4 minute read
Field to Fork
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Convenience foods with a conscience
Whilst offering sustainable, high quality local meats is a cornerstone of artisan butcher Oriel Jones’ business, he is also leading the way with a PGI grade convenience foods product range for the less time rich of us out there. taste.blas magazine got its taste buds all excited finding out more…
Llygadenwyn Farm
taste.blas: Most readers may assume you’re solely an artisan butcher, but there’s an interesting history to Oriel Jones – can you explain the background? Oriel Jones: Oriel is my grandfather’s name. He started the farming business many years ago. After working in his Uncle Jac’s butchers, he settled in Llanybydder, selling meat reared on his smallholding from his van! What I’m doing is pretty similar to what my grandfather did 70 years ago; we rear our own PGI Welsh Lamb and Beef on our family farm and now sell our produce in our Cardiff shops. I’m a fourth generation farmer and butcher with a real pride in continuing the tradition. We are a genuine ‘Field to Fork’ business and take great care to protect and enhance our farming environment to ensure this continues in a sustainable manner.
taste.blas: What was the thinking behind the move from running the farm to also having a high street and online butchers? OJ: It was always something that I wanted to do. An online shop was my first idea, and it was very much on a small scale initially. It was by chance that an opportunity came to take over an old butcher shop in Cardiff. It was a risk we had to take if I wanted to take my idea of ‘Field to fork’ a step further. We have had to invest in order to modernise the shop and purchase specialist dry ageing chambers. It has been a significant commitment. The farm and shops are a labour of love. To keep our customers happy and growing in number with product offerings to the highest of standards it has been a busy two years!
taste.blas: PGI Welsh beef and PGI Welsh lamb offer unrivalled levels of quality. As both a farmer and a butcher, from your perspective, what is it that makes them so special? OJ: PGI Welsh Beef and PGI Welsh Lamb are world renowned and have been for decades. We are very fortunate in Wales to have a lot of rainfall and plenty of lush pasture. Our clover and herb rich mountains are perfect for rearing livestock. Animals roam freely across acres of naturally fertilised pasture, thus creating a flavour that no other country can match! The level of husbandry in Wales is second to none. This is evident in the records kept by Welsh farmers and fed back to governing bodies to ensure not only high standards, but that all farmers maintain their promise of being custodians of the countryside and environment.
taste.blas: Why should consumers be eating PGI Welsh meat from a proper butchers such as Oriel Jones? OJ: Buying PGI Welsh Beef and Lamb that is fully traceable, produced in a sustainable manner and local is more important than ever as cheap imported meat results in lower welfare standards, lower quality and a poorer rural economy. Consumers are more educated now and have a firm grasp of what is sustainable agriculture. They know the best way to ensure that the family are fed with traceable, sustainable and ethically reared meat is to buy PGI Welsh Beef from their local shopkeeper or direct from the source.
You can then ask questions, learn more about the produce and often get exactly what you need, when you need it. We will always do what is needed to keep our customers satisfied, whether it’s ageing for extended periods, cutting to certain specifications or delivering to customers. taste.blas: In addition to online and delivery, you’ve also been exploring new ways a modern artisan butcher can meet the needs of time poor, quality conscious customers? OJ: We have just launched our second shop, which is our ‘modern’ approach to a traditional butcher shop. It is a ‘cookshop’ producing pies, pastries, breakfasts, hot rolls and soups throughout the day. There is a demand for convenient ‘food to go’ options as people lead busy lifestyles, but there are not many purchasing options available that offer this with ethically reared, sustainable Welsh Beef and Lamb. That is what we are trying to achieve, a convenient option, but with a conscience!
We also have our oven ready range. These are meals prepared by our cook, using local, fully traceable ingredients, that are oven ready and can be served within 30-60 minutes. Examples include beef bourguignonne, Italian meatballs, goulash, chicken kiev and stir fry. These have been created for ‘time-poor’ customers that want produce of a high standard, but don’t have time create meals. Our aim is to create convenient products that enrich their lives.
Oriel Jones
