Speciality Food Magazine JulyAugust 2024

A TRADITIONAL BUTCHERY At the heart of the farm shop is the butchery department. All the meat products sold, including at the on- site hotel and café, use the meat prepared by head butcher John Brereton and his team. John manages a full-carcass operation in the butchery. “To ensure the best results are achieved from each carcass, John uses many different ways to add value and manage his carcass in balance by doing his own curing, smoking, production of charcuterie and 36 @specialityfood “P assion for food drives everything for us,” says Jon Edwards, managing director of Ludlow Farmshop, a Shropshire-based foodie haven located two miles from the gastronomic town of Ludlow. Since opening its doors in 2007 on the Earl of Plymouth’s Oakly Park Estate, the farm shop has become a unique site, blending farming, food production and retailing under one umbrella, which has created a special environment based around celebrating local produce and artisan food production. The Oakly Park Estate encompasses approximately 8,000 acres of Shropshire countryside, of which the team at Ludlow farms 6,500 acres. “Farming is at the very heart of what we do,” Jon explains. The farm shop, he adds, produces many of its own award-winning products from “the bountiful supply of wonderful produce both from the farm and surrounding area”. In fact, 80% of the food sold at Ludlow Farmshop comes from Shropshire and the surrounding counties – that includes everything fromwine produced in rural Herefordshire to flour milled in the Cotswolds to award-winning marmalade made in small batches on-site. CHAMPIONING PRODUCERS Farm shops up and down the UK are known for banging the drum for local producers, but Ludlow goes above and beyond by bringing skilled makers in-house. In fact, over selling a range of unusual cuts,” John explains. And as well as working closely with the herdsmen across the farm to ensure only the best animals are sent to the farm shop, allowing for full quality control of the shop’s meat, the butchery also boasts ultra- low food miles. The farm’s cattle and lambs are transported to Griffiths of Leintwardine, an abattoir that’s a mere seven miles away, before the meat is prepared for customers on site, “which means less stressed half of the products sold are created in production units surrounding the shop floor. “Bakery, dairy, butchery, production kitchen, jams and pickles and coffee roasting – these units produce high-quality products from scratch,” Jon says. And producers aren’t hidden away – they’re put centre stage. “These are visible through windows so you can see artisan producers making your food by hand using the produce grown or reared on our own farms. Our original ethos included this concept, and it’s still as strong today,” he continues. In addition to seasonal fruit and vegetables, which are grown less than half a mile away in the farm’s walled garden and sold in the farm shop, the entire team strives to utilise all that is good from its farms alongside traditional production methods to produce great tasting food, Jon says. “We support local suppliers by providing them the opportunity to retail at a fair price. Supporting the local economy is key for us, particularly as we seek to attract visitors to the area.” Offering seasonal, fresh, local, and handmade produce is at the core of the business at the shop – and that has led the team to continuously diversify and innovate. “We believe in the pleasure of better tasting, real food, through continuous development and keeping skills and flavours alive; truly making the most of our region,” Jon says. “Our values give a sense of our land and farms, people, and passion for sustainability.” animals and a lower carbon footprint,” Jon says. The meat is then traditionally matured and prepared. LOCAL SPECIALITIES IN THE BAKERY The bakery team, meanwhile, craft fresh biscuits and cakes from scratch using local ingredients seven days a week. More than 20 varieties are made on site, with new recipes and ideas constantly in the works. “We bake many traditional products like Victoria Sponge and You can see artisanproducersmaking your foodbyhand using the produce grownor reared onour own farms. Our original ethos included this concept, and it’s still as strong today DARINGTODIVERSIFY LUDLOW FARMSHOP We take a trip to Shropshire to see how the team created a destination for the region’s traditional food and artisan producers