Theatre of whole ox approach to feeding the masses

Ian’s enterprising nature will hopefully be great news for his fellow Wensleydale farmer Martin Coates of Redshaw Farm near Hawes who will be supplying Hereford beef. Ian is following a similar thread to when he marketed his family’s Gillgate Boxed Lamb in emphasising provenance, native breeds and their environment when pitching for business.

“The thing that excites me most of all is the theatre of it,” says Ian. “The look on people’s faces as this roast ox is wheeled out; the wow factor and the gorgeous aroma from it having been cooked long and slow for 24 hours beforehand; and the marinades too. Guests at whatever function we’re attending will be in awe.

“As far as I know we are the only catering company able to provide this in the UK and we will go anywhere in the country.”

It’s a whole different league to the hog roast or lamb roast market that Ian has been involved with so far where catering is generally based upon quoting for guest numbers of around 100-300.

“This really is the Big Daddy of them all and we know it will be a limited market because of the size of event required to afford having it. Typically we’re looking at the beast catering for anywhere between 1,000-1,500 guests. That’s the same number of roast beef sandwiches, served in bread rolls baked especially for us in the local village bakery, or less numbers if for plated meals. Catering is all about guest numbers and a price per person. The more people you have the more cost effective it can become. It’s all about economies of scale.”

Creating the theatre that Ian is looking for is all about preparation and having the right people involved to ensure the beef doesn’t just look good but also tastes excellent. Trained butchers and chefs are part of his team.

“The carcase will be picked up the morning before an event, we will travel to the venue and aim at setting it off cooking by around 5pm that night if it’s for an evening event the next day. It’s also important that we give it plenty of resting time, which will be around three to four hours bearing in mind its size. The great thing is that the larger the piece of meat the less moisture it loses and that means the flavour is retained.”

Martin Coates sees it as an excellent outlet for his Hereford herd that he started when buying his initial ten heifers seven years ago. He currently has 25 pure Hereford cows and 60 head of cattle overall as he has been slowly building up numbers keeping the best of any heifers born with the rest going as stores.

“Herefords are in great demand by butchers because of their natural taste and because people like native beef breeds. They are slower maturing than continentals but I prefer them for both their temperament and because they look so pleasing on the eye. Ian’s Whole Roast Ox enterprise potentially provides me with another great market for what I’m producing.”

In Martin’s case any new initiative where he can earn premium prices for his cattle or sheep is to be welcomed.

“Ours is a very high farm. We run up to 2,000ft above sea level on the road between Hawes and Ingleton and a proportion of our income is now stewardship based. We have two flocks - 350 pure Swaledale ewes and 250 Lleyn and Texel X ewes.

“This is a tenanted farm that my grandfather first came to in 1947. I’ve lived here all my life and have found that the best way of making things work is to take up any option available on stewardship schemes and work backwards from there fitting the farm around it. By doing things this way it allows me to keep my son Bryan on the farm. Without it I would have to cut numbers of sheep and cattle right back and manage on my own.”

It’s that philosophy that led to the Herefords taking over from the continental breeds he’s had previously.

“One of the benefits of joining the Higher Level Stewardship scheme was that if I kept seven native breed cattle on a particular piece of land I would receive a little extra payment than having other cattle. I went for the Herefords and I enjoyed having them so much that I have gradually reduced my continentals to just three Limousins. Now that we’ve bred up the herd we don’t buy anything in except when we need a new bull. The latest is a big rangy bull we acquired from Scotland.”

Ian has no doubt that Martin’s Herefords will be the highlight of any event.

“The Hereford is one of the best breeds for natural flavour, tenderness and succulence. The marbling of fat melts slowly when the beef is cooked and provides delicious meat.

“Locally sourced, well cared for livestock is something that people are very much aware of today and the beef from Martin’s Herefords is going to be a real winner at any event we attend.

“The addition of the Whole Roast Ox is something really special and myself and my wonderful team are ready.”

CONJURING UP A BEEFY IMAGE

Ian Bell studied for his degree at Harper Adams in the early 1990s and later returned to complete his Masters in Dairy Cow Nutrition and Management.

His early career included being a farm manager for Velcourt. He was managing the dairy and arable farm at Ampleforth Abbey until suffering a spinal injury that left him paralysed from the shoulders down after a road accident in December 1999.

Martin Coates believes that The Whole Roast Ox Company, using the word ox instead of bull, cow, heifer or beef, conjures images that will play well with those looking to book the whole beef carcase in its custom built oven.

“It’s like going back centuries ago when royal celebrations took place.”