Recent News From The Ludlow Food Centre

The butchery team at a Shropshire food centre have been spending a great deal of time and effort smoking behind the building. John Brereton and his team at the Ludlow Food Centre have acquired a surprisingly healthy smoking habit by spending time developing a range of smoked meat products. In just the last 4 months John and his team have worked on smoking an alarming array of smoked meat including local, free range chicken and duck, estate reared venison, Gloucester Old Spot pork and even locally sourced trout.

John says,

‘We started by smoking our own bacon and its grown from there. We are now working on more unique smoked meat such as spiced turkey breast, pastrami and even smoked garlic’

The Food Centre invested a small amount of money in a hot smoker with the view of smoking a small range of meats to increase the product range their butchery offered. John had found it difficult to find the variety of smoked meat locally and so decided that it would be best to try himself with meat from the Food Centre’s, Earl of Plymouth Estate.

John says,

‘We use Oak chippings and meat from the Estate whenever possible but it’s the attention to detail that makes the difference. We smoke chicken differently to pork and have tailored the process to get the right length of time and heat for each product. This means that we keep the moisture in the meat whilst still achieving a rich smokey flavour....Everyday is different, we are always having to make allowances for the change in weather such as heat or humidity to get the best product’

John admits that smoking has been a passion of his for a long time and that only recently has he had time to embrace his passion at work.

To keep things seasonal John’s next release will be smoked mackerel that is just coming in to season again now and will hopefully be available at the Ludlow Food Centre soon.

The Gloucester Old Spot Pig has recently been singled out to gain TSG (Traditional Speciality Guaranteed) accreditation. The breed which is recognisable for its white skin and black spots is among 42 types of British food and drink to be awarded this privileged status by European authorities. The breed standard for the Gloucesters declares that meat sold as ‘Old Spot’ must come from a pedigree animal reared using traditional methods. However, the largest herd of Gloucester Old Spots does not reside in Gloucester, they live in Ludlow.

The Ludlow Food Centre, part of the Earl Of Plymouth’s Oakly Park Estate are proud owners of the largest herd of Gloucester Old Spots in the UK with over 500 pigs. The Centre has been breeding the pigs for 4 years and have been trying to increase demand and interest in the breed. The meat from these pigs has a little more fat than commercial varieties which is why it has a greater depth of flavour.

Tom Hunt, Marketing Manager at the Food Centre says,

‘We have worked really hard to increase the popularity of Gloucesters ... To have the breed recognised throughout Europe as a pedigree is fantastic and will definitely help protect the breed standard’

Other British foods that have been included on the accreditation list include Melton Mowbray pork pies and clotted cream. This type of accreditation is the same as that granted to Champagne and will prevent businesses selling products that do not meet the requirements. Pork from Gloucesters will have to be from a pedigree herd which will prevent supermarkets selling meat from cross bred pigs as ‘Gloucester Old Spot’ meat.

Mr Hunt says,

‘In marketing it is easy to pass something off as a genuine product but this accreditation means that only the real thing can be sold as such...The Food Centre is proud to have bred the largest herd in the country and we hope that people we come and try it to see how much better it is than commercial varieties’

In June Reuben Crouch, the Ludlow Food Centre’s Buyer, visited one of our growers in Worcestershire. B & G Nurseries supply the Food Centre with fresh produce such as salad leaves, peppers, chillies ,a range of brasicas and fresh plums. Reuben was looking at the freshly grown lettuces and some more exotic plants such as B & G’s Pak Choy. He met with Dan Byrd, the proprietor’s son, who showed him around the 300 acre site including the 12 acres of computer managed glass houses. B & G are a family owned and run business that grow and wholesale quality produce and Reuben was in his element perusing what the next selection of produce would be in the Food Centre. Reuben says,

