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Broadbent's Award Winning History
Good Taste takes the prize when you serve a Broadbent’s B & B Country Ham. The Family has been curing country ham, bacon and sausage for 100 years. Smith Broadbent II, along with sons Smith III and Robert founded the retail business in 1966. The Bingham family of Louisville, KY. was also part of the operation in the beginning hence the “B & B” title. A series of family tragedies resulted in the Bingham’s withdrawal from the firm. The names Trigg County and Broadbent’s are synonymous with the Kentucky’s most famous country hams. Smith Broadbent, III sold the family business to Ronny & Beth Drennan of Fredonia, Kentucky in March of 1999. Sandra Myers of the Kentucky New Era wrote on Aug. 19, 2000, “Those who bemoaned the sale of Broadbent’s B & B Foods two years ago can now rest easy. It’s a well-known fact that curing a good country ham is an art that few can master. However, traditionalist can now put their worries aside, as new owners Ronny and Beth Drennan have more than proven their ability to serve up good country ham. It all happened Thursday at the South Wing banquet hall at the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center in Louisville when their firm’s 2000 Grand Champion Ham was auctioned during the 37th annual Kentucky Country ham Breakfast. Since the Drennan's have owned the company they have been named "Kentucky State Fair Grand Champion". In 2005 Broadbent's set a record for at the ham auction, with their ham selling for $340,000.00 at the annual charity event. The following year in 2006, they broke their own record with a ham selling for "One Half Million Dollars." The following is a listing of Broadbent winnings at the Kentucky State Fair: [The Kentucky State Fair is the oldest competition we attend. Approximately 12-14 Kentucky companies compete for the Coveted Grand Champion Award each year. This competition consists of 6 classes with 1st , 2nd and 3rd place awards given. Classes 1-4 are made up of hams of different ages and weights. They are judged on appearance and aroma. Class 5 is the Best Taste or Cut Class where the ham is cut, cooked and tasted. Class 6 is awarded to the competitor with the highest score for the total of all five hams entered.]
Kentucky State Fair Country Ham Competition:
There are no records available from 1967 up to 1992 showing the 1st , 2nd and 3rd placing. A newspaper article in 1978 said, "Broadbent's swept all classes" in that year's competition. Another article in 1983 states Broadbent's had won 21 first place awards since 1967. American Cured Meat Championships:
National Association for Specialty Food Trade:
In April of 2005 year, Broadbent’s received the Reserve Grand Champion in the Smoked Country Ham Class at the 2ed Annual National Country Ham Association Competition in Savannah, GA. This is the only time Broadbent's has competed in this competition. National Country Ham Association Championships:
August 24, 2006- Louisville, KY- A record “Half a Million Dollars” was the selling price today for a 17.2 pound Kentucky State Fair Grand Champion Country Ham, produced by Broadbent’s B & B Foods of Cadiz, Kentucky. “Third time is definitely charm,” says company owner Ronny Drennan. “This is the third year in a row for us to win. Last year we broke the record with the ham selling for $340,000.00, but I never in my wildest dreams thought we would hit $500,000.00 this year.” Total price per pound equaled $29,069.00. There were six bidders this year. When the bid hit $425,000.00 Auctioneer Cliff-Ed Irwin, President of Kentucky Auctioneer Association, said “This beats the heck out of selling pots and pans for $3.00.” When it hit $450,000.00 he said, “I might even get asked back next year.” Just a few bids later, Irwin announced sold for $500,000.00. First Southern National Bank placed the winning bid. A representative for First Southern National says the money will be donated to Crown Financial Ministries, a financial advisory ministry based on Christian principals. An early morning interviewer of a Louisville TV station, said to Drennan “You’ve won three times in a row, what’s your secret recipe?” Drennan replied, “The recipe is no secret, the ingredients are on the package. The amounts we use might be secret. We do the same thing day in and day out. It seems to be working.” Broadbent hams are a long cure, all hams are at least six months old and preferable 9 months old before sold. “We have run short a time or two after Christmas and had to sell hams not quite 9 months old, but that’s not the age I prefer,” says