YACHTING superstar Pete Goss will be in Tavistock this weekend to present a prestigious prize to a local family business.
Brothers Brian and Roger Bird, partners at Palmers the butchers, have been awarded membership of the Guild of 'Q' Butchers — an association of independent meat retailers dedicated to providing top quality products and service.
Devon sailor Pete Goss, who became globally famous for his heroic rescue of a fellow competitor during the Vendée Globe single-handed round the world yacht race in 1996 and subsequently for his revolutionary giant catamaran Team Philips, has been friends with Brian since the early 1990s.
The two men got to know each other during intense training for the first British Steel round the world yachting challenge in 1992, when Pete was Brian's training skipper.
The two men have kept in touch ever since and Brian is a regular visitor to the Totnes nerve-centre of Pete's challenge to circumnavigate the world's oceans faster than anyone else in the forthcoming 'Race'.
Palmers has been a traditional family butchers for more than 100 years and has been run by Roger and Brian for the last 38.
Roger's son Duncan and daughter Sarah have also recently joined the business.
To qualify for the Guild of 'Q' Butchers, Palmers had to satisfy rigorous standards of hygiene, food safety and risk assessment and will have to undergo stringent checks in the future to maintain the status.
Roger said: 'We are extremely proud that the shop is now regarded as one of the best butchers in Britain.
'As Q butchers we pride ourselves on providing our customers with the finest quality meat and meat products, and the kind of personal service and advice that are not found in supermarkets.'
The ceremony will take place in the shop on Brook Street at 11am this Saturday, July 8.