‘We are committed to buying as much local produce as possible. Suppliers such as B & G are really important in helping the Food Centre keep to its policy of sourcing at least 80% of its produce locally and we have built up a very strong relationship over the last three years...Being able to visit our suppliers and see the produce growing is so important because it helps us to ensure the produce in the shop is as fresh, local and seasonal as possible’

Alfresco eaters all over the country are looking forward to the 14th ‘National Barbecue Week’. This celebration of all things char grilled runs from May 31st to June 6th
In Shropshire, the Ludlow Food Centre have got involved by developing some new barbecue recipes for this year’s National Barbecue Week . John Brereton, Head Butcher at the Food Centre, said,

“In previous years it’s been hard to anticipate whether barbecue food will sell so we are hoping that a good spell of weather and England doing well at the World Cup will make people want to get the barbecue out and try something new”

John and his team in the Food Centre’s butchery have worked on new recipes such as Beef Swirls using marinated minute steaks that are rolled up and skewered ready for cooking. John has also produced Chicken Satays, Lamb Kebabs and Ranch Steaks to broaden the appeal of the barbecue beyond common burgers and bangers. The beef, lamb and rare breed Gloucester Old Spot pork is all reared on the Earl of Plymouth’s Oakly Park Estate surrounding Ludlow and John is able to select livestock himself,

‘Because we butcher whole carcasses we have to be inventive and imaginative to make sure we utilise all the different cuts. There are many cuts that are great for barbecuing and we have tried to show customers how this can be done’

The Centre is also aiming to compete with the supermarkets on price but is sticking to its policy of only using local meat, believing that local barbecue chefs should use local produce. Tom Hunt, Marketing Manager says

‘We want to give customers variety and locally reared meat that doesn’t cost the earth. Although we can’t compete with the supermarkets buying power we save on distribution because our meat never leaves the county. This means we can offer our customers the best quality, local barbecue products that are great value for money’

On May 8th Ludlow Food Centre was host to Morris Dancers from Birmingham and Leominster. The Leominster Morris and The Jockey Morris Men entertained customers at the Food Centre with their traditional music and dance. The groups brought a feeling of spring to the Food Centre dancing their way through a number of routines and gathering quite a crowd. They started the day on the Long Mynd at dawn! before coming to the Food Centre and then spending the afternoon at Woods Brewery in Wistanstow. The Jockey Morris Men were established in 1949 and the Leominster Morris in 1983. If you are interested in either group you can find out about them using the following links.
www.jockeymorris.org.uk
www.leominstermorris.co.uk

Fidget Pies are made by filling a small pastry case with a mixture of gammon, onion, potatoes, cider and apple which is topped with cheese and a pastry lid. The traditional Fidget was a favourite lunchtime snack, much like the Cornish Pasty, of farm workers who could easily carry one around in their pocket ready for when they got peckish. There are various explanations for the name Fidget with some believing it was due to the original shape being five sided and others more affectionately believing that it was due to the way the ingredients fidget around in the pastry case when it is baked.

We have recently sold our ten thousandth Fidget Pie making us the most prolific maker in the region. We use gammon from our own rare breed Gloucester Old Spot Pigs, potatoes and apples grown on our Oakly Park Estate, cheddar cheese made by Dudley in our Dairy and even mustard made By Darren, Tess & Pam in our jam and pickle kitchen. However, we have chosen to put a slight twist on the original recipe by replacing the pastry lid with mashed potato.

Managing Director, Sandy Boyd says,

‘We wanted to keep the traditional, local ingredients and cooking methods but create a Fidget that was more visually appealing. Our deli counter already had a range of pies with pastry lids so by adding the mustard mash we gave the Fidgets a pointed top that made them stand out’

All the pies are made by hand meaning our chefs at the Food Centre can celebrate a huge achievement by making so many and bringing back the humble Fidget Pie’s popularity. Earlier this month our Fidget Pie making was featured on the BBC’s Escape to the Country’ when a couple were house hunting in the region and wanted to sample some real Shropshire food.

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