Christmas Poultry Show
We are holding our annual Christmas Poultry Show and Sale on Thursday 21st December at our Diss Auction Rooms.
Public viewing is from 4pm and the sale will start at 5pm. We have around 280 birds for sale including the usual turkeys, chickens, geese and ducks and we will again be having some guinea fowl, which were very popular last year.
All the birds are from local farmers and some of our farming families have been putting their birds into our sale for many years. The birds are sold as close to Christmas as possible so that they are fresh and ready for the Christmas dinner table. The birds are locally reared, are of superb quality and offer excellent value for money. Turkey breeds include: Bronze, Norfolk Black, White, Lavender, Narragansette and Bourbon Red.
Before the birds are put forward for sale, they are all entered into our show and judged. Rosettes are given for each class (turkeys, geese, ducks, chicken and guinea fowl) and for each class there is a rosette for Highly Commended, Reserve Champion, and Champion. Of course everyone wants the champion turkey for their Christmas dinner so a premium is often paid for the best bird of the show.
Our honorary judge for this year is locally based, multi award-winning chef, Mr Frederik Jones, who has had an exceptionally successful career in the catering industry.
Formally trained at the Savoy Hotel, London and following a spell at maxims in Paris, Mr Jones has worked as executive head chef at various 4 and 5 star establishments. During his illustrious career Mr Jones personally won over 50 gold medals and trained many young chefs to win over 200 gold medals. Mr Jones successfully captained the British team of chefs in 1993 and 1994 in Dallas, Texas and Limoges, France, winning on both occasions (the only time this has ever been achieved by a British team).
Following these triumphs, Mr Jones went on to become the Vice Chairman of Judges for the British Open Cookery Championships in London and was a Senior Judge in the prestigious Chef of the Year competition in the year Gordon Ramsey won the competition. Mr Jones went on to gain a Michelin star at his restaurant Frederick’s, in Seabrook, Kent. Possibly the pinnacle of Mr Jones’ career was when he was presented to Her Majesty the Queen Mother and cooked a banquet at Windsor Castle. On a separate occasion, he was also honoured to escort Princess Diana around the British Open Cookery Championships in London. Mr Jones and his wife Linda have lived locally for over 20 years and recently retired in 2015 after having a successful eight years owning and running their own shop, Frederick’s Fine Foods, in Diss. Mr Jones and his wife have both been passionate in their use of fresh, local produce and believe that British Farmers produce some of the finest products in the world. Mr Jones’ passion for food and local produce makes him an excellent choice of Judge for this years sale and all of us at TW Gaze are honoured that he has accepted our invitation.
Our auctioneers this year will be Edward Baskerville and Edward Smith.
