Dinner, conversation and sustainability at Coombe Farm Organic

Cabrito Goat Meat at Coombe Farm Organic

An evening of food and discussion with sustainability champions Cabrito Goat Meat and Billy Tannery at Coombe Farm Organic, Crewkerne, Somerset

Price: £60 per person for four courses and welcome drink
Booking via: www.coombefarmorganic.co.uk

On 3 April, James Whetlor from Cabrito Goat Meat and Jack Millington from Billy Tannery will host a dinner of British goat meat alongside Ben White, General Manager at Coombe Farm Organic, a beautiful farming estate in the Somerset countryside. All three partners are united in their passion for sustainability, the welfare of animals and reducing the waste in this part of the dairy system.

Very often the connection between meat and leather is forgotten. Independent producers, Cabrito Goat Meat and Billy Tannery, the UK’s first goat leather micro tannery, are working together, and with restaurants and farmers, to change this.

Certified organic by the Soil Association in 1998, Coombe Farm started out as a dairy farm and has a long and trusted reputation for exceptional diary produce. Now, they also rear organic grass-fed beef, lamb and pork and work with local farmers for organic free-range venison and poultry. Since February 2020, Coombe Farm has also been supplying goat meat (kid and nanny) from Cabrito, which comes from farms less than seven miles away on the Somerset/Dorset borders.

Ben White from Coombe Farm Organic comments; “Working with James from Cabrito Goat Meat complements our philosophy of sustainable farming really well. It yields truly remarkable meat that would otherwise get wasted. Whilst nanny/female goats are reared for replacements in a goat dairy herd, billy/male goats are surplus to requirements. We feel strongly that letting meat go to waste is unacceptable in an age when so much is already wasted and so many go without eating balanced, nutritious produce. Working with Cabrito, who in turn works with the brilliant Billy Tannery to use the goat hides, we have the platform to see that the billy and older nanny goats raised in out from our local area is used responsibly. The goats we butcher and sell come from a farm seven miles away from us on the Somerset/Dorset border and is a truly delicious and versatile ingredient to cook with.”

Billy Tannery is the first leather brand of its kind in Britain, with a vertically integrated supply chain from hide to final product. Co-founded by friends Jack Millington and Rory Harker, Billy Tannery’s goal is to put an end to the thousands of British goat hides wasted every year.

Jack Millington says, “Despite the clear link between meat and leather, the topic is often uncomfortable and rarely discussed. For us at Billy Tannery, leather and leathercraft play a vital role in the reduction of food waste - it takes the dairy and meat by-products and creates unique and sustainably tanned goat leather. It’s great to be on the farm with Ben and the Coombe Farm Organic team to showcase our British goat leather.”

Guests going to Coombe Farm Organic for this special evening will be welcomed with an organic apple martini and nibbles before sitting at 7pm for a short talk from James Whetlor and Jack Millington and hosted by Ben White.

The menu:

• Coombe Farm ex-dairy cow bresola

• Cabrito kid goat kibbeh nayeh with herbs and lemon

• Cabrito goat kebabs with romesco

• Marinated Cabrito kid leg and shoulder with preserved lemon and bay

• Tomato and cabbage pilaf

• Lemon posset and shortbread

Throughout the evening samples from Billy Tannery’s range of goat leather products will be available to view and purchase as will copies of James Whetlor’s award-winning book ‘Goat: Cooking and Eating’ which includes recipes from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Gill Mellor and Gizzi Erskine.

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For more information, interviews or images please contact Hannah Blake at The Dining Room PR on 07730 039361 or email hannah@thediningroompr.co.uk

About Cabrito Goat Meat
www.cabrito.co.uk

Cabrito has a one-sentence mission statement: to put all billy goats born into the dairy industry into the meat industry. Devon based James Whetlor worked as a chef in London for ten years and at River Cottage in Devon. He founded Cabrito Goat Meat in 2012 and was soon supplying top restaurants and butchers around the country.

Cabrito Goat Meat won an Observer Food Monthly Award (2014) for Best Ethical Producer, Good Housekeeping’s Champion Meat Producer (2016), Young British Foodies Meat Award (2016) and was a finalist in the BBC Radio 4’s Food and Farming Awards 2017.

James is the International Director of Goatober, working closely with partners in New York and North America, Europe and Australia. In October 2016, James brought the month-long goat meat celebration, Goatober, to the UK. Originating in New York in 2012, James has been instrumental in turning Goatober into an international campaign bringing together dairies, farmers, NGOs and individuals who are passionate about ending food waste in the goat dairy system. In 2017, James hosted Goatober events in London, Bristol, Manchester, Somerset, Northern Ireland and Amsterdam. In 2019, there were Goatober events across the UK, USA, Trinidad, Spain, France and Australia.

GOAT: Cooking and Eating, James’ first cookbook, was published in April 2018 by Quadrille. It has been widely acclaimed as genre-defining and won the James Beard Foundation Award for best single subject book and the Guild of Food Writers award for best single subject.

About Billy Tannery
www.billytannery.co.uk

Billy Tannery is the first leather brand of its kind in Britain, with a vertically integrated supply chain from hide to final product. It was founded by childhood friends Jack Millington and Rory Harker, both from the Midlands. Jack and Rory’s goal is to put an end to the waste thousands of British goat hides by tapping into the rich leather heritage of the Midlands area.  In 2017, Billy Tannery launched a range of luxury goat leather bags and accessories that are designed and handmade in Britain using entirely British goat leather in their small batch tannery in the Midlands.

Goatober launch at Brigade Bar + Kitchen

Braised goat shoulder, potato and onion pie, caramelised cauliflower puree and goat gravy by Calum Franklin from Holborn Dining Room

GOATOBER London launch with Wild Beer Co.

Goatober, the month-long goat meat celebration held every year in October, is an international food festival bringing together dairies, farmers, NGOs and individuals who are passionate about ending food waste in the goat dairy system.

Wild Beer Co. is the exclusive drinks partner for Goatober and will be pairing beers at London events including Brigade Bar + Kitchen, Carousel and Native. Throughout October, Wild Beer will be pairing beers with goat dishes with a specific focus on Modus Operandi; an oak matured wild beer, aged for many months in Bourbon and Red Wine barrels tasting of sour cherries, toffee and dark chocolate. 

On 1 October, Gizzi Erksine; executive head chef of The Holborn Dining Room Calum Franklin and Karan Gokani, director of Sri Lankan restaurant Hoppers will cook at Brigade Bar + Kitchen with head chef Pete Denhart to create a special goat menu. This special one night only event is £65 per person and includes a charity donation to Beyond Food Foundation.

“Goat is not only absolutely delicious, it’s probably one of the most sustainable of all meats. I believe we should be trying to eat less, better quality meat and using the whole animal.” Gizzi Erskine

Smoked goat, goat fat focaccia, labneh, chimichurri, pomegranate and pickles by Pete Denhart from Brigade Bar + Kitchen

Goat ragu with fresh tagliatelle by Gizzi Eskine

Goat Buriani with a goat offal pickle and smoked aubergine raita by Karan Gokani at Hoppers

Braised goat shoulder, potato and onion pie, caramelised cauliflower puree and goat gravy by Calum Franklin from Holborn Dining Room

Pete Denhart, Head Chef at Brigade, commented: “Wild Beer have a big focus on beer and food pairings. It is a natural partnership to work with them for our Goatober menu as the ethical and sustainable nature of the event reflects the brand’s ethos and the way in which they brew. The diversity and range of flavours in our menu from Gizzi, Calum and Karan reflects Wild Beer’s attitude to creating great beer.”

For more information on Goatober visit www.Goatober.com and follow @GoatoberNews on Instagram. Find out more about Goatober 2019 drinks partner on Wildbeerco.com and follow @wildbeerco

Tickets from Design my Night.

James Whetlor from Cabrito cooks at 1000 Mouths

Nancarrow Farm’s 1000 Mouth returns for 2019 with James Whetlor from Cabrito

Nancarrow Farm Presents 1000 Mouths

The working organic farm near Truro, Cornwall celebrates 20 years of organic farming with a weekend of feasts and festivities this October.

-Taking place on 4-6 October, the event is the follow up to Nancarrow’s first 1000 Mouths event held in 2017
- Guest chefs include Michelin star chef Paul Ainsworth, Tom Griffiths, Ben Tish and James Whetlor
-1,000 visitors will experience a nose-to-tail dining experience, prepared by the Nancarrow team alongside guest chefs
- The event will promote fellow sustainable food producers in Cornwall, and raise money for Cool Earth and Cornwall Wildlife Trust

Nancarrow’s 1000 Mouths event returns for 2019, shining a light on the region’s most progressive farmers and producers – in collaboration with a line-up of celebrated guest chefs. 1000 Mouths will raise money for Cool Earth and Cornwall Wildlife Trust.

Michelin star chef Paul Ainsworth will headline the event, and will be joined over the weekend by Tom Griffiths of Flank, London, Ben Tish – who is returning to the farm after much success with his latest book Moorish – and James Whetlor, founder of Cabrito.

Over the course of the weekend, the Nancarrow team and guest chefs will be feeding 1,000 visitors at a series of evening feasts and dinners held in the farm’s beautiful barns and buildings. The menus will provide a true nose-to-tail dining experience, celebrating the finest produce (and producers) from the South West – including The Cornish Mushroom Company, Padstow Kitchen Garden and Curgurrell Farm, alongside organic beef from one of Nancarrow’s Red Devon bullocks.

“We’re so thrilled to be celebrating 20 years of organic farming this year,” says Steve Chamberlain, partner at Nancarrow. “Farming in harmony with nature has never been more important, and we’re delighted to welcome some incredible producers who share this approach for a weekend of feasting.”

Daytime guests can enjoy a range of activities and traditional crafts, from leather making and wool spinning, to wild walks and apple juicing. Steve Lamb of River Cottage will host a series of talks and demos throughout the day, and there will be the opportunity to not only meet some of Cornwall’s newest and most innovative producers, but sample their food and drink too.

Jack Bristow, Nancarrow’s head chef, says: “Our 1000 Mouths event is an extension of our approach to food and farming, and we’re really excited to be welcoming some incredible like-minded chefs to the farm – it’s going to be an amazing weekend.”

Further details and early bird tickets will be released on 14th June, and will be available on the Nancarrow website: www.nancarrowfarm.co.uk

The Nancarrow family farm has been rearing traditional breed cattle and sheep, and rare breed pork, for nearly 250 years. 20 years ago, in 1999, the farm received organic status from the Soil Association, and today Nancarrow’s organic produce is reared, prepared, cured and consumed entirely on the farm where it is enjoyed by guests throughout the year.

GOAT by James Whetlor wins James Beard Foundation Award

Goat: Cooking and Eating by James Whetlor (Quadrille Books, £20) has won a James Beard Foundation Medal for a best single subject book. The medal, awarded at a ceremony at the James Beard Foundation, New York, on Friday 26 April, in front of guests including restaurateur David Chang and American TV personality Tyra Banks, is one of the most prestigious in America. Promoting good food for good, the James Beard Foundation celebrates, nurtures and honours chefs and leaders making food culture more delicious and diverse for everyone.

Ex-chef James Whetlor is the founder of Cabrito Goat Meat, a Devon (UK) based company which has a one sentence mission statement: to put all male billy goats born into the dairy industry into the meat industry. Up until a few years ago most British Billy goats were euthanised shortly after birth. James thought this was, in today’s world of dwindling resources and environmental challenges, unacceptable and set out to do something about it. The award-winning Cabrito Goat Meat now sells to catering butchers and restaurants, from a network of farms across the country.

