Sophie opens new butchery at Bowhouse

A new butchery has opened at Bowhouse – one of Fife’s most successful artisan food and drink bases.

Sophie Cumber, is sourcing beef, lamb and game from Balcaskie Estate, where Bowhouse is situated.

She specialises in a nose-to-tail approach, traditional hanging techniques and cuts that allow the natural flavour of the meat to shine.

Butchery at Bowhouse will initially trade online via Open Food Network, which allows Sophie to sell her meat to households across the UK.

When social distancing guidelines make it possible, the butchery will open to the public in a more conventional shop format.

https://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/opinion/columnists/column-social-distancing-we-need-find-new-way-shop-2852164

https://www.fifetoday.co.uk/business/first-kirkcaldy-businesses-sign-new-online-platform-2854225

Sophie will only be working with whole animals from Balcaskie estate, produced on a small scale. This means that making the most of each carcass with a nose-to-tail approach is key.

Sophie said: “It’s been a pleasure to go back to my roots and work so closely with farmers again. This proximity to the source is one of the reasons I made the move to Bowhouse.

“Working so directly with those rearing the animals is really important. A single-link supply chain like this is at the heart of controlling quality, sustainability and is of course, much more resilient during these turbulent times.

“This may be a challenging time to launch the butchery but I’m delighted that our online shop allows us to send our top quality meat direct to people across the country.”

Sophie Cumber grew up on an Oxfordshire livestock farm before studying at Leith’s School of Food and Wine. She then went onto work at London’s Barbecoa butchers and Turner & George Meat Merchants before moving to Bowhouse in early 2020.

Meat from Butchery at Bowhouse is also available for local delivery and contactless collection via Bowhouse Link - an online market place that brings together selected producers and allows shoppers to select the food and drink for either contactless pick up or local delivery.

https://openfoodnetwork.org.uk/butchery-at-bowhouse/shop.

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