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The roast, cooked by customer and former Masterchef finalist Janine Lishman-Peat, beat off stiff competition to win the national cook-off held on St George’s Day at Butchers Hall in London. The event was organised by EBLEX as part of their drive to promote English beef, and the judging panel included celebrity chef Brian Turner. The joint – a French trimmed rib roast (or côte de bœuf) – came from a Limousin Hereford Cross heifer. Traditionally hung on the bone for four weeks, the roast was prepared by one of the six full-time butchers employed at the Garthwaite family’s Blacker Hall Farm Shop. The shop was launched four years ago, ostensibly to sell the beef, pork and lamb produced on their 450-acre farm at Calder Grove near Wakefield. Since then, demand has rocketed for their prime meat products that have now grown to include an extensive range of added value products, delicatessen and ready meals. In the last 12 months alone, turnover has increased by almost 40%, the shop boast well over 1,500 customers a week and a workforce of 25. The shop’s barbeque trade is huge, however shop manager, Edward Garthwaite, says people keep coming back partly because of the range of products available and their continued innovation and product development. An in-store craft bakery has proved a real success, and the shop also stocks fruit and vegetables, cheese, ice cream, pickles and jams plus a range of home produced ready meals and soups. “We strive to achieve the highest quality with everything we do, but also try to offer the widest range so people can get most of what they need here without having to go to the supermarket. By offering freshly baked bread and cakes we can capture a much wider segment of the market,” he said. The business invested heavily initially in all the cold storage facilities needed to have an in-store butchery, but it’s an investment that has really paid off. “We take huge pride in our meat and are thrilled to have won national recognition through the EBLEX event,” he added. “With the good weather upon us, we didn’t have time to enter the competition ourselves, but mentioned it to Janine, who is a regular customer thanks to her successful catering business. “She was keen to have a go and certainly did us proud with her recipe for roast rib with anchovies and traditional trimmings.” |
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