THEY have a mouth-watering reputation for serving some of the finest meat in Hampshire.

Now owners of an award-winning butchers are licking their lips at the prospect of winning a sizzling national industry title.

Staff at Owtons are sharpening their knives ahead of competing in the Q Guild 2015 National Barbecue Competition.

It follows the company, whose main base is in Chalcroft Farm in West End, clinching one of six categories up for grabs in the contest's southern regional heats.

Their trademark Oozing Lamb fillet fired them to victory in the Specialist Barbeque Product category.

Now the award-winning fillet will be put to the test nationally to compete against other leading butchers' around the country.

Almost 300 products are being showcased there, with the finest producer overall crowned the nation's supreme champion.

General manager John Harding said: “The Oozing Lamb Fillet always goes down very well.

“The fillet is beaten out, covered with mozzarella, sage and spinach and rolled up like a roulade and cooked on a barbecue.

“It's the high end choice for people who don't just want burgers and sausages. “ The shop also won five gold awards at the regional contest for their pork sausage, sirloin steak, beef burger, duck and hoisin sausage and its wild boar, cranberry, spring onion and rosemary burger.

Mr Harding added: “We won gold awards for every product we entered so we're very pleased.

“It was a good result.”

Q Guild national chairman Mark Turnbull said entrants have increased this year and added: “Q Guild butchers come well equipped to cater for al fresco aficionados nationwide.”

The awards take place on Sunday, May 31, in The Windmill Village Hotel in Coventry.

Owtons has shops in Garsons Garden Centre in Titchfield and in Kimbridge and Bordon.