Drennan. “The ham that won grand champion was put into cure after January 1, 2006. It was close to my preferred age.” “It was an honor to have Smith Broadbent, III at the breakfast with us this year. This was the first time he attended since we bought the company in 1999,” says Drennan, “Smith started the winning tradition. I inherited big shoes to fill; hopefully I’ve done a good job filling them.” Sale of Broadbent hams at this charity auction now exceed One Million, to be exact $1,145,628.25. Between the two owners Broadbent’s holds the record for 12 Grand Champion Hams. Smith Broadbent, III company founder began interstate commerce in 1966 by mailing out the company’s first mail order catalog. “Our 40th anniversary catalog will be mailed out in the next couple weeks. I’ll be glad to send you a ham just like the one that sold today, for a much cheaper price,” says Drennan. To receive the 40th anniversary catalog call 1-800-841-2202 or visit the company website at www.broadbenthams.com. $340,000 Country Ham: Louisville, KY-August 26,2005-As the sun came up over Louisville Thursday; local TV stations were previewing the 42nd Annual Kentucky State Fair Country Ham Breakfast. Most of the talk was about politics, but that quickly changed once the sell-out crowd of 1,600 dined “high on the hog”. The focus became the auctioning of this years Grand Champion country ham. There were several similarities to last years breakfast. Broadbent’s B & B Foods were again presented the Grand Champion Country Ham Award, along with first place awards for four of the six classes. Republic Bancorp was the top bidder and Jack Crowner was the Auctioneer. Crowner began the auction asking the entire crowd to raise their hand for the opening bid of $10,000.00, then joked saying, “When the auction makes news tomorrow you can tell people, I bid on the ham but didn’t get it”. The big difference, to the amazement of the crowd, the bidding went much longer and higher than normal. The excitement grew, until Crowner announced sold to Republic Bank for a record $340,000.00. The 15.9-pound ham averaged $21,383. per pound. Republic Bank, the high bidder for the last two years had to pay a little more this year, in fact a little over five times more for the ham. Republic Bancorp Chairman Bernard Trager caused the bidding to be held up several times as he held a “quick board meeting” at his table discussing how to proceed. In the end he decided to flip a coin, but no one at his table had a coin. A coin was borrowed from a neighboring table and the final decision was to keep going. “I am still in shock from the events yesterday,” says Drennan of Broadbent’s. “A reporter ask yesterday how it felt to win Grand Champion and go on to sell for this record amount, my reply was for a Kentucky Country Ham Producer winning the State Fair Grand Champion is like a football player winning the Super Bowl. Some of the best Country Ham producers in the nation are right here in Kentucky and it’s always an honor to win.” This has been a remarkable year for Broadbent’s. They began the year by winning a Reserve Grand Champion award at the National Country Ham Association Competition in April. In July they won both the National Association of Specialty Food Trade “Outstanding Meat Pate and Seafood” category for there Pepper Bacon and the American Cured Meat Associations Grand Champion for Unsmoked Country Ham and Reserve Grand Champion for Smoked Country Ham. “This is the icing on the cake”, says Drennan. “We have been blessed with winning the Kentucky State Fair Grand Champion award four of the last six years. It’s still hard to believe this year’s record price equaled more than the other three put together. More importantly though is the fact that ham I would sell for about $50.00, has raised $340,000 which will go to education and health care charities here in the state according to Mr. Trager from Republic Bank.” Eleven Broadbent Grand Champion hams have been auctioned since their first entry at the fair in 1967. They won that year and their ham auctioned for $825.00, setting a record. “My how times have changed”, says Drennan, “ Broadbent hams have auctioned for a total of $645,628 going to charity. We are a very small company, it’s incredible we could be a part of this.” Broadbent's featured in publications and TV: On Feb. 27, 1974, the late James Beard wrote in his column, “It was only lately, while in Kentucky, that I became acquainted with these superb hams. There’s a company called Broadbent-Bingham that sells cured and aged country hams. If you visit them, you can also buy extraordinarily good ham