Exotic offerings such as delicious crocodile and tasty wild boar products have helped secure Largs butcher A D Paton a wealth of Gold and Silver accolades in the Scottish Craft Butchers Awards.

The awards, presented at the recent Scottish Meat Trade Fair 2017 in Perth, recognised and rewarded the best barbecue products, ready meals and ready-to-cook products currently available in Scotland’s butcher’s shops.

A D Paton scooped four gold awards for their venison fillet kebab, crocodile kofta, chicken stuffed with fruity black pudding and spicy venison stir-fry. The Aitken Street butcher also secured silver awards for their wild boar kebab, extra lean chilli beef stir-fry and pheasant stir-fry.

Receiving the awards, owner Scott Paton said he was “overwhelmed” with their success. “We always like to try out something different and are guided by our customers,” he said. “I’m really proud of the dishes that have won awards and we’ll now make them a regular feature in our product range.

“Not many butchers can offer gold award-winning crocodile koftas.”

Douglas Scott, Chief Executive of Scottish Craft Butchers, said: “It is important for us to encourage our local butchers to produce quality new and innovative offerings to interest customers during summer barbecue season and those who find time they have limited time to prepare meals.

“This type of product is proving increasingly popular and discerning customers will always look to their local butcher for first choice.

“Scottish butchers like A D Paton are leading the way with some of the best meat products in Scotland – using fresh ingredients - and we’re delighted they’ve achieved such high recognition from their industry.

“These awards show customers just what a high standard their local butcher sets.”

The awards, sponsored by Lucas Ingredients, Dalziel Ltd. And Scobies Direct, attracted around 230 entries from over 40 butchers from Shetland to the Solway in a keenly contested assessment process.