The countdown has started for the 2004 Great Yorkshire Pork Pie, Sausage and Black Pudding Competition - open to all butchers across the county.

Organised by The Confederation of Yorkshire Butchers Councils, the annual competition and supporting trade fair is again to be staged at Bradford's Hanover International Hotel on Sunday, November 14.

It was first established in 1988 and has since grown to become the largest regional meat traders competition in the UK. The contest can be entered by both members and non-members of the National Federation of Meat & Food Traders (NFMFT), which has distributed competition details and entry forms to 600 butchers' shops across Yorkshire. The closing date for entries is Wednesday, November 10.

The 2004 competition will see the return of last year's celebrity judge, television chef Clarissa Dickson Wright, who, along with fellow judges, will sample entries in the seven classes - three each for sausages and pies, plus a black pudding class.

Supreme champions will then emerge from the pie and sausage sections, with the latter going forward to the national Champion of Champions competition in London next Spring.

Updated: 09:40 Wednesday, October 20, 2004