Walter Rose & Son butchers, which has shops in Devizes and Trowbridge, is through to the finals of a national burger competition.

Despite a record number of entries in the biannual competition organised by industry body EBLEX, Walter Rose & Son stands a good chance of winning as one of only 23 companies to make it through to the finals with a gold award winning burger.

To achieve a gold award, burgers had to score between 95-100 points in the first round.

In the final round of judging, on April 30, all the gold standard burgers will be subjected to further rigorous testing.

When it concludes overall winners will be determined in each of the four categories: ‘Independent Butcher’, ‘Multiple Retailer’, ‘Foodservice’ and ‘Premium Quality Innovative Burgers’.

The four category winners will be presented with their awards at an awards ceremony in London on June 4.

EBLEX is the organisation for beef and lamb levy payers in England and a division of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB).

Competition organiser Hugh Judd, EBLEX foodservice project manager, said: “We’ve had some really interesting entries in this year’s competition; with burger manufacturers across all the categories really upping their game, presumably in response to the massive upsurge in the premium burger market.

“The burgers that achieved gold awards really stood out from the rest and this means that the final will be incredibly tough to judge, but the overall category winners will definitely deserve the title ‘England’s Best’.

"We wish all the finalists good luck!”

• Burgers entered into ‘England’s Best Burger Challenge’ could be made from beef, veal, lamb or mutton from an assured source compliant with the Red Tractor, EBLEX Quality Standard or an equivalent named quality scheme.

• All entries were assessed in the first round of judging and marks equating to Gold, Silver and Bronze status were awarded to the highest scoring burgers. Only those achieving Gold made it into the final round of judging. To achieve a Gold Award products had to score between 95 – 100 points.

• The criteria for judging included the overall appearance of each burger both raw and cooked, size, fat content, texture taste and smell.