Butchery Class at the L’atelier des Chefs |
Last year, I was invited to an afternoon butchery demo and meat tasting by EBLEX. This year they have re-launched their Quality Standard Mark Scheme, so to spread the word a group of journalists and a very few food bloggers were invited by EBLEX to an evening of butchery masterclass at the L’atelier des Chefs by Henry Herbert, from the Baker Brothers fame. The scheme was updated due to the high standard of meat quality and to remain a genuine higher quality product the Quality Standard Mark Scheme specifications needed to be strengthened. As beef and lamb becomes more expensive, it is even more important that consumers’ expectations on eating quality are not compromised. We were also told that the Quality Standard Mark Scheme for beef and lamb provides one of the highest levels of independently inspected quality assurance for meat in the United Kingdom. The standards contain combined guarantees of food safety, animal welfare, care for the environment and enhanced eating quality.
The new specifications cover animal age, carcase classifications, maturation and, where appropriate, further specifications during the processing of the
product.The scheme has gone from strength to strength. All major multiple retailers are members of the scheme, major processors, wholesalers, catering butchers and approximately 1800 independent retailers.
Quality Standard mark helps consumers identify quality meat at point of purchase |
• Farm assurance
• Animal welfare
• Animal age and gender
• Seasonality
• Care for the environment
• Quality assurance
• Carcase classifications
• Maturation regimes
• Food safety
• Eating quality
• Enhanced eating quality
• Assured from farm to point of purchase, providing total product integrity
• Independently inspected
• Consumer confidence, encouraging a purchasing preference
• Better returns through the supply chain
• Improving carcase yield and value
• Provenance
• Consumer marketing campaigns
• Trade marketing support
• Point of sale and consumer literature
Product
assurances and specifications Beef and Lamb:
Henry Herbert has just launched with Quality Standard beef and lamb, a Master Butchery campaign. The aim is to demystify and educate butcher shopping experience and pass butchery tips and hints to the nation’s cooks. Master butchery class can be found here |
butchery class |
Whole leg of lamb butchered by me: de-boned, butterflied, lamb shank prepared |
The lamb: sear the lamb both sides in a big pan
The Tomato and Mint salad:
Olive oil, handful of mint, 3 medium tomatoes diced, 1/2 lemon ( juice and zest), 1 red onion diced, 1 tsp of coriander, salt & pepper. Mix all in serve in a bowl.
The meal |