A boutique butchery in Christchurch has won the inaugural 100% New Zealand Ham Competition, and the right to claim the title ‘The Best Ham In The Land’.

The honey-coated leg of ham from a Canterbury pig, double-smoked over natural manuka woodchips from the West Coast, and then slow cooked for 10 hours, beat 85 other entries, to give Kurt Robinson of Cashmere Cuisine the Supreme Award.

The winning ham was described by the Judges as ‘an astounding example of how to prepare this traditional cut of meat, whilst delivering a superb balance of sweetness, salt and smoke taste’.