Local Farm Shops Tie for National Honours (December 2007)

Two of the region’s best-known local farm shops have tied for top spot in the prestigious Best Farm Shop Butchery Award, run by the National Farm Retail and Farmers’ Market Association (FARMA). Moorhouse Farm Shop at Stannington Station, near Morpeth, Northumberland, run by husband and wife team Ian and Victoria Byatt, and Blagdon Farm Shop at the Milkhope Centre, run by Jo Celerier, are only three miles apart but managed to beat entrants from all over the country to take top honours.

Although the farm shops are competitors, Ian, Victoria and Jo were all delighted with the results, especially as they beat several other strong candidates in other regions. “We all feel proud that once again, home- reared Northumbrian beef, pork, lamb and poultry has shown that it can compete with the best from other parts of the country and come out on top,”they said.

One of the judges, herself a former award winner, commented: “The standard of farm retailing has soared over the past few years and choosing a winner for this category was very hard. Ironically, we ended up with two very strong candidates who both happened to be from the North East – both of these farm shops showed great business confidence and maturity, despite the fact that they have both been trading for only five years. Their commitment to rearing as much of their meat as possible on their own farms was very clear and sets a great example to others in the sector. They also both demonstrated their support for other local producers with a great range of North-East produce available.”

Moorhouse Farm Shop is located at Stannington Station – Ian and Victoria chose to open on this site for its easy access and proximity to many of their existing farmers’ market customers. Their family-run farm is located about five miles away, closer to Newcastle, and produces all of the pork, beef and lamb sold through the farm shop. They also home cure all of their own bacon and gammon. The butchery is the hub of the shop and is run by three full-time butchers, with extra help at busy times like Christmas. All of the meat is properly hung to develop flavour and their own meat is also used on the production kitchen for pies, ready meals and other dishes served in the shop and adjoining coffee shop.

The judges were impressed by Ian and Victoria’s understanding of their customers needs. “We are very much a local farm shop, serving customers who want good quality food at realistic prices,” said Ian Byatt. “Repeat business is very important to us – it is vital we get quality and service right. We are a good example of how a mixed commercial farm, stocking with typical breeds of cattle, sheep and pigs found in our region, can successfully diversify into farm retailing. By sticking to our core strengths we have produced a top quality product without it becoming too expensive.”

The Blagdon Farm Shop has grown rapidly since it opened in 2002. The butchery quickly became the focal point of the shop showing there was a huge demand for fully traceable, locally-produced meat that provides a fantastic eating experience.
The policy of ‘Low on mileage but high on taste’ means Blagdon Home Farm specialises in maintaining traditional and rare breeds of beef and pork such as Belted Galloways and British Saddlebacks in natural environments. The farm also raises the widest range of free range poultry in the region including chickens, turkeys and ducks. The shop is also developing a reputation for game sourced from Blagdon and the rest of Northumberland and works closely with the farm to provide what their customers want, at the quality they deserve. It is a testament to the skill and flair of the butchery team that they can marry traditional butchery skills with modern ideas, whether its award-winning sausage or something for a special occasion. The ready prepared food, handmade in small batches by the dedicated team of chefs, only uses the best ‘Blagdon’ and other local ingredients wherever possible. “At Blagdon we have substance and enthusiasm behind our beliefs which is visible in our level of customer service and passionate staff,” says Jo Celerier..

The FARMA awards are peer-assessed by other award-winning farm retailers. This year an independent mystery shopper report was also commissioned for each entrant and the results made available to the judges. This covered areas of customer service and staff knowledge. Both shops gained top marks.