WHERE’S MY CHEESE? – The GREAT British Food Tour 2014 (part 6)

Rhug Estate is one of Britain’s leading organic farms, supplying premium sustainably reared meat to some of the country’s top restaurants. We caught up with owner Lord Newborough to find out more about the philosophy behind his field-to-plate operation.

The farm produces and sells Aberdeen Angus beef, world famous saltmarsh and milk lamb, chickens, pork, bison, turkeys and geese. Rhug also sells wild game shot on the estate. Over the past 15 years it has won numerous awards, and owner Robert Newborough was recently named 2013 Farmers Weekly Farmer of the Year. He tells us about how he switched to a sustainable, wholly organic operation, and gives us some tasting notes for some of the meats the estate produces.

LORD NEWBOROUGH’S TASTING NOTES…

Some of the most beautiful, succulent, flavoursome lamb in the world – So say the French so it must be true!

Saltmarsh lamb (otherwise known as l’agneau de pré-salé among the French who consider it a gourmet delicacy)

Rhug Estate in North Wales is especially famed for its award-winning salt marsh lamb that has won the approval of top chefs for its robust, succulent meat. At the height of the season, the meat has a distinctive and very special succulent, sweet quality. It is much sought after by connoisseurs. When it comes down to flavour, it’s a matter of personal preference. What’s tastier on the palate depends on the individual. But chefs and restaurateurs, as well as an increasing number of consumers have chose to cook with organic produce because it is superior in taste. This matters most when the natural flavour of the ingredient is destined to be the focal point of the dish. Rhug Estate’s organic salt marsh lamb his highly sought after because the lambs graze on wild herbs and grass that naturally grow in the salty soil of salt marshes, giving the meat a deliciously savoury undertone. The salt marsh lambs from Rhug Estate are bred on their coast farm that runs down the shores of Caernarfon Bay in Wales. The sea laps its way over their fields in the winter and their lambs feed on the saltmarsh grasses, samphire, sorrel, sea lavender and thrift that naturally spring up in these fields. This gives the meat a unique flavour, one that chefs really appreciate.

Milk lamb – Just a tinge of lamby flavour; delicate. The first lambs sold off the farm each year are milk lambs and these are lambs at foot with their mother, they are still suckling the mother but also eating grass and we pick one of a twin for animal welfare reasons leaving one lamb with the mother (the lamb benefits from more milk and the mother has no stress). The first Milk Lambs are available in April. The meat is pale red and tender, rather delicate and sweet.

I thought Angus came from Aberdeen?

Aberdeen Angus Beef – Aberdeen Angus properly dry-aged on the bone for a minimum of 28 days can be described as being succulent and tender, with great depth of flavour. Recognised as one of the finest beef breeds our Organic Aberdeen Angus beef is traditionally matured to produce deep flavour and a wonderful texture. It is prepared on the farm to provide prime top quality steak, tender delicious slow roasting joints or quick cook tasty cuts…the choice is yours. At Rhug we run a Pedigree Aberdeen Angus herd. We chose the Angus breed because it suits our climate and our organic farming system. The Angus is a British native breed and is one of the tenderest and most flavoursome breeds of cattle in the world. In our Pedigree Herd we have 220 Aberdeen Angus cows and five fine bulls. 140 calve in the spring and 60 calve in the autumn. Calving is split to ensure a year round supply of this premium quality beef for our shop, nationwide mail order service and a number of Michelin starred restaurants. In 2004 our Aberdeen Angus herd won the UK Organic Aberdeen Angus Herd of the Year. In addition to our pedigree herd we buy in 250 store cattle which we fatten on the farm to supply to Waitrose supermarket.

Quality feed means quality meat

All our cattle on the farm are fed with our own home-produced cereals, and silage which we harvest in May and June each year. Producing our own feed means we can be sure of the quality, keep costs down and have a self-sufficient farm which is in balance with the environment.

Hey! Are those Rhug Bison related to our Bialowieza Bison?

