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We are proud to own the pedigree Lionheart herd of White Park cattle – truly a breed of distinction and from the mists of time.
The White Park is believed to be Britain’s oldest breed of cattle and
are the only indigenous cattle present in the United Kingdom, first
recorded in Roman times and closely descended from Britain’s wild white
cattle.
Throughout their history the White Park have been used for many
purposes, most notably as the sacrificial cattle of the Druids, as a
special form of currency during the Middle Ages and as working draft
cattle in the nineteenth century.
White Park are very hardy and capable of being out-wintered in low
temperatures and wet climates, whilst ideally suited to conservation
grazing due to their ability to convert rough grazing in to high
quality meat. They are often used to graze Sites of Special Scientific
Interest (SSSI) around the United Kingdom, helping to improve wildlife
in these important areas.
The meat is lean, well-marbled, flavoursome
and cooks extremely well. When properly hung for three weeks or more it
produces outstanding and highly sought-after beef as the depth of taste
is matured and it becomes even more tender making it one of the most
sought after beef breeds.
It was a White Park loin that was famously knighted "Sir Loin" by James
I during 1617 in recognition of its superior flavour, quality and
tenderness.
"The White Park, a breed I've never eaten before and I had always
assumed was purely ornamental, was really excellent: soft, chewy, with
that strong, distinctive, almost corrupt flavour of proper beef, like
eating an old roué uncle. If you've only had supermarket meat - or
don't have uncles - it may come as a shock, but it was the best steak
I've had this year."
AA Gill, Table Talk, The Sunday Times
Rare Breed Beef
We are passionate about British rare breed livestock and the management of our rich rural landscape. In the spirit of this all of our animals come from native rare breeds, many hundreds of years old that were originally developed for the smallholder or family to produce fine quality table meat and that are hand-picked for their particular qualities.
There are growing concerns about the origin of meat but thanks to our farming over fertile Cheshire grassland and the ready traceability of all of our animals, you can be confident that our meat is on a par with the highest quality available in the land.
Our livestock is also reared in the old-fashioned way – that’s to say slowly! We don’t use any growth promoters or feed additives but are committed to the highest standards of animal welfare. We use small abattoirs and butchers who uphold our standards and who understand and treat our top-class meat with respect and care.
Eating meat from an animal fed on natural foods, that has led a full, happy life which has been free of routine drugs must be better for both the body and the soul don't you think?
Well-hung, well-marbled and lean beef from the Lionheart herd makes up the core of our butchery. Occasionally we also offer rare breed produce from other local pedigree breeders we know and trust – look out for our special guest meats!
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