Celebrating Britains Beautiful Butchers
Scotts Field Pork
Farm Walk with Elizabeth Truss MP & guests of Scotts Field Pork
Friday May 25th
We promised to keep you up to date with our preperations for The Farm Walk and visit to Browns Kitchen. Below you will find a bit about everyone that is getting involved, including yours truely.
Scotts Field Pork
Rob Simonds
‘Black is back!’
Scotts Field Pork is based in West Norfolk on 20 acres of rented land next to Oxburgh Hall. This is where we keep our herd of rare breed Large Black Pigs. Although at beginning of the 20th century incredibly prolific, The Large Black is now the rarest pig breed in the UK. There is a long history of pig keeping in my family started by my Great Grandfather, a Norfolk GP, who kept Large Blacks in his orchard at Blakeney. Today we cross The Large Black Pig with a commercial Duroc boar to produce a product that is more suited to the modern palate. In these days of doom and gloom I am very proud to be part of a success story. The free range meat from our animals is sold to some of the finest butchers in East Anglia and we are in the enviable position of not being able to keep up with demand so have plans to double the size of the herd over the next 18 months taking numbers up to 120 breeding sows.
To celebrate our success and to say thank you to the people who have supported us along the way we are hosting the farm walk on May 25th when we are to be joined by our local MP Elizabeth Truss.
The focus of the day is on the three businesses in Ms Truss’ constituency who work together to produce a unique product that people in West Norfolk and beyond can literally have a piece of. The three businesses are an example of how hard work and a passion for what you do can means you can be successful, create employment for others and be part of a small but thriving business community.
Goddards of Norfolk
John Goddard
‘Exciting new internet business being launched’
John's Quality Butchers was started by John Goddard in September1992. John has been in butchering for 40 years, starting out in Leeds with the national company Dewhurst in 1969 - over time he moved up the ranks and became District Manager of the Peterborough District, then moved to take over the Norwich District.
In 1992 Dewhurst started a restructuring programme and he was given the opportunity to buy one of their shops in Downham Market. So in September 1992 John's Quality Butchers was opened. Since John took over the shop it has gone from strength to strength. Initially run by John and a part timer within six months he had four members of staff – there are now eight on the team.
Where ever possible we source local meat and produce including Scotts Field Pork. We dry cure bacon and make sausages from the meat which is then sold to Browns Kitchen in Mundford. John is about to launch his latest venture, an online butchery.
Goddards of Norfolk
Downham Market
John Goddard
01366 388377
Browns Kitchen
Mark Clayton
'Making West Norfolk a Food destination'
Mark Clayton is passionate about food. All kinds of food - English, Italian, Scandinavian, Indian, Thai - the list goes on. But most importantly, he's passionate about real home-cooked food made with fresh local ingredients.
The menu at Browns is not fusion but celebration - a celebration of modern British Cooking with all it's international influences, using the freshest local English produce.
With his team of talented young chefs headed by Jake Wetherill (a name to watch), Mark is working hard to make Browns a food destination. Devotees would say he is already there.
Looking to the future, Browns are planning a series of cookery demonstrations with Jake and the help of a few guest chefs - again celebrating all that is diverse in today's national British Cuisine.
Browns Kitchen
Mundford
Mark Clayton
01842 879888
Twitter: @BrownsKitchen
OTHER GUESTS
Bramfield Meats
Charlie Mills
‘The formidable food campaigner’s hero’
Bramfield Meats supplies many butchers and farm shops in Norfolk and Suffolk with locally sourced lamb, beef and pork including Scotts Field. They work closely with small livestock producers as well as large scale farmers helping them to market their product successfully by coping with the ever changing demands in consumer demand and behaviour. Charlie Mills is a particular hero of Lady Cranbrook, the formidable food campaigner . – see the following link for more details http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/6126422/Aldeburgh-Food-and-Drink-Festival-slow-movement.html
Bramfield Meats
Halesworth
Wholesale Butchers – suppliers in Suffolk of Scotts Field Pork
01986 784222
D F Impson
Tony Potter
‘ Everything comes from within 5 miles of the shop – including the staff!’
D F Impsons Butchers was established in Swaffham over 80 years ago. Tony the current proprietor believes passionately in supporting small local farmers and over 90% of the meat he sells is sourced from within 5 miles of his shop. Lamb from Swaffham, beef from Necton and Pork from Scotts Field which he is dry curing. He and his team of master butchers have a wealth of experience between them.
D F Impson
Swaffham
Retail & catering butcher
01760 721791
Suffolk Food Hall
Gerard King
Winner of The countryside Alliance Best Local Food Award 2011 - ‘A business run with a zeal for produce, the surrounding community and the future of farming …set up by farmers for farmers’
Retailer of the year – Farming and Food Awards 2011, Best on Farm Butcher – National Farm Shop Awards 2010, UK Top 50 Best Farm Shops – The independent 2011.