hocks, thick ham steaks and hams, all cured the same way. I carried back a cooked ham for Thanksgiving which was much admired by all who tasted it”. In the Sept. 29, 2003 Rosengarten Report, David Rosengarten stated “I was completely knocked out by a new product, Broadbent’s B & B Maplewood Smoked Bacon….This is my crispy breakfast bacon for this winter.” On October 20, 2004 the New York Times recommended Broadbent’s Cinnamon Bacon for breakfast and our Pepper bacon to “dice and render for savory dishes or salads”. Broadbent’s and Trigg County Hams have also been featured in magazines such as Southern Living, Saveur, Deli News, USA Today, and Homestyle, Speciality Food Magazine, Fancy Food & Culinary Products magazine and featured on “A Talk of the Town” TV Show on WTVF Nashville, TN, Kentucky Education TV and RFDTV's Bluegrass and Backroads show. About our products: Prizes are grand, but what our prize-winning tradition means to the customer is the best ham for their money. For years, we’ve built on the 80-year-old foundation and constantly improved and expanded to meet the customer’s needs. We still age our hams longer than almost anyone else, six to twelve months. Each ham is slowly smoked to give the authentic hickory smoked flavor. We cure the old-fashioned way with honey, salt and sugar. But today we offer a variety of products and cuts to give the customer a selection that is better than ever and yet convenient for our fast paced lifestyles. Broadbent Smoked Country Bacon, Pepper Bacon and our newest addition- Sun-Dried Tomato Bacon are dry cured and hickory smoked. We also produce a Maplewood Smoked and Maplewood Smoked Cinnamon Bacon. Each slab is hand rubbed with our special curing ingredients. Words cannot describe how delicious our bacon actually tastes. The aroma of our bacon frying will set the tone for a perfect Sunday breakfast. Our bacon is perfect for BLT’S! Our Bacon is generally a thicker slice and our bacon is available by the slab. Our Smoked Country Pork Sausage comes in unique replica cloth bags. Our Sausage is made from Great Grandma Broadbent’s secret recipe, with extra lean cuts of meat mixed with special country seasonings. Our sausage is then hickory smoked and aged for great flavor. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) certifies Broadbent Country Ham, Bacon and Sausage. That and the Broadbent reputation assure top quality from first bite to last. All Broadbent products are fully guaranteed. About our company: Broadbent’s is a small yet growing business. Ten years ago they were employing only one full time and one part time employee and approximately a dozen seasonal workers. Today Broadbent’s employees fourteen full time workers, and approximately a dozen seasonal workers. (Seasonal being November and December.) In February of 2008, the company moved from the three leased buildings in Cadiz, Ky. into a brand new 20,000 square foot facility in Kuttawa, Ky. putting all operations under one roof. The new facility is a welcome rest stop for travelers. It contains a Deli and Gourmet Market featuring foods made in Kentucky. Plant tours are given anytime with viewing rooms open everyday. The owners, Ronny and Beth Drennan are involved in every phase of the business, from the curing process to packing and shipping. Every customer is a valued asset to our business. Ronny and Beth are always glad to answer questions and help with any concerns that might arise. Broadbent buyers are all over the continental United States. We are a mail order and wholesale business, located at 257 Mary Blue Road, Kuttawa, Ky. 42055. We have a toll free number for our customers’ convenience. That number is 1-800-841-2202. We can also be found on the Internet at www.broadbenthams.com.
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The American Association of Meat Processors (AAMP) has named Broadbent’s National Grand Champion Winners four of the last five years that they had a dry-cured catagory. The American Cured Meat Championships consists of two categories. They are the Smoked Country Ham Class and the Un-smoked Country Ham Class. A Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion are awarded in each class. Approximately 12-15 companies from all over the United States compete. 
Broadbent’s Pepper Bacon was chosen the winner of the Outstanding Meat, Pate or Seafood category at the 2002 & 2005 National Association for the Specialty Food (NASFT) International competition. The NASFT-National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, Inc . is a competition for specialty Food Companies. 
Half Million Dollar Country Ham: