industry's equivalent of the Oscars. Last month 30 gold, silver and bronze awards were handed out to 23 food and drink companies in the Highlands and Islands in recognition of their excellence - setting them apart from the mainstream. As a gold award winner, Mr MacTaggart went on to win yesterday's final in the Scottish Speciality Food product category.

Mr MacTaggart said: "Winning this award at the Speciality and Fine Food Fair will help highlight my business and products to a much wider audience. We strive for excellence and continually experiment with new products with the aim of attracting as wide a customer base as possible."

Mr MacTaggart's award winning products are also being displayed on HIE's Highlands and Islands Pavilion stand at the food fair which is currently being held in Olympia, London.

Douglas MacDiarmid from HIE said: "The Highlands and Islands has a wealth of world-class food and drink products but that in its own is not enough. We need to make sure that buyers know about these wonderful products and meeting them face to face at a trade show like this makes all the difference.

"Our sponsorship of the Great Taste Awards helps us increase the profile of producers in the Highlands and Islands but they also encourage companies to enter the awards in the first place. Only a few awards came to the Highlands and Islands last year, yet we've seen 23 local businesses winning this year, so it is certainly working."