Bison – An extremely healthy meat to eat: lower in fat, higher in essential vitamins and omega-3 than chicken or fish. It has a beefy/gamey flavour and cooks quickly. I believe this is a meat for the future. Rhug Bison Herd have become famous in the locality, the herd at Rhug has grown from 7 to 43 in the last four five ears and the Bison meat has become the most popular meat sold in The Farm Shop at Rhug. The Bison Grill serves delicious Bison Burgers enjoyed by many. The herd has also become a tourist attraction and there is a walk that takes you round the field where the Bison live and in the late spring you can see there little orange coloured calves with their mothers. Rhug Bison came from a large herd of North American Bison in southern Ireland just North of Dublin. We now have a small herd at Rhug of four cows that are due to calve again in the spring. These cows all have calves at foot from last year and they run with a bull who we have nick named Rambo. They have now become an important part of life at Rhug. The Bison have been resident in Europe for many more years than cattle and although the term is now used “Europeon Bison” they are the same as the American Bison.

My very special poultry!

Norfolk Bronze turkeys – The Rolls-Royce of turkeys, with flavour, texture, browner leg meat and self-basting properties. We produce 400 Organic Norfolk Bronze Turkeys each Christmas ranging in weight from 4kg to 12kg. The excellent quality and unique taste of these turkeys means our customers snap them up as soon as they are ready. Our Premium ‘Rhug Brown’ organic chickens are available year round from our shop and nationwide through our mail order service. We have chosen this breed of bird because it grows very slowly allowing it to develop an exceptional texture and flavour to the meat.

A dialogue with Lord Newborough

How long have you and your family been farming commercially in North Wales?

My family has had a presence in North Wales since the 9th century, and the estates are a mixture of tenanted and in-hand farmed land. Since the end of World War II, an increasing amount of the land has been taken in hand and farmed by the family. The family at one time used to own a large part of North Wales but, over the years, the estates have dwindled in size, and the policy now is very much based on more direct marketing and farm diversification.

When did you become an organic farm?

I took over the main farming operation when my father died in 1998 and, at that point, the decision was taken to go organic. I have always believed in the importance of sustainable farming, the best animal welfare and eating healthy, toxin-free food. So, when the opportunity arose to take over the family farming enterprise, it was a case of putting these beliefs into practice. The complete transition from conventional farming to organic at Rhug took about seven years in total.

Why do you think organic is important?

Organic farming is important to all of us. We believe it to be the only method of producing food to protect the environment for the future – for our children and grandchildren to enjoy. It embraces all the best practices of animal welfare, which in turn means happy and contented animals – and better-flavoured meat. We believe organic is healthier and free from toxins, and that the meat is lower in fat, higher in essential vitamins, minerals and omega-3 than meat produced on conventional farms. The animals are truly free-range. Organically farmed grassland helps fix the harmful carbon dioxide out of the air into the ground, reducing the effects of global warming.

Does farming organically mean the farm is not as productive as it might be?

Not at all! It is true that it is much more work involved than in conventional farming as there are no quick fixes. Planning years ahead is key. But I am proud of the fact that the farm produces more per acre than it ever did before. The environmental benefits have been enormous, too: everything from encouraging clover-rich pastures, more wild animals and birds, an abundance of wild flowers and flourishing hedgerows. Above all else, we are confident that organic farming methods ensure we’re breeding and rearing stress-free and contented animals.

What factors do you think lead to a quality meat product, and how do you control them?

The flavour and quality of meat is affected by numerous factors at all stages of an animal’s life and death. We think we produce the very best organic meat money can buy, because we control all of those stages – we are one of the few true field-to-plate operations. We have selected a small number of top breeds, specifically for their potential for eating; all animals are bred on the farm, fed on feed grown on the farm; and all of those animals are finished, butchered and hung on the farm, too. We are as involved in the product as we can be, and customers have total security of provenance.

And does being organic make a difference to the flavour of the meat you produce?

Being organic is part of the overall picture. We believe organic farming methods encourage the best animal welfare, which, ultimately, affects the taste of the meat. By adopting the best organic farming practices, we ensure our animals have a stress-free life – the most important point affecting meat quality. You can also take heart that the animals have had no contact with chemicals or antibiotics, and the resulting meat will be toxin-free.

You have a very successful farm shop. Is this where most of your produce is sold? Where else might we buy it, and where might we have tasted it?

Rhug started retailing in 2002, from two vans parked by the entrance to the farm. Now we have a newly built award-winning farm shop and bistro stocking 2,000 lines, together with a butchery and cheese counter. We deliver through online orders and phone sales, and there is also a butchery stall in Borough Market with a full range of meat. We sell wholesale to restaurants and delis in London, and export to Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai.

Next stop Poland….

Must go….Time for lunch…let’s catch up this afternoon.