Below, Danny Lidgates, Managing Director of Lidgates Butchers provides us with his views and motivations on his business, explaining why he got involved in the business and he offers his valued views on the best game meat to use on a BBQ.

Lidgates Butchers is a family business based in the heart of London. Utilising their five generations of knowledge, they source and supply family farmed meats from various locations including the Shetland Islands.

Lidgates prides itself on its supply of award winning meats, and won the Great Taste Awards 2014 for their Dry Cured Iberico Streaky bacon!   Why not make Lidgates your first choice of butchers for all your grass-fed meats.

Please enjoy reading Danny’s responses below:

danny lidgates butcher - game meat BBQ suggestions

  1. In your view, what are the reasons for the success of your business?

I think the biggest factor is to enjoy whatever you do. We spend many hours at work, and we are blessed with a fantastic enthusiastic group of craftsmen and craftswomen. This makes our quest for the best quality meats great fun.

  1. What were your motivations for writing your book?

Because we have 5 generations of history in our business, there is a great deal of knowledge that has been passed on and explored. We are a real family business and deal largely with other family farmers and small businesses. We wanted to encourage the cooking of less used cuts of meats such as Pig cheeks and Chicken hearts whilst also promoting the great British traditions we all love to celebrate so much.

  1. Do you consider Game meat to be a specialist product? If so why?

I believe Game Meat has grown in popularity greatly over the past twenty years. So I would say it is not really a speciality meat but can be a seasonal treat. One important note to understand is Game is effected by the variables of the environment, the quality of Game can vary dramatically. There is plenty of Game which is edible and a reasonable standard of quality but there is also a small percentage which is simply exquisite and at times you need to look a little further to achieve this.

  1. What would you recommend as the best Game meat to be used on a barbecue and why?

We find sausages made with game meats are really popular to barbecue but my ultimate suggestion would be Venison Fillet cooked pink. The tenderness of the venison combined with the Smokey flavour of charcoals would make for the perfect centre piece for any garden get-together.

  1. What is the busiest time/season in your business?

We are very busy for the months leading up to Christmas, as most Butchers are, however we find Easter a busy time also. We are based in a very residential part of London so many local families tend to travel away during the School Holidays. We have however seen very big growth with customers who use our website. We deliver most of the London deliveries ourselves and use an overnight courier to deliver up and down the UK.

  1. What is the most enjoyable aspect of your work?

I think experiencing customers happiness and enjoyment of good food is probably the most enjoyable part. We meet a wide spectrum of delightful people every day and we cherish them dearly.

  1. Your butchery classes seem like a great idea! What was your inspiration for setting these up?

We have found more and more people interested in learning more about where food comes from and how everyday products are really made. The perception of Butchers has changed greatly over recent years, and there have even been London city workers leaving their jobs to buy themselves a trendy butchers shop in search for a new way of life.

I also thoroughly enjoy meeting people and conducting these classes.

  1. Do you think you will be writing another similar book in the future?

I think it’s a little early to say. It was really great fun and Hattie Ellis was a wonderful person to work with on this book. It was a very enjoyable journey.

For more information and recipes from Lidgates butchers check out their new book due out this year –Lidgate‘s: The Meat Cookbook: Buy and cook meat for every occasion.