Meat Boxes
After reading about Galician and Basque beef sold in London in the EATER (www.London.eater.com) in 2017 and watching the film Steak Revolution in 2019 we revisited how different countries valued older animals and their meat and we wanted to reintroduce that to Devon.
The UK Meat Market
Following the peak of BSE in the 1990’s the UK meat market changed with the introduction of the OTMS (Over 30-month scheme). This scheme aimed to cull animals that were older than 30 months to remove potentially infected animals from the food chain. The terrible disease prompted stricter food safety laws and lead to greater animal traceability through schemes like Red Tractor which has built trust for UK farmers and growers as being one of the best countries in the world for producing high quality safe food.
Traditionally older dairy cows were also eaten for beef in this country. Your local butcher he would advise you as to which cuts to use for different methods of cooking as he knew the ages and provenance of the animal and his customer. Luckily we still have some skilled Butchers in the UK and we wanted to offer older Beef again as we had seen it in the French and Italian markets and in Borough Market where fantastic butchers were selling it to top London restaurants and the UK foodie.
Marbling and Tenderness
At around 7 years of age cows often develop better marbling and tenderness due to connective tissues changes. Fat marbling increases with a change in the colour and flavour of the beef.
In Europe this change is valued for its taste and versatility of cooking methods.
We were not disappointed in the flavour and quality of the various cuts from our own animals and happier in the knowledge that she travelled from us straight to the local abattoir, and was collected by our local butcher before being returned to us.
Wonderful Food
We approached Salumi, as Dave is known for his wonderful food, and asked him to try some and we have been an irregular regular supplier ever since. Thank you, Dave, Chantel and Chef Jake, for being retired diary beef champions! www.eatsalumi.co.uk for great food.
We do not sell many cows each year as we have bred our cows for long life, hence we describe ourselves as irregular regular suppliers.
We have now created wonderful connections with local people in our community who buy from us on a regular basis and have forged new links with other local businesses.
City College’s amazing and progressive Hospitality and Tourism Team bring their catering students to the farm to see the cows and pigs and learn how they are raised. They then gain tremendous experience by being given the opportunity to learn how to butcher the carcass into different cuts, plan the menu, cook it and serve it in their restaurant PL1. www.cityplym.ac.uk Please visit to support the next generation of food creators on their journey.
In 2024 students catered on farm for The Bioregional Learning Centre Bus tour when they visited us as part of their Local Climate Adaptation Learning Journey around South Hams. Watching the adults in the room listen to the students and staff chat about our field to fork relationship really made us proud of the short supply chain we had created locally. www.bioregion.org.uk
2025 has seen us being lucky to start supplying Oz and Chef Lewis at Nora’s. With also some of our mince becoming a super smash burger at Zephyr Burgers. They sold out of many of our cuts from the last cows on the first night – incredible. www.norasplymouth.co.uk & www.zephyrburgers.co.uk Check them out!