Our Deli Style Ham is a finalist at this year’s UK Quality Food & Drink Awards. It’s shortlisted in the Deli Meat Items and Antipasti category and entered as the Aldi Specially Selected Deli Style Ham, that we’ve been making for Aldi since 2025.
What the judges look for in a quality ham
The awards published their shortlist on 28 August, after an expert panel of chefs, buyers and recipe developers judged every entry. First, they taste it on their own and write down what they think, before debating it as a group.
The judges score against ten things. Taste, texture, flavour and aroma are the ones you’d guess. The other six are the ingredients list, where the meat comes from, how the product looks, the packaging, whether the price is fair for what you get, and what the product is trying to do that others aren’t.
A product has to hold up on all ten to get through, and we’re delighted that our Deli Style Ham met their high standards.
About Houghton Hams Deli Style Ham
It’s thick cut, the way ham comes off a deli counter, made from British Red Tractor pork and cured, cooked, sliced and packed at our HQ in Northampton. We started talking to Aldi about it in 2024, development ran for 11 months before the first packs reached stores, and it’s been on shelf since 2025. And our Finely Sliced Deli Style Ham joined it on Aldi’s shelves in 2026.
What happens next
Winners are announced on Tuesday 10 November, at a black tie dinner at the Hilton Bankside in London. The awards have been running for 47 years, and this is the first time in a while they’ve gone back to a sit-down format.
We’ll let you know how we get on!
Where to find our Deli Style Ham
Both the Deli Style Ham and the Finely Sliced Deli Style Ham are on shelf at Aldi. The rest of what we make under our own name, the Wagstaff family recipe ham, the gammon and the dry cured bacon, is in shops around the UK.