Shops / butchers
Interview: Ruby & White Butchers
Adam Denton opened The Cowshed on Whiteladies Road out of frustration. After commuting between the London and Bristol offices of his sales and marketing business he had eaten in just about every restaurant in town, and felt that Bristol was missing something.
Still not satisfied, however, Adam felt he wanted to improve the quality of the meat he was serving. The best way to do this, he realised, was to open his own, dedicated butchers right next door, and so Ruby & White was born.
“Ruby and White was also born through frustration,” Adam says. “We weren’t having consistency in our meat and I believed I could do it myself a little bit better.”
All meat is sourced from a selection of carefully chosen West Country farms, which all rear specific breeds of cows for Ruby & White, mainly the Ruby Red and British Whites (hence the name Ruby & White).
Ruby & White also has a well stocked shop, selling seasonal fruit and vegetables, freshly prepared ready made meals, and wine and delicatessen treats. A home kitchen at the back of shop is where all the meats are marinated and take-home meals are made.
“Provenance to us is key. We source as much as we possibly can from the South West. In this community we live in, we have many local suppliers that offer us fantastic prices and we are able to source from them.
“Meat-wise we source within a 50-mile radius, up to Gloucester, the Cotswolds, Exeter and Exmoor. We use a lot of the local farmers, as much as we possibly can. I source all the meat myself and I build up the relationships with the specific farmers.”
Above all, serving up quality food is what’s most important to Adam. “Our Farmhouse Sunday Lunch is how I had mine as a kid, it was how I was brought up at our family Sunday lunches.”
But will shoppers be tempted to pop into the new Morrisons over the road rather than their local butcher or greengrocer? Adam doesn’t think so.
“Our sales have been consistent since the day we opened. A lot of people now have a certain passion towards local sourcing and the time to shop and they will shop at butchers and greengrocers. Our food is of a far better quality and in most cases it is cheaper than the supermarkets and from sustainable sources. People like that. Bring on the supermarkets!”
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