NORTH’S OWN RANGE OF ORGANIC READY MEALS NOW ON SALE (April 2006)

One of the North’s leading organic farmer producers and an innovative Tyneside chef have created a new range of high quality organic ready meals, which are now on sale in the region.

Northumberland hill farmer Steve Ramshaw, who has won national awards for the quality of his organic beef and lamb, has launched the new range, which comprises the finest local organic ingredients, through his marketing company, Northumbrian Quality Meats Limited.

To help develop his ideas, Steve called in the services of Martin Charlton, a leading Tyneside chef who also lectures in hospitality and catering at Tyne Metropolitan College, Wallsend.

Martin, who is a keen advocate of local produce, has come up with a wide and tasty range of dishes using Steve’s Aberdeen Angus beef, Blackface and Cheviot lamb, plus rare breed pork, Renaissance quality mutton and locally-grown, organic vegetables.

Some sample dishes from the new range include Mutton Tagine, a mildly-spiced Moroccan stew; Lamb and Lavender with dauphinoise potatoes; and Braised Beef simmered with organic beer, home-cured bacon and horseradish mash.

“Our intention, “said Steve,” was to create a restaurant-quality meal using the best organic ingredients which could be prepared very quickly. The pressures of modern life don’t allow people the luxury of time to create in the kitchen. We see these meals as an exciting way of eating quality food in a convenient way. Martin’s unique talent and creativity have brought something new to ready meals, which we are producing in what I would describe as farmers’ portions.”

Apart from his more ambitious dishes, Martin has also been working on a mouth-watering range of 100 per cent organic steak pies, black puddings and pates. “It has been a very interesting challenge,” he said. “I always enjoy the opportunity to do innovative work in commercial kitchens. It helps me develop my own skills and knowledge which I can then pass on to my students.”

Steve Ramshaw’s company was voted Beef and Sheep Producer of the Year in the 2004 Organic Food Awards and his beef and lamb is used by several of the region’s top chefs. He is also a director of Northumbria Larder, the regional food group.

He has recently invested £250,000 in new butchery and processing facilities at his farm, Monkridge Hill, near Otterburn, in the uplands of north Northumberland, to meet the growing interest in organic food.

“We are selling our existing organic meats in speciality food shops and at farmers’ markets, and our new range of ready meals is joining them,” he said.