September Newsletter

Grouse

There was no mad rush up to the Yorkshire Moors on the Glorious 12th to secure first day Grouse. Being part of the plethora of butcher’s vans, charging North on the M1, was fun in the past, but it’s something that we will have to remember fondly, with nostalgia. However, we had some delivered last week and, to be honest, they were good. Grouse are always a bit hit and miss. They are pretty well the only game birds that won’t rear in captivity, so their arrival and their quality is very much dependant on the weather conditions on the moors during late winter and early spring, when the birds are nesting. Last year, 2024, too much wind and too much rain created a disaster. There were too few birds, and they were poor quality and very expensive. However, it seems that this year is looking better. We managed to keep the price reasonable last weekend, and Grouse offer a nice alternative, something different, and can be a show stealer for an early season dinner party. The other benefit of Grouse is that they offer the opportunity to enjoy a big, full bodied red wine as the delicious Rosé season winds down. If I was to be so bold, I might suggest the never disappointing Chateau La Croix de Grézard, Bordeaux.

Apples

This is becoming a very seasonal Newsletter! With probably another month before the apple harvest starts in earnest, our Team have been on their travels again, and four of the girls headed off to the Kent countryside and Ringden Farm. Molly came across the farm earlier in the year and was full of enthusiasm for the Apple Juice that they produce. We sell the pure Cox/Bramley juice in a 1litre bottle, and we have a selection of flavours in the 330ml tins. The drinks have been very popular, and we are slowly growing a healthy fan base.Liz was the driver of the charabanc, and this is what she has to say …. Many of our customers will have noticed the new range of Ringden Farm drinks that we introduced at the beginning of Summer. On August 4th , Molly, Karen, Tammy and I went down to Ticehurst, in Tunbridge Wells to visit the farm. Ringden Farm is a family run business, and it was members of the family who took us on a tour of their farm. First, we visited the orchards, seeing many different varieties of apples and pears grown on the farm, while it was explained which suit juicing, cooking or eating best. We were then taken into the farm building, where we followed picked fruit through the pressing, canning, pasteurising and labelling process. Molly even got a go at the labelling machine (so, if your apple juice tastes like pear, well… you know!!).Ringden Farm turned out to be a very environmentally sustainable business, where the majority of the fruit used in juices is not grown on the farm itself, but is supplied by local farms, and all waste product from processing is sent back to local farms as animal feed.On behalf of the group, I want to say how much we enjoyed our visit, and the opportunity to see where our products come from. A huge ‘Thank You’ to the Ringden Farm team for looking after us.

Meat Markets

The supply of Beef has stabilised. I don’t think the shortage of beef is completely resolved, but there are less issues. Of course, like everything else, beef is a commodity, and as the markets chase the cheaper cuts, the price of those cuts rise. See Bavette, for example. A less popular cut not so long ago, Bavette is now appearing on restaurant menus at the expense of the over heated Sirloin and Rib-Eye Steaks, and so, the price rises. As we move towards Autumn and the BBQ season winds down, we have some very nice beef coming through and is aging well. Lamb at this time of year is excellent. There is still a little ‘youth’ in the aging New Season Lamb, but the flavours are deepening, and prices are stable. Lamb should be a great buy at the moment. Pork is never disappointing, and we produce such fantastic pork in Britain, in such good numbers, there will always be plenty of availability and, despite a couple of price increases earlier this year, Pork prices remain stable and offer very good value for money. There is so much variety of Chicken available throughout Britain, that it really is a case of ‘pay your money and take your pick’. Ignoring completely the mass production of factory farms, or intensively reared birds, there remains a huge production of good welfare, good flavour Chickens available at prices to suit every pocket. Poultry, and Chicken in particular, is so versatile, it’s worth buying the whole bird and creating delicious dishes for a number of days. Again, prices jumped up early in the year, and the market has been a bit unstable, but I feel an easing of the pressure and prices are Ok for the time being. As we work our way through a modern day cost of living crisis, we try to maintain a balance of product available. As I have written before, we will not compromise the quality of what we sell, but we can work at controlling costs and offering our customers cost effective advice. Just ask the butchers for their best tips.