‘Good to meat you!’ Kitson & Sons hosts visit from champion farmer
Kitson & Sons Butchers has hosted a visit from one of the championship-winning farmers who has helped beef up its Christmas festive meat feast this year.
Boss Anthony Kitson welcomed Yorkshire Dales beef farmer John Stephenson to Five Houses Farm Shop and Kitchen in Crathorne. He bred the supreme prime cattle champion Mr Kitson purchased at Skipton Auction Mart’s annual Christmas primestock highlight last month and was accompanied by auctioneers from the North Yorkshire mart.
It was a fact-finding mission that allowed the visitors to view at first hand how the title-winning British Blue heifer has been prepared for this year’s keynote festive trade. Both producer and provider said they were highly satisfied with the quality of the beef.
Mr Kitson covered many hundreds of miles this year on his annual festive meat buying spree, securing multiple champions and prize winners at leading Christmas primestock shows across the country.
As well as the Skipton title winner, he also bagged both the English and Scottish Winter Fair victors, along with the supreme champion at this year’s prestigious East of England Winter Stock Festival, plus prime cattle victors at many other Christmas shows staged at regional auction marts across the North of England.
Mr Kitson also bought the Christmas pig champions at Skipton, paying over £1,000 for the trio, a new record high price at the mart, also believed to be the most paid for prime porkers anywhere in the UK this year. In addition, Kitson & Sons has added prize-winning prime lambs to its extensive festive shopping basket.
It is a coup representing a total investment of £100,000-plus, possibly the biggest ever festive buying feast by an independent family-run UK butcher.
All the award-winning acquistions are now available for the peak Christmas trade at Five Houses Farm Shop and Kitchen, along with Kitson & Sons’ three other retail butchers shops in Northallerton, Stockton-on-Tees, and Hutton Rudby.
“Our customers really appreciate the tremendous efforts we have gone to this year to source some of the best meat available anywhere in the country, which is now being served up as Christmas roasts and all the other popular cuts. The feedback has already been fantastic,” said Mr Kitson.
