Gosh, what shall we talk about? I took a step back last week when I was thinking about a couple of post Christmas tasks to be completed, and I suddenly realised that we are already at the end of January. Here at Meat London we are encouraging our Team to mop up any leftover holiday entitlement, before the holiday year ends, and that in itself has started an email trail of people wanting to book their annual holidays throughout 2025. Holidays? It was Christmas last week!
Time marches on. We had Burns’ Night on Saturday 25th and Liz and Craig cooked up a storm with their Haggis, Tatties and Neeps lunch. I haven’t asked Liz how she kept warm in the N16 Garden, but the Famous Grouse bottle is less full than when we started! It was a lovely afternoon. We hope those who ate enjoyed the treat.
As always at this time of year, we are booking visits to the annual food shows, and the wine companies are lining up the portfolio tastings. It’s cold outside but we will still be sending our Teams to find new and innovative products for the coming season. Oh, and today, I can hear Mel and Liz cleaning and tidying in the garden, readying it for the first BBQ Course of the season, but that’s not until March. We’re not there yet.
It wouldn’t feel right not to mention some very sad news that we received just before Christmas. Our dear friend and customer, Gillian Riley, passed away on 11th November. Gillian, a Stokey resident, was a food historian and produced fantastic books on the subject. I am not qualified, and it is not my place, to offer an obituary, but Gillian was an amazing lady who achieved so much during her 90 years.
However, it is her generous spirit and her relentless support for Meat N16, and the larger food offer in Stoke Newington, that will be missed. Gillian visiting the shop, or even a phone call to place an order, never failed to raise the spirits of our Team. In her later years, Gillian wrote regularly for the Hackney Citizen, and Nick Melliss did write a splendid obituary to Gillian’s life in the 29/11/24 edition. It’s fascinating.
RIP Gillian, and thank you for your kind support.
Although it’s a bit chilly at the moment to contemplate dining ‘Al Fresco’, now is a good time to think about getting yourself, or your loved ones, booked onto our BBQ Course calendar. We run courses from March until October and we have a variety of course styles to choose from. From what your barbeque can do for you, and how to use it, to slow cooking and smoking. There is something for everybody.
There is loads of information on our website www.meatlondon.co.uk and if trawling through the small print isn’t for you, a phone call to our Course Team will get you quick answers and clarification of what it’s all about. (0207 254 0724).
From nervous beginners, to experienced BBQ champions, there are courses to suit you and if it’s a group or corporate event you are looking for, then we can arrange that too. I feel warmer just thinking about Spring.
It won’t have escaped notice that we are passing through some difficult trading times. There are various dismal reasons why retail prices are high at the moment, just at a time when the buying public are being squeezed to pull in their own belts. It’s a bit of a perfect storm. However, as always, we could drop our heads and cry into our beer, or we can face the challenge and all try to help each other. Experience, and I guess my personal ethos and pride, tells me that difficult times are not solved by sacrificing the quality of what we sell. I have written many times about the special relationships that we build with our suppliers, and we can fall back on those relationships as we guide our way through future weeks and months. Meat London are not exempt from the country’s economical problems, but we can promise that we will do everything in our power to maintain affordable prices, and under no circumstances will we compromise product quality.
To finish on a cheerful note, Friday 14th February brings us St Valentine’s Day. An opportunity to release the inner romantic. I haven’t heard yet what those romantic butchers have got up their sleeves, but they will have plenty of Fillet Steak, Lamb Cutlets and Chicken Supremes for those trying to find their way into their intendeds heart, via a carefully crafted meal. There are sumptuous cheeses, including the always popular heart shaped Neufchâtel, Coeur de Chevre and Coeur du Berry, and delicious Barros Port for snuggling in front of the TV, and don’t forget, there is no point in getting down on one knee if you haven’t got a bottle of Meat London Champagne chilling expectantly, in the fridge, just waiting for the cork to be popped!
