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This month I want to give a big shout out to The Meat Room, who are fantastic butchers located in both Warwick & Leamington. The Meat Room are big supporters of mine and stock many of my biltong and droewors products. Jamie, who owns The Meat Room, comes from a long line of butchers. His Grandad owned a reputable Pork Shop in Warwick for 30 years, which his Dad had for a further 5 years. Jamie worked in the shop from the age of 11, as a Saturday boy, and then went to full time at age 14. After 15...

We all know biltong tastes good, but did you know that it’s also good for you! Biltong has many nutritional benefits compared to other traditional snack foods, which is one of the reasons it continues to grow in popularity.  Firstly, biltong is high in natural protein, around 50%, which is important for repairing and building muscles in the body. This makes it great snack for after a workout, a run or a game of rugby. Biltong is also a great source of other essential nutrients such as iron (which many people lack), magnesium, potassium and vitamin B-12 (essential for healthy...

I’m a big rugby fan and can’t wait for the Rugby World Cup to start later this month. This year’s World Cup is being held in Japan, the first time in Asia, and will run from the 20th of September until the 2nd of November. The fun kicks off with the host nation, Japan taking on Russia. While I’m sure this will be a good game, I’m really looking forward to watching South Africa V New Zealand the next day, as I think it will be a fabulously tight contest. I’m also looking forward to watching all of England’s games....

At Ben’s I love using different meats to make biltong. One of my favourites is water buffalo, which I source from a local farm in Warwickshire. Their buffalo meat is fantastic and makes excellent biltong. Napton Water Buffalo are really passionate about what they do. They started life as a standard freshian dairy farm, a few generations back, but in 1999 decided to diversify into water buffalo. In 2007 they sold their remaining freshians to concentrate solely on water buffalo. They now have 240 acres of land in and around Chapel Green, Napton and have 140 milking buffalo and 100...

On Friday I did a tasting session at The Farm in Snitterfield on the outskirts of Stratford upon Avon. The Farm opened in April this year and is a unique food destination showcasing local Artisan produce as well as promoting wholesome, home grown and sustainable food. It was set up by two local families who have a passion for real food. At The Farm you’ll find a large artisan farm shop with a wide array of local producers like Ben’s. They also have a butchers and fishmonger, baker, wine merchant, fermented foods, chilli farmer, chocolatier and florist on site. If...