Popular Whitianga butchery Mercury Bay Meats have proven that when it comes to ham and bacon they are a cut above the rest.

The loyalty shown by locals has seen the home of the famous ‘Whitianga Banger' win the People's Choice Award at the 2015 New Zealand Bacon and Ham Awards which were held on Wednesday.

Popular Whitianga butchery Mercury Bay Meat's won the People's Choice Award in the 2015 100% New Zealand Bacon and Ham Awards. Accepting the award was owners Nigel Jackson and Cole Edinger. Photo: NZ Pork

MBM is owned and operated by Nigel Jackson and Cole Edinger who purchased the business in February last year.

This is their second time entering the awards and this People's Choice Award will sit nicely on the mantelpiece alongside the silver medal they won for their streaky bacon in 2014.

So you can understand why there'd be a few tired staff members working on the shop floor today.

'We're absolutely stoked,” says Nigel. 'It was so humbling to learn how much support we have from the locals who voted for us.

'Mercury Bay Meats tries its absolute hardest to support the community, I'm a volunteer fireman and we've also supported a few charity event when we can, so it's obviously come back to us.”

One of the comments received by the judges described the experience of wandering into the shop as nothing short of 'joy” due to the great team working behind the counter.

Nigel says a secrets to their success is the shop's philosophy of keeping everything '100 per cent Kiwi made, grown and raised”.

'It's one of our major points of difference – you won't find anything imported in our shop because at the end of the day we're here to support locals and Kiwis.”

People's taste for their ham, bacon and artisan goods like black pudding and haggis is also growing, not only in Whitianga but also across the country – and even to far-flung corners of the world.

'We have a customer who has a son that lives in Turkey and every time she visits him she always takes over some of our bacon with her!”

The 2015 awards was the eighth year in a row that the 100% New Zealand Bacon and Ham competition has been held.

This year approximately 197 entries submitted by 50 entrants nationwide were scrutinised by an expert and independent panel of 33 judges made up of chefs, food connoisseurs and master butchers.

There were five bacon categories in this year's competition: Middle, Dry Cured Middle, Shoulder, Streaky and Middle Eye. There were also two ham categories: Bone-In-Ham and Boneless Ham.

The 2015 Ham of the Year went to Auckland's Westmere Butchery while Christchurch's Cashmere Cuisine won the award for Bacon of the Year.

A group shot of all the winners in this year's 100% New Zealand Bacon and Ham Awards.Photo: NZ Pork