June Newsletter

Can you believe I made Paddy blush! If you read our last Newsletter, you will know that we highlighted his work and the wonderful pork that he brings us. Anyway, as expected, Paddy enjoyed the recognition and was typically grateful.
The moment reminded me that we work in an industry where, with no malice or intent, the producers and craftsmen or women, who work the land and produce the product, are often overlooked, and the customer facing employees (chefs and retailers) grab the limelight. Farmers across Britain do amazing work and, while I don’t always buy into the picture of the ‘poor farmer getting out of bed before dawn, to work their fingers to the bone until after dark’, I do think that taking a moment to consider the important, hard work that they do every day, and the service that they give the British public, should be given a little respect.

Farmers – I salute you!

Online Shop & Home Delivery

Here’s a thing, Meat London has offered home delivery ever since the day we opened. And here’s another thing, pre-pandemic, I could have counted the amount of times we were asked to deliver on one hand. The 2020 lockdown changed all that. As Boris decided that we should all stay home, to keep safe, so the phones started ringing. For a week or two, we couldn’t deliver fast enough. We were being run ragged. Then, a friend, who was also delivering at the time, told me he had a friend who was a black cab driver and, with the cab trade having also taken a huge hit to the pandemic, the cabby was only too happy to get some work. So, my next door neighbour is also a cabby, and he too jumped at the chance of getting some work. I think we can claim that we helped each other for over a year. So there you are. A relatively happy story that came out of the pandemic.

Shane worked with us for about 18 months, until his own trade picked up. Also, once everybody was allowed to move around again, people wanted to come back to the shops, and it was nice to see them. Although the amount of deliveries diminished, the genie was out of the bottle, and there are those that still enjoy getting their meat, charcuterie and wine delivered.

We operate a delivery service, in our own refrigerated van, on Wednesday’s and Friday’s. We have an online shop, full of product and pictures to match. The customer needs to order, at the latest, before 9am on the delivery day, and Reuben will be around with the goods and a cheery smile.

Ordering details, delivery areas and payment methods are all available at here.

Severn & Wye Smoked Salmon

We’ve made a cheeky addition to our product range. I have long harboured the ambition to add Smoked Salmon to our shops. So I have. We have teamed up with the wonderful people at Severn & Wye Smokery, and we are stocking a small range of long sliced Salmon, Gravadlax and Beetroot Gravadlax.

Typically of me, I had forgotten that I knew the owner of Severn & Wye. I was part of the buying team that opened the Harvey Nichols Foodmarket in 1992, and Richard Cook was a key supplier and a regular visitor. Richard was also the driving force in the family, setting up the smokery in 1989, at the estuaries, as the name would suggest, of the rivers Severn and Wye. The company is dedicated to sustainability, demanding no fish waste in production, no waste water, no waste polystyrene and no fossil fuels used on site to heat water or buildings.

The Smoked Salmon is delicious. Soft and smoky with no oily texture. I know that the Teams are offering tasters, so pop in and give them a try.

It has been a busy time since I last wrote. The meat, of course, remains stable. We are still waiting to see New Season lambs. There are some available in small numbers, but the older lamb is still very good and I am a bit loathe to drive a higher price when what we have is so nice. Even our supplier agrees with me.

The Butchers are getting into the Spring spirit and producing some lovely new ideas for BBQ’s and outdoor eating. Marinated Pork Steaks, Harissa and Lime Chicken Thighs, Chimichurri Minute Steaks and the old favourite, the Marinated Spatchcock Chicken are all readily available.

There are new Cheeses to taste and enjoy, and only this week Gessica and I were at a fabulous private tasting for wines from Portugal. I have already mentioned the Smoked Salmon and I have some quirky Savoury Peanut Butters on my desk waiting to be tasted, along with Baked Beans from our friends at ‘Bangers’ (I can promise they are a real treat!). There is a lot happening at the moment. We hope to see you all at the shops for a Meat London culinary experience.