Nathan Alcock and the team at Mountain Side Meats took out a first and second place at the national finals at Cyprus Lakes in the Hunter Valley on Saturday night.

The team took out the national gold in the gourmet section with their satay, macadamia and fresh coriander creation and gained a second with their lamb sausages which included a mix of coconut, curry and coriander.

Mr Alcock said it was a wonderful achievement for his team.

“We are all dedicated to producing the best sausages we can and this title is a great reward for 12 months of hard work,” he said.

“We pride ourselves on our sausages and it’s nice for that to pay off.”

After placing second at the national finals last year with their pork creation, he said his team, which includes butchers Kory Edwards and Nick Martin and apprentices Brady Harris Monteith and Joshua Parker, had worked extremely hard.

“We went close last year and it’s good to finally get that number-one tag,” Mr Alcock said.

“The judges were very impressed with our gourmet sausage; they spoke very highly of it.

“This is just such an amazing feeling. We’re all rapt.

To be judged the best in Australia is pretty surreal and special.”

He said the competition at the finals was among the best he had seen.

“I’ve been to the national finals on four occasions and I have never seen a better competition,” he said.

“It was a tough field.”

He sounded a warning for his opposition, saying the team was already working on new creations for the next competition.

“The boys have already got some plans for recipes and we are looking to develop them in the coming months,” he said.