Event organiser Roy Catanzariti said Mr Sergi was thoroughly deserving of the title again, with the judges – including special guests food expert Joanna Savill and media personality John Mangos – blown away by the flavour of his creation.

“While the judging was going on all the judges said the same thing: this salami has got to win a prize,” Mr Catanzariti said.

“There was just something about it. It was a bigger margin this time. Last year there was only about two points between first and third, but this year there was 26 points between first and second.”

Mr Mangos, who is no stranger to Griffith having hosted numerous awards nights for the local wine industry, said he was delighted to be a part of the festivities.

“I was one of the judges on Saturday and I can honestly say I’ve never in my life sampled somewhere between 80 and 100 pieces of salami in one day in my life, but it was fantastic,” he said.

“I’ve got Greek heritage so I grew up on salami, but slightly different to the salamis that these guys make down here.

“The lovely thing about it is that behind every salami there’s a family and all the families know each other, so there’s this friendly rivalry and they’re all anxious to knock each other off.”

Mr Catanzariti said the festival continued to grow each year as it captured the imagination of locals and visitors alike.

“We had 810 people here and it’s just getting bigger and better every year,” he said.

Runner up to Mr Sergi in the best salami competition was Bilbul’s Dante Surian, while Michael Sergi finished third.