Rocket takes off among farmer’s happy chickens

All of the branches that once trundled off to the foothills of the North York Moors are long gone, although the mainline trains still speed past.

In the land surrounding the long silenced track-beds, chickens and turkeys have taken up residence.

But this is poultry with a difference. Edward Wilkinson is using his family connections to feed his birds fresh herbs. “My aunt, Alison Dodd, who has Herbs Unlimited was feeding surplus to some chickens at home.She would often give her eggs away to people and they’d be praised as the best they’d ever had.

“I thought, `well if it is having such an impact on the eggs, what about meat?’ That’s why we started with a trial of 500 bronze turkeys.”

Edward’s family all have farming backgrounds, but until two years ago he was set on a different path. “I was a chartered surveyor working in London, with the credit crunch looming, I was unfortunately ‘credit-crunched’. I came back home, and wanted to create my own business.”

Having done the turkey trial, he turned his attention to chickens. “We buy day-old chickens from a hatchery at Dalton three miles away. They go under heat for two weeks and are then allowed the rest of the hut to move about in. At four weeks they’re allowed outside and at that stage we give them the herbs.”

The surplus produce from Herbs Unlimited at Sandhutton near Thirsk include outer leaves discarded in the packing process. “The selection includes everything from salads with rocket and mizuna and lettuce to all the herb types, including some of the rarer ones like lemon verbena.

“The only one they don’t like is sage. They aren’t that keen on the other ingredients for stuffing either. Basil is one of their favourites. Rocket they absolutely love, and chives.

“The softest herbs they like the most. They love coriander and they really like mint.”

Some herbs like chives, have strong flavours. But they don’t make it through into the flesh of the bird. Edward says changing the flavour isn’t the primary purpose. “I’d never claim they taste ‘herby’. But I believe it gives a greater depth of flavour to the meat. They’re certainly more succulent and moist. We believe that by producing a healthy bird through the nutrients, it’s going to taste better.”

It sells for about £9.50 for a two-kilo bird, compared with £3 or £4 for most non- free range supermarket chickens.

“It’s aimed at farm shops, butchers and restaurants prepared to spend that little bit more on a quality product, and lose a small bit of that gross margin. They’re passing on the quality of that product to the customer and hopefully they’re getting repeat business off the back of it.”