A Perth butcher says he is on a roll after matching the world record for linking sausages.
Rafal Wichrowski squeezed out 78 bangers in just 60 seconds, beating his previous personal best of 69.
But as the record is already 78 sausages in one minute, he narrowly failed to set a new record.
The 35-year-old, who works in DG Lindsay and Son in Perth, reckons if he had been allowed just one more second the title would have been his.
The event took place at the first ever Butchers War to take place in the Northern Hemisphere.
Run by Scottish Craft Butchers Wars, the event in Perth attracted top talent from all over Scotland and south of the border, including several butchers from Perthshire and Dundee.
While none of the local entrants were victorious in the main competition Rafal was victorious in one of the smaller contests run by traders.
Artificial skin company Devro challenged the butchers to make sausage links, with the added difficulty that they must all be perfect.
Rafal said his victory had been bittersweet knowing he had been so close to the record.
“It’s easy to do if you know what you are doing,” he said.
“But there was the pressure of everybody watching. Every sausage had to exactly the same size and filled properly.
“I managed to equal the world record – one more second and I probably would have had it.
“It’s great to have won the competition but I would have liked the record. I’m looking forward to trying to beat it next time.”
The Butcher Wars saw single entrants and pairs butcher and display a half saddle of pork and a half of lamb in just 45 minutes.
Each was judged on a raft of criteria including their personal appearance, butchery skills, food safety, wastage, creativity and health and safety.
Boss Lindsay Beaton, who entered the pairs competition with apprentice Koen Barclay, said he was proud of the efforts of his team, which also included shop manager Brian McVicar.
He said: “Big supermarkets don’t take things out of the packaging.
“Butchers take pride in what they do and they way they display things – it’s the eye that buys, the mouth only tastes.
“We had just 45 minutes to butcher and display the meat and I think we did it in an innovative and impactful way.”
Douglas Scott, chief executive of Scottish Craft Butchers hailed the inaugural Butchers Wars a “huge success”.
“Butchers Wars are a feature in Australia and New Zealand but this is the first time they have been staged in any other country,” he said.
“We put on a show that combined all the skill, innovation and passion of some of the country’s leading butchers with theatre and showmanship and the result was fantastic. It was quite a show and everyone has loved being a part of it.”
