FURTHER SUCCESS FOR NORTH FARMER/PRODUCER (September 2008)

A well-known North East farmer/producer has picked up further national recognition for the quality of his organic beef.

Steve Ramshaw, who runs Northumbrian Quality Meats at Monkridge Hill Farm, West Woodburn, near the border with Scotland, has been highly commended for his Aberdeen Angus beef in a prestigious competition run by the Soil Association and judged by top names from the food industry.

The Organic Food Awards are seen as a benchmark for quality and this year’s judging panel included celebrity chef Oliver Rowe and award-winning food writer Sophie Grigson.

Winning their approval, says Steve, confirms his policy of using only the finest bloodlines in his Angus herd, focusing on eating quality in terms of flavour, tenderness and marbling rather than yield, and enables Northumbrian Quality Meats to maintain its place as one of the country’s top producers of organic beef.

Recently, NQM also achieved success in the Great British Taste Awards when its Italian Luganera Sausage won a gold award, proving, said Steve, they are able to produce fine products across the range.

The latest awards for the company, which was set up in 1998 to promote and retail high quality organic meat from Northumberland, follow on other successes in recent years. In 2006, Steve was Local Food Hero for the North East Region in UKTV’s national search for the best of local produce. His beef was highly praised by celebrity chefs Brian Turner, Rosemary Shrager and Gary Rhodes. Two years previously, in the Organic Food Awards, Steve was voted Beef and Sheep Producer of the Year. His beef was again highly commended. Steve was also one of Rick Stein’s original food heroes.

Locally, Northumbrian Quality Meats is used by top restaurateurs such as Terry Laybourne of Café 21 and Jesmond Dene Hotel.

The company now markets its products through a wide range of North East outlets, from specialist retailers and delicatessens to farmers’ markets in Hexham, Morpeth. Newcastle and Tynemouth. As well as an on-line shop, the company also runs the butchery franchise within the Fenwick Food Hall in Newcastle under the banner of Northumbrian Heritage Meats. “Our business strategy is to make excellent quality local food available to as many people as possible,” said Steve, a long-time member of Northumbria Larder, the lead organisation in the North East England Food and Drink Group.