Before and After: Pig's Head 2

After the video I posted yesterday, some people have been asking me what we did with the meat after butchering the pig's head. 

First we fried the tongue like a steak (highly recommended as delicious by the notoriously fussy eaters in my family).

Then we made some terrines using herbs from the garden. 

Hope this shows that from very little, and without much effort, it's relatively easy to create restaurant quality (i.e. high quality) food products.

Before

After

Radio Sharpie - Passionate about Hens

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Coming soon, Mr Compte!

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Pig's Head 2

Did some filming at the weekend. We'll call the completed, properly edited video (to follow), "Pig's Head 1". 

Found a funky video editing app which helped me create this little taster....

Have a look at Pig's Head 2

Morocco v Lake District

A few weeks ago a friend brought round Choumicha Chafai, Morrocan TV personality and Meera Freeman, food writer from Oz. 

We discussed my plan to make a TV programme about sheep in Morocco. The comparison between our own Lake District hill farming system and theirs will be interesting to say the least.... Mountain and Hill farmers have a very instinctive way of cooking their own produce and I know that the Moroccan people's basics will be very similar to ours but, that the end result will be massively different..... CAN'T WAIT watch this space.

Stag Do/Hen Night Introductory Offer!

A few months ago at one of my Stag Dos at Vinopolis, we had a beautiful video made by the folks at Jaunt Films.

Have a look at the film and please let me know what you think. Thank you Juan (and Kasia and the boys) at Jaunt!

The Offer - It's wedding season so for the next 4 months until October 30th 2013, the price will be fixed at £55.00 per person! 

The Course - It's an interactive course. For a few hours I talk breeds and techniques in a way that's not just information but fun as well, we decide beforehand what you want to cut up (venison anyone?), you get the benefit of my (erm, 50) years experience as a butcher, you get to wear the Chain Mail and after all the talking and laughing, we get to eat what we've butchered in a restaurant in the Borough Market.

It's a course for anyone Man, Woman, Straight or Gay. 

Book me/Contact me for more info on the Stag Do Request Form.

Machinations at Borough

Book 1 Volume 1 Paragraph 1 sentence 1, only joking! ;-)...?

Given the international beast that has become Borough Market, and the many and varied conversations I have had from world food policy (like how to boil a pan of water and not burn it), there are endless fascinating tidbits and people to tell you about. 

Last Friday was a case in point with a lady from Tucson, Arizona, who turned out to be a nutritionist/ food teacher/ all round food obsessive (not too dissimilar to myself). We talked about the need to move the food conversation on, from the mundane to the enthusiastic and passionate, raising the bar with regard to food production standards, and improving the public's general knowledge, appreciation and love of food.

Come and join me in the conversation at the Furness Fish and Game stall at Borough Market, from Weds to Sat (starting from 29th May 2013).

Win Knife Sharpening Skills Course with me at the market!

Competition Question: Have a look at the picture below and tell me what cut it is and which animal the meat is from.... Simple!

First person to send an email with the correct answer wins the Course! 

Competition Answers: to farmersharpbloguk@gmail.com. 

Competition Dates: From 23rd May till the 21st June. The winner will receive their Course by the 19th July..... easy peasy.

The colour's right, the technique of the cut is right, and the quality is fantastic... (plus it's a great picture thanks Ana!).

Prosciutto Crudo di Pecora (air dried mutton)

The demise of Artisanal produced products - i.e. along with Europe's finest products like goat's cheese where the farmer produces on average 100kg per annum - is the way of the EU. It might be one of the best cheeses in the world but because of current regulatory requirements its quality suffers because the producer cannot make it profitable. We MUST look at the VALUE of these products. 

Calculating product value is like calculating a carbon footprint - i.e take a damp finger, stick it in the air and let us see which way the wind's blowing...;-)

The value of an absolutely amazing product is rarely perceived by a nannying system that has no hope of calculating the immense pleasure and conviviality that the product could give to an individual consumer. The fact is this product is produced from the ground, where no other product could be produced, so the environmental impact/ carbon footprint/ wet finger in the air cannot be defined or calculated.

see also, more EU Regulations

Farmersharp on the BBC again! 

Have just agreed to front a BBC 4 Butchery programme as the Butchery Expert. The programme will be produced by Raw Productions (apt for a Butcher/Farmer don't you think?;-)) ....will keep you posted! Watch this space.