Alternative Meat company spreads its wings
Exotic meats such as ostrich and zebra are to be made available to more restaurants and pubs following agreements between an alternative meat firm and catering suppliers.
Shropshire-based Alternative Meats, which sources and supplies a growing range of exotic and rare meats, has signed a deal to supply Blakemore Food Service and is in talks with Troughles Fine Foods in Herefordshire who supply food to more than 250 pubs and restaurants in the West Midlands and Wales.
The company already sells its products to individual hotels and pubs as well as supplying farm shops, but this latest move will mean exotic meats will be available on a much larger scale.
Blakemore will initially list the company’s ostrich, venison and ros? veal products. However the range of meats Alternative Meats can supply is ever-growing with British-sourced ones including mutton from Wales and wild boar and duck from Shropshire.
More exotic meats include bison, crocodile and zebra from Canada, South Africa and New Zealand.
Business partners Rachel Godwin and Jeanette Edgar (pictured above) set up Alternative Meats seven years ago as an ostrich farm and have gradually expanded their range.
Edgar said: “We started on a small scale but have diversified more and more over time. If there`s a new product we discover to source then we put it on the list for people to buy.
“Having said that, there is a more serious side to what we do. Many of the products we source are healthier options with most rare meats such as ostrich having much lower fat content compared to more traditional choices such as beef and lamb.
“We also set high ethical standards, as we are proud to supply some taboo meats such as veal products as long as they pass strict RSPCA Freedom Food standards.”
Alternative Meats will also publish a recipe book called An A to Z of Alternative Meats, Alligator to Zebra with Harper Collins next year.
