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James Quinn of Quintessential meats, Warfield.with Royal Windsor Racecourse Sausage Trophy wich he later dropped
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Bracknell butchers report increase in sales since horsemeat scandal

By Jennie Slevin
February 25, 2013

Butchers are reporting a rise in custom as shoppers turn against the supermarkets following the horsemeat scandal.

As frozen meat products, including lasagne and burgers, are being removed from supermarket shelves, shoppers in Bracknell are turning to independent butchers for locally sourced, quality meat.

Martyn Sharp, of The Quality Meat Company in Great Hollands Square, said: “I’ve definitely seen an increase in business since the news came out.

“People are saying they feel disillusioned by what’s in the supermarkets.

“They seem to have lost their confidence and feel more self-assured buying from a local butcher because they can see exactly what they’re buying.

“Some customers ask if we know where it’s from, but most feel confident enough just knowing they’re buying from a butcher.”

Wokingham butchers keen to educate following horsemeat scandal

He added: “People are quite surprised when they look at the price because they think it’s going to be more expensive, but they can buy exactly how much they want so there’s no waste.”

Horsemeat found in Royal AScot caterer Sodexo's frozen beef

Last week tests carried out by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) revealed eight horses slaughtered in the UK tested positive for veterinary painkiller phenylbutazone, known as bute. The drug is potentially harmful to humans.

James Quinn runs award-winning family butchers Quintessential Meats, and rears most of the beef and pork at Hornbuckle Farm in Warfield.

He said: “We’ve had a fantastic few weeks of trade, with lots of new customers wanting to know exactly where their food comes from.

“I’m not surprised this has happened, food has been cut with things to save money for years. Bacon which shrinks as soon as it hits the pan is pumped full of salty water to make it go further.

“When customers buy from a butcher they know who they’re dealing with, they don’t know the head of Tesco or Aldi so they can’t talk to them.”

Catherine Dopson, owner of Dopsons Butchers in Crowthorne, thinks customers need to be educated.

She said: “We are not that much more expensive compared to a supermarket and if people shop here they know what they are having.

“People are frightened of butchers because of the price and because they are not used to knowing what weight and cuts to buy, but they can come in and ask us and we will show them and help.”

Catherine added: “If they were to buy what they normally buy in the supermarket they would probably find it would save them money.”

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Most recent user comments 4 of 4

That “elf” has only gone and struck again! My son is on a strict diet and has soup and yogurt for lunch when he’s at school. Bearing in mind, he’s 19 and is one of the more “able” of the kids there. After taking his packet of cuppa soup to the kitchen staff, they told him they couldn’t put the water on it. Why? Because of the “elf” What has this country come to when people are too afraid of using hot water for a cup of soup? Surely a little common sense should prevail? Alas, this appears to have been bread out of some and we are left with robots who can’t think for themselves or out of the box. He has now gone to school armed with a flask of boiling water and his packet of soup. No doubt the “elf” will strike again as the flask will be classed as a weapon

HK, bracknell
26/02/2013 at 08:27

Now that the supermarkets have been caught out in their attempts sell us goods of dubious origin it is the perfect opportunity for the independent butchers to claw back some of the trade they lost to these charlatans.

Like Tonk I tried the butcher at Gt Hollands and haven't been back. There are however many good butchers out there and on the odd occasion they don't stock something you particularly want they will get it in for you. NOT an option with a supermarket who can only sell you what they are told. I don't know the ins and outs of the safety elf but would have thought someone running a butchers shop would be properly trained and qualified to use a mincer.

If everyone used their butchers more then with the increased sales they could lower their prices and still bank more at the end of the week. This goes equally for local greengrocers and other retailers.

Rant over and off to my other local butcher as I fancy some stuffed sheeps hearts for the weekend. Half a dozen for Friday if you're reading this Rolly and pick me out some the meat inspector hasn't destroyed.

timespassing
25/02/2013 at 18:27

I am glad that people are turning back to local butcher's shops; let's hope that people will remember this farce for a long time and that, as a result, we will see a butcher in every parade of shops and in every town again.

Regarding the butcher's shop at Great Hollands. Two Wednesdays ago, my wife and I made a special journey to Great Holland's butchers from Wokingham where we live. We had heard great things about this butcher. We used public transport for the journey because, due to a medical condition, I cannot drive. We arrived at 11-50hrs and asked for some neck of lamb cutlets, some minced lamb and some chicken livers, none of which he had. He stated that I should have phoned and ordered the meat the day before, to which I replied that, I may be elderly and old fashioned, but I assumed a butcher would stock meat. He then went on to say that 'Elf'n'Safety would prevent him from mincing lamb and that enviromental services would fine him if he did: it is my experience and belief that when someone blames 'Elf'n'Safety, it basically means shut up, don't argue and go away.

I do hope therefore, that if butchers are seeing a rise in trade, they will start to stock meat so that the increased number of customers, can actually buy it!

Tonk, Wokingham
25/02/2013 at 14:13

I would love to be able to buy horse meat if it is, as we have heard, 1/3 the price of beef. Alas, if the supermarkets and butchers were to start selling it, they would no doubt hike the price up as they’d class it as a speciality. Laziness has caused this problem along with greed. Greed from the big companies who have stuck their fingers up to local farmers and gone elsewhere to find meat as cheap as they can. Laziness because people have forgotten how to cook. If everyone cooked from scratch they’d avoid all the salt, additives and other nasties that are pumped into ready prepared food. I can cook a cottage pie and veg for 8 people for around £5 and it really doesn’t take that long to prepare. People make the excuse they don’t have the time and are skint so for goodness sake, go back to basics and learn to cook like our parents and parents before them. We only have ourselves to blame for this situation. We want cheap food, no matter what. Support British farmers and it would be a win win situation rather than paying farmers to keep their fields free of crops and animals.