Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2008 | Page 103
FOOD & DRINK
It was Louise’s
great-grandfather, Charles
Griffin, who began this
family’s long association with
dairy farming at Briddlesford,
when he arrived as a tenant
in 1923 with his 12 cows.
The family have ridden the
sad decline of the industry
thanks to sheer hard work.
Her father, Richard, bought
the farm in 1986 and has built
it up from 130 to 280 acres,
and now runs it with his son
Paul and daughters Louise
and Izzy. Thanks to Louise’s
vision of excellence for the
shop, customers will find
supermarket goods a poor
second.
Having skilled butcher Paul
Murphy as part of the deal
is just the next piece of the
jigsaw in Louise’s scheme.
Planning permission for a Café
and Education Centre has
recently been granted and they
hope to open by the autumn
of next year. She is passionate
about supporting producers
of Island goods, and her shop
reflects this: it has to have one
of the widest ranges of Island
products on offer in any one
place.
You only have to look at
Paul’s counter to see the
quality of his meat. His beef
is rich and dark, showing
it has been hung for longer
to develop its flavour and
tenderness. He, too, looks the
part. Large and avuncular
in his butcher’s whites, he is
happy to give advice on cuts
of meat depending on purpose
and pocket.
“I use Andrew Hodgson’s
beef and lamb, Les Morris’s
Lamb and I soon hope to
have a continuous supply of
Island pork,” says Paul. He
is delighted to be part of
Briddlesford Lodge Farm,
having established a firm
following by taking his meat to
www.wightfrog.com/islandlife
farmers’ markets.
Not that having a settled
outlet for his goods makes
him any less ambitious. He
makes, he says, 58 varieties of
sausage. That’s one more than
the famous Heinz 57. Maybe
for Paul its Briddlesford Lodge
life
today, tomorrow the world . . .
Open Mon – Sat 10am – 6pm,
Sun 10am – 4pm
Briddlesford Lodge Farm
Shop, Wootton.
Tel: 884650 E-mail:
[email protected]
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