The long-running dream team behind Warwickshire best-known burgers - Libertine Burger and Aubrey Allen butchers - have lifted the lid on the secret to their success - and it is all about British beef.

Libertine Burger and Aubrey Allen are quite literally neighbours thanks to their Leamington Spa location and have been working together for some time to create the perfect patty.

The companies' collaboration has helped Libertine scoop a slew of awards at everything from the UK Burger Awards to the Just Eat Restaurant Awards - not to mention winning over loyal followers like Joe Wicks.

The businesses, which are both Warwickshire-based but whose reputations extend across the UK and beyond, are now teaming up to remind their burger-lovers of the importance of British beef - the secret to their success.

Libertine's signature patty is a blend of Aubrey Allen flank, chuck and brisket, honed over several years to ensure it has the right flavour, succulence and consistency to be up there with the best in the country.

The blend is key, but so too is the quality - and that's all down to British beef, which is celebrated this week in a nationwide campaign dubbed Great British Beef Week (GBBW), which returns for its 14th year from 23 to 30 April.

Created by farmer group Ladies in Beef, GBBW celebrates the versatility and exceptional taste of naturally delicious British beef.

Libertine Burger and Aubrey Allen are quite literally neighbours thanks to their Leamington Spa location (image supplied)

To support the week, Aubrey Allen's Simon Smith and Libertine Burger's head chef Tom Robinson are sharing the secrets behind the perfect patties and why British beef is key to that:

● Using the right breeds: Aubrey Allen carefully selects the best beef from the right breeds, ensuring it can be used to create the best burgers

● Consistency and quality: Aubrey Allen focuses on consistency and quality and finds the best farmers to provide pure grass-fed cattle selected to one grade and one consistency.

● Geekiness: Both Aubrey Allen and Libertine Burger are self-confessed burger geeks. At Aubrey Allen, their specialised burger room includes sections to analyse fat, temper mince prior to production and even special machines to 'de-gristle' it so you only get the good parts. And at Libertine, the team of chefs is constantly cooking to ensure they've got the perfect method to produce the best burgers

● The right blend: Using the right blend and the right ratio of lean beef to fat helps create the perfect balance in terms of flavour and succulence and that perfect ratio is something Libertine Burger and Aubrey Allen have worked for years to achieve

Tom said: "Between us at Libertine and the guys at Aubrey Allen, we share the same views when it comes to the beef we use for our burgers. We've spent years honing the perfect blend but ultimately the most important thing is the beef.

"The difference between top quality beef and lower quality meat can be a deal-breaker when it comes to burgers, which is why neither of us will ever sacrifice on quality and we'll always back British beef as some of the best out there."

Simon added: "We've been working with Libertine Burger for some time, using consistently great grass-fed British beef to make the perfect patties to their signature blend and a recipe we've carefully honed between us.

"To work with another Warwickshire business that shares the same values as us when it comes to quality is a highlight, and something we love shouting about - especially during Great British Beef Week."

Libertine Burger launched in 2017 and has gone on to become a staple on the street food scene.

As well as its restaurants in Leamington Spa, Rugby and Stratford-upon-Avon and a food truck and van that tours the UK's biggest festivals, the business serves up over a thousand takeaway burgers each week as well as sending its burger kits across the country so people can enjoy them in their own homes.

Libertine's perfect patties have also seen the brand make it to the finals of both the British Street Food Awards and the Street Food Championships in 2021, as well as the Just Eat awards, as well as the finals of the West Midlands Tourism Awards and the Midlands Food Drink & Hospitality Awards 2024.

Aubrey Allen is a third-generation family business that has grown a reputation as the leading supplier of ethically sourced, naturally produced meat and farmhouse cheeses.

Known nationwide as the chef's butcher, Aubrey Allen is five times winner of the Chef's Choice Butcher award and supplies to chefs from Raymond Blanc OBE to Heston Blumenthal.