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So , it was nine years ago when Dan approached Marcus ’ s head chef , put together his pitch and pulled off the deal . Things went from strength to strength ; they were able to pick a number of key restaurants to work with . Further development of the London market came with the supply to big corporates and their dining rooms , many being the big banks .
A year before the foray into the restaurant trade was taken , Russell Dodd joined the present team as Sales Director . Dan and Russell had been friends for many years and although Russell was a top-notch butcher , Dan had seen him in action as one of those charismatic salesmen .
LDF continued to flourish , relationships with farmers , restaurants and wholesalers etc all going from strength to strength with the team on a continual learning curve under the guidance of Ray Armstrong .
Then in 2012 Ray called Dan into a meeting and was told to sit down and have a glass of water . Dan , being his busy self , said no at first until Ray insisted . When Ray spoke , it hit Dan like an express train . Ray informed him he had cancer and had 6 to 9 months to live . He was promoting him then and there to Managing Director and would teach him as much as possible in the time available .
Ray , true to his word , did just that , right up until he sadly passed in 2013 . This further galvanised an already committed and passionate Dan to continue developing LDF and create a lasting legacy to Ray .
Fast forward to 2015 , Ray ’ s son Hayden had just graduated from Manchester Met with a 1st in Business Studies , so it
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seemed a natural step that he joined the business to maintain the Armstrong family link . Although Hayden , like everyone else , started at the bottom in order to learn the business . He now stands alongside Dan and Russell in the day to day running of LDF .
2014 saw another pivotal member of the team join LDF . Phil Scott joined as there was a need to keep a keen eye on food standards etc . Phil helped build the tech office up , pretty much learning on the job , establishing strong process and procedures to maintain that vitally important LDF quality . However as much as Phil loved working with the LDF team , the technical side wasn ’ t where he wanted to stay . Being a very creative person , he wanted to expand his branding and sales experience . At that time , as the company was still relatively new so to speak , there wasn ’ t really a branding job . So reluctantly ,
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but with Dan ’ s blessing , Phil left and joined a cabinet-making company to further his sales management .
LDF continued to grow and , you guessed it , in less than two years , it was felt that marketing and branding etc needed full time focus . Dan ’ s first port of call was a no-brainer ; Phil even though a little uncomfortable about leaving the cabinet-makers couldn ’ t ignore how much he had enjoyed working with LDF before and that his dream job was marketing LDF . So , Phil was back . As Brand Manager it ’ s important he knows , sees and understands every aspect of the business , so he is as involved as Dan , Hayden and Russell continuing to nurture the relationships they have established with the LDF farmers and their animals , including meeting and assessing new farmers that come on board , although most new farms come on board by referral these days .
The overriding focus will always be quality , so the LDF farmers don ’ t have the largest herds / flocks etc which means the
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team know that the farmers will have the time to focus on quality . The addition of their smallest farmers Robin and Andrew , who I mentioned earlier , are a prime example , as all their meat comes from conservation breeds .
LDF are now working with over fifty Cumbrian farms , the whole team understand the level of passion , patience and hard work that goes into creating and maintaining the finest of animals . The synergy between LDF and their farmers means they are not only helping to maintain the traditional fell farming way of life but virtually guaranteeing a sustainable supply of the best quality , breed specific meat available .
Almost rewarding the farmers ’ commitment to rearing the best animals , they ensure nothing is wasted and ensure a home for every part is found .
LDF have many examples of how they have personally helped and supported farmers : dairy farmers have been able to allow their old cows to enjoy their retirement for 9 months , fattening up in the fields before achieving a good price from LDF due to their great flavours . One farmer is particularly grateful after losing his entire herd during foot and mouth , vowing never to slaughter an animal unnecessarily again .
At LDF ’ S current base , Raisgill Hall in Tebay , the meat is stored in specific fridges for ageing . They look to lose 20 % moisture to improve the flavour . Such is the commitment to quality that fridges are temperature controlled and kept closed during ageing because if you continually open them this slows the process and if you put in younger meat then the moisture content would rise . Having many fridges also allows the movement of smaller quantities from the farms .
The business has been scaled up slowly . This has been a deliberate plan , so as not to compromise quality and thereby maintain a customer portfolio which includes some of the UK ’ s best chefs , restauranteurs and hotels . Today LDF now employs twenty-two people , delivery vans leave Tebay daily . For the London market , they have three van drivers who live-in there , delivering every day across the city . It ’ s
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