Ethical?

The term ethical in regard to meat production means different things to different people.To us, it simply means that we want our meats and eggs to be totally free range, that we want to stand here hand on heart and know that the animals we use are reared with their welfare in mind. From when they are born to when they arrive on your plate. Because of the many definitions that are banded about, we have decided to set out below what we mean by the term ethical.

We have a close relationship with our farmers, and we care about the quality of our meat.

All butchers have to know where their meat comes from, by law. Usually, it will be boxed and brought in from a wholesaler or an abattior - boned and ready to display. This is why when you ask for meat "on the bone" or pork with skin for crackling, you are sometimes told that it is not available. Our meat is supplied to us as carcass, so we can cut the meat exactly the way we and our customers want it.

If you need pork shoulder on the bone with plenty of fat and skin for crackling, we have it on a weekly basis. If you need a whole rib of local hereford beef, dressed and ready to cook, we have it on a weekly basis. Oxtail? We have it on a weekly basis.

Our meat is not purchased from a wholesaler or an abattoir, but is selected from specific farms - farms that we know and trust. It's all free range, not simply ticking a "welfare friendly" box, but really doing the job. That goes for our chicken, beef, lamb, pork, rabbits, pheasant, partridge, and pidgeon. We don't, however, source our venison from a farm - we source it from Charlecote Park. All of their fallow deer are sent to us each year.

As we like to work with nature and not against it, we provide some of these goods on a seasonal basis. Our venison, rabbit, pheasant etc are all wild, and may therefore only be available between the months of September and February

Knowing the farmers

We visit each of our farmers to see how they produce the livestock we take from them. We visit the animals, to reassure ourselves that they are kept in the right conditions - conditions that you or I would expect. We check they have somewhere warm to sleep in the winter, and plenty of open ground to wander in the warmer weather. We ask what kind of food the farm is using, and whether they are growing their own feed for during the winter months. We check with them that medication is only given to animals on strict medical advice. We even check with our farmers that they are happy for any of our customers to visit them and see where the meat comes from. When we have not been comfortable using a farmer, we have simply chosen to continue looking until we found the right one. This is why it took us over two years to find precisely the right farmers - and if and when we change any one farmer, it will be after a great deal of delibration.

Fred, Val and Paul rear our beef and lamb, and also supply us with wild rabbits and game birds (when in season), Malcolm looks after our Gloucester old spot pork, and Chris, Sam and Carly our chickens and turkeys. They ensure that everything they do is in the best interest of the animals, and pride themselves on being as passionate about the quality of meat as we are.

The abbatoir

To reduce the amount of stress the animal has to undergo during travel, we decided it was best to use abbatiors local to the farmers. Our beef and lamb and pork is all slaughtered in Old Arley, so we actually go and collect that ourselves in our own chill van. The chickens are slaughtered on the farm and, again, delivered to us the following day.

Preparing your meat

As we said earlier, our meat comes to us as carcass, and then we butcher it here at the shop. Once prepared, the meat is then used for our sausages, pies, ready meals, in fact almost everything in the shop. If there is a special cut of meat you require, you need only ask. It's normally wise to give us a little notice where possible, especially nearer the weekend.

We don't use industry buzz-words and labels like 'organic', - instead we personally ensure that every single animal reared for us is well-cared for, well-treated, and not just treated like a commodity.

We cure our own bacon, make our own pies, sausages (even chorizo!), meatballs and burgers, prepared and where necessary cooked right here on the premises. We make our own haggis and faggots, in fact, the haggis is so popular we have taken to making a batch and freezing it for those customers who don't want to wait a whole year for their favourite food!

Our ready meals have gained so much in popularity, we are now producing in excess of 300 meals a week just to try and keep up with demand. They are all made with produce available here at the shop, and if you are cooking something really special, our chef is happy to give you a few words of advice, if needed.

Now thats what we call ethical!