The awards say it all. Broxtead Butchery at The Suffolk Food Hall is an award winning traditional butchery specialising in the very best quality meat, hand-picked from local farms, properly hung and expertly butchered.
Suffolk Food Hall
Wherstead, Ipswich
Retail Butchers
01473 786610
Twitter: @GerardtheButcher
Fleetwoods Butchers
Mark Allen
The art of cooking extraordinary food starts with using extraordinary ingredients’
Mark Allen – Fleetwoods Butchers, Gorleston, Norfolk
Mark Allen has a passion for Food. This is obvious from the moment you walk into his butchers shop on Gorleston High Street. His fantastic counter beautifully presents some of the best meat that Suffolk and Norfolk has to offer including our own Scotts Field Pork.
Fleetwoods was established in 1958 and over the past half a century has built a very loyal and wide ranging customer base, one which crosses all age groups and extends out in a 25 mile radius from the shop. The
Fleetwoods have recently started to run evening butchery workshops. These give their customers the opportunity of watching the butchers breaking down a carcase into the different muscle groups whilst Mark talks about the different breeds of animal, the ageing process and how to select the various cuts. The evening finishes with a cookery demonstration and light supper.
Fleetwoods Butchers
Gorleston
Retail Butchers
01493 662824
The Paddocks Butchery
Keith Charlish
‘Probably The best bangers in Norfolk’
Supermarkets may be the first port of call for convenience shopping, but an increasing number of discerning shoppers have turned back to the independent butcher. Trust, quality, personal service, a caring attitude and fully traceable meats are some of the reasons. That's why Keith Charlish owner of The Paddocks Butchery believes that farm shops have emerged as the place to buy locally produced and sourced goods. As well as being a very wise man his Scotts Field Pork sausages are probably the best bangers in Norfolk.
The Paddocks Butchery
Mulbarton, Norwich
Retail Butchers
01508 578259
The Fruit Pig Company Ltd
Matt Cockin
‘Thumbs up from Morston Hall, Strattons & Lavender House’
We are East Anglia's only rare breed butchers supported by the RBST and the BPA.
We make all our own produce and hand mix our spices. Being rather traditional, many of our sausages are allergen free and unique. We serve most of the well known foody establishments including Morston Hall, Dabbling Duck, Strattons, The Pigs and The Lavender House. We also, lecture at the UK's only Artisan Food School http://www.schoolofartisanfood.org/about-us/our-teachers/matthew-cockin
While our web site is being rebuilt our Facebook pages give an up-to-date flavour of what we're doing.
The Fruit Pig Company Ltd
Wisbech, Cambs
East Anglia’s only Rare Breed Butcher, wholesalers
07734 768645
Twitter: @fruitpigcompany
K W Clarke
Charlie Mills
01986 784222
‘Butchers to the discerning’
Charlie Mills is also representing K W Clarke who have been supplying discerning homes and catering establishments with a range of meat,game poultry and home produced sausages since the 1920s. Today’s customers travel considerable distances to visit the shop particularly for K W Clarke’s famous home cured hams. The shop has also become the village store and post office thus offering a vital service to it’s rural community.
K W Clarke
Halesworth
Retail Butchers
Charlie Mills
01986 784222
Stuston Farm Shop
Jeremy Laurie
‘Farmyard fun and seriously good local produce’
is to be found at this lovely farm shop on the outskirts of Diss. As well as stocking a wide range of locally produced food in the farm shop, there is also a café in which to relax and a petting area for children. Fridays are a bit manic for Jeremy but he has promised to be with us if he can.
Stuston Farm Shop
Stuston, Diss
Farm Shop & Café
Jeremy Laurie
01379 741268
Oak Tree Farm Rare Breed Hog Roast
Brian & Jane Parkin
‘There is hog roast and there is Rare Breed Large Black Pig Hog Roast'
Brian & Jane Parkin send their apologies – they have a farmers market on the day of the farm walk. From their smallholding in South Norfolk they rear rare breed pigs and sheep. As well as operating the hog roast business they sell meat and vegetables at Farmers Markets throughout East Anglia. They buy Large Black weaners from Scotts Field Pork.
Oak Tree Farm Rare Breed Hog Roast
Shelton, Norfolk
01508 536549
Twitter: @OaktreeFarmNews
Fen Farm
Robert & Debbie Hartley
‘Our fantastic landlords’
The Hartleys farm 150 acres of sandy Breckland soil. Robert’s parents came to Norfolk from Lincolnshire in the 1950s and originally ran the farm as a mixed dairy farm, milking 40 cows and growing cereals and sugarbeet.
Today Robert runs a specialist haulage business from the farm and is well known & respected throughout East Anglian pig industry as a supplier and transporter of outdoor pig equipment. He also grows cereals & sugarbeet. Scotts Field Pork rents 20 acres as part of the farm’s rotation. The Hartley family are a big part of the Scotts Field Pork success story, without their support we would not be here today. Debbie Hartley (West Norfolk’s secret masterchef) has very kindly agreed to take charge of lunch today.
