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The Prince Of Wales Receives New Season Renaissance Mutton

The Prince of Wales, Founder of The Mutton Renaissance Campaign and Patron of The Academy of Culinary Arts, was presented with the first Renaissance Mutton of the season earlier today (Thursday November 13).

Herdwick mutton from Cumbria produced to the Renaissance specification was presented to His Royal Highness by butcher Andrew Sharp, farmer Tim Wilson and Executive Chairman of the Academy of Culinary Arts, John Williams, at Clarence House, London.

Chairman of the Mutton Renaissance Club, John Thorley, said: “Sheep farmers need all the help they can get to increase income, particularly in the current climate. Many farmers who produce Renaissance Mutton are under severe financial pressure as a result of high energy prices and the need for better market opportunities.

“His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales has been instrumental in getting farmers, processors, butchers and chefs together to help ensure that mutton becomes the much loved British dish that it once was. In fact since the campaign was launched five years ago, demand for quality mutton has continued to grow steadily amongst all those with an interest in good food. The presentation of the first of the new season’s Renaissance Mutton to The Prince of Wales is in recognition of His Royal Highness’s continuing support, for which we are very grateful.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

The Mutton Renaissance campaign was launched in 2004 by the Prince of Wales to support British sheep farmers who were struggling to sell their older animals, and to get this delicious meat back on the nation’s plates.

Renaissance mutton is the meat from a traceable farm assured sheep that is at least two years of age has been finished on a forage-based diet and matured for at least two weeks post slaughter.

 

• Tim Wilson farms at Levisham, Near Pickering, North Yorkshire and was visited by HRH The Prince of Wales in January this year. Tim is a farmer/butcher who has extensive farming interests as well as four retail outlets in London trading as The Ginger Pig. His stock includes 500 Dorsets for early lamb production, 800 North of England Mules, 400 Scotch Blackface. In addition he has a herd of Longhorns, Belted Galloways and a growing herd of Riggits. Tim sells all his own production of meat in four London shops and currently includes in this some 300 carcasses of mutton.

• Butcher Andrew Sharp trades as ‘Farmer Sharp’ at Borough Market in London. Andrew gets his supplies from a 50 strong producer group in the Lake District and supplies a growing number of quality restaurants in the London area, extensive outlets throughout the North of England, an expanding clientele nationwide and a growing market in China and the Middle East. He is making strong inroads into the quality restaurant business with a constantly growing demand. The meat he supplies is processed by two small family slaughterhouses in the South of Cumbria.

John Williams MBE has been Executive Chef at The Ritz, London since 2004.