Independent votes The Ginger Pig in "Top 10 Best Pork Pies"

We were delighted to learn that our pork pie has made it into the Independents "Top 10 best pork pies" They said "Thick crusts usually spell pork-pie disaster, but not so here. The chunky, Yorkshire-reared pork isn't lost even among the endless layers of pastry. By far the most filling of those tasted"

New breakfast rolls now in the shops

Our new breakfast rolls are now available in all our shops. The rolls are packed with pork sausagemeat, smoked bacon, mushrooms and baked beans. They are just perfect for breakfast, lunch or brunch. We would love to hear what you think of them.

Haggis for Burns Night

All our shops will be selling Haggis made by our baker Les to a traditional Scottish recipe using Mutton minced with onion, oatmeal, suet and spices. The haggis has we think a rather excellent savoury flavour and should be served with mashed swede and potatoes.

"Yorkshire lass" re-launches Ginger Pig Grocery Shop - Hackney

Our Grocery and Delicatessen Shop in
Hackney has recently re-opened. Our new Grocery Shop Manager, Stacey Stubbs is still in the process of stocking up but the shop is already looking great and we have had some great feedback from Customers. Here Amy, our Customer Service Manager (a fellow Yorkshire lass) asks Stacey a few questions about how her new venture is going.

1.I hear you are originally from Yorkshire and you have moved here with your boyfriend Adam (who is also a trainee butcher for the company) When did you move to London?
Life has been so manic since coming to London, I can’t actually remember the exact date but I do believe it was October last year.

2. How does life in London compare to life in Yorkshire?
Life is a lot more hectic down here, I am really enjoying it but I do miss the peace and quiet of Yorkshire sometimes.

3. Is it true, you are hoping to sell more Yorkshire produce?
Yes all the Ginger Pig meat, pies and sausage rolls already come from the Farm in Yorkshire and we are now getting fresh vegetables, chutneys and some cheeses from “up North”.

4. What do your Customers make of your accent?
Everybody asks where I am from and if I have come from the farm. They seem to just about understand me, but do seem to find my accent slightly amusing.

5. What were you doing previously?
I worked in a Customer Service background for the Council and know how important it is to give good Customer Service, I like to see my customers leave the shop with a smile on their face.

6. Christmas is our busiest time of year, what did you make of your first Christmas in the Shop?
Very busy and very hard work, it was great to see so many customers, sometimes it was so busy they were queuing out of the door. Unfortunately I got the dreaded flu as we approached Christmas so I wasn’t able to enjoy the festivities as much as I would have liked to, but I did enjoy my Ginger Pig turkey.

7. What range of produce are you selling from the shop?
We sell a range of pies and sausage rolls, cooked hams, fresh vegetables from Yorkshire, bread, eggs, chutneys and other meat condiments, herbs and spices, cheese, speciality beers and wines, cakes, pates, ice cream etc -we keep adding to our range of stock daily!

8. When is the grocery shop open?
It is open the same days as the butchery which is Tuesday to Sunday (closed on Mondays)

9. What do you make of the boys upstairs in the Butchery (Borut, Daniel, Costin)?
The guys are great and work very, very hard, but they are always willing to take time out to help me. They do however need to learn how to use a kettle and stop asking me to make coffee!

Heavy snow at Grange Farm makes national news

Our part of North Yorkshire was covered with the heaviest falls of snow over the past 20 years, yesterday Emma Murphy and her crew from ITV News battled their way to the farm to film the difficulties of livestock farming when the snow fall is unexpectedly early.

We are in the middle of lambing our flock of Dorset sheep, which touch wood is going really well with some fantastic lambs being born to the three new tups we bought back in the sunny days of May from The Dorset Sheep Fair. The only problem now is trying to get them out into the fields which have got a thick carpet of clean fluffy snow. Certainly for the rest of this week and the first part of next it looks like they are going to have to spend their time in the sheds racing round and round while being watched by their proud mothers.

The article went out on the ITN National News on Thursday evening. Below are some screen shots of Emma with Lesley, Arthur and Ewan, the Grange Farm Shepherds.

Ginger Pig wins Butcher's Shop of the Year Award, South of England Region

THE GINGER, BOROUGH MARKET IS BEST IN SOUTH OF ENGLAND

The Ginger Pig, Borough Market, has been named the best in the South of England Region after proving itself a cut above the rest in the annual Butcher's Shop of the Year Awards 2010.

The butcher impressed the judges from awards organiser Meat Trades journal and was judged on the following criteria: shop display, shop interior layout and design, cabinet displays, use of marketing and promotional material, efficiency, team working abilities, knowledge and presentation of staff, training and development of staff, back of shop organisation, hygiene, business development plans.

Meat Trades Journal Editor Ed Bedington said, "The Ginger Pig's passion and enthusiasm for their business shines through on every level. They set standards in South of England that other Butchers would do well to follow"

After accepting the award at the Sheraton Park Lane Hotel, Charlie Shaw Head Butcher and Manager said: "We are very proud of the shop and the staff as we have all worked very hard, it is an honour to win such an award."

Ginger pig is highly commended in RSPCA Awards

The Ginger Pig got a highly commended award in the RSPCA Good Business Awards 2010. The RSPCA press release said "Butcher Ginger Pig Limited was also highly commended for its innovation and dedication to ethical sourcing and animal welfare. Recently it has been improving the standards of its pig housing to better protect pigs in bad weather and has started a free range chicken enterprise using traditional breeds of poultry"

Below is a picture of Jayne, Scott and Natalie celebrating collecting the Award.