James is International Director of ‘Goatober’ working with partners in America, Europe and Australia and is consultant for the European ‘Food Heroes’ project, which aims to end food waste in farming across the EU.

Sarah Lavelle, Publishing Director at Quadrille Books, who commissioned Goat: Cooking and Eating comments, “This unique, vital book is genre defining and essential reading for anyone with even a passing interest in food and the way we eat today and is set to be the definitive guide on the subject for years to come.”

In GOAT: Cooking and Eating, James looks at the story of this versatile ingredient and offers 90 recipes from around the world that will answer the common question: ‘How do I cook goat?’ With dishes arranged by cooking technique James shows that goat can be cooked fast and lean, or slow-cooked in curries, stews, braises and roasts as well as make sausages, burgers, and kebabs. There is also a section for delicious seasonings, spice blends and marinades.

From Kid Shanks with Chickpeas and Chorizo to Goat Tacos, Steamed Dumplings to Schnitzel, GOAT encourages people to broaden their cooking repertoire as well as use more goat meat in everyday meals. Plus, there are original recipes from renowned chefs including Yotam Ottolenghi, Neil Rankin, Olia Hercules, Gill Meller and Jeremy Lee.

Alongside advice on sourcing goat meat, James highlights issues within modern farming today, the involvement of artisan tanneries to ensure the use of the whole animal and Cabrito’s charitable work with Farm Africa. Fifty per cent of James’ author advance and royalties from GOAT: Cooking and Eating will go toward Farm Africa’s work to transform agriculture and help farmers in eastern Africa increase their harvests, protect the environment and sell their produce in thriving markets.

Notes to Editors

James Whetlor of Cabrito Goat Meat worked as a chef for 12 years in London, before moving back to his hometown in Devon and working at River Cottage. During this period, he bought four goats to help turn an area of scrubland into useable pasture and learnt about the plight of the British Billy goat, in most cases euthanised shortly after birth. James thought this was, in today’s world of dwindling resources and environmental challenges, unacceptable and set out to do something about it. The award-winning business now sells to catering butchers and restaurants, from a network of farms across the country. www.cabrito.co.uk

Farm Africa is an innovative charity that reduces poverty in rural eastern Africa by helping farmers grow more, sell more and sell for more: the organisation helps farmers to not only boost yields, but also gain access to markets, and add value to their produce. 

Farm Africa places a high priority on environmental sustainability and develops approaches that help farmers improve their yields and incomes without degrading their natural resources. Their programmes vary hugely, ranging from helping crops farmers to boost harvests, livestock keepers to improve animal health, and forest coffee growers to reach export markets, but core to all of them is a focus on the financial sustainability of the farmers’ businesses and environmental sustainability.

Many of the poorest farmers in eastern Africa earn their livings by selling livestock and animal products. But livestock farmers face huge challenges in making a sustainable. They have limited access to technical advice, to high-quality feed and vaccines needed to keep their animals healthy, and to markets to sell their animal products.

Farm Africa gives livestock farmers technical advice and training, helps them access animal health services, and helps them gain access to insurance for their animals so that they don’t risk losing everything when drought causes pasture to dry up.  www.farmafrica.org

Broughgammon Farm joins Goatober

Becky and Charlie Cole at Broughgammon Farm, Co. Antrim

Goatober goes to Northern Ireland

Broughgammon in Ballycastle, Co.Antrim is taking part in this year’s national #Goatober, the UK’s only month-long celebration of the dairy billy goat meat industry with Cabrito Goat Meat. With events in London, Bristol, Manchester, Somerset and Amsterdam, Goatober is now an international event.

Broughgammon Farm, run by the Cole family has its own artisan on-site butchery, run seasonal cookery, butchery and wild game classes and have a farm shop selling the best of Northern Irish and Irish produce. They have won many awards including Euro-tourques Food Award 2017 in recognition of traditional and artisan production methods, excellent quality standards and outstanding contribution to Irish food.

Charlie Cole comments, “When we set up the farm in 2011, there was no demand or route to market for kid goat meat in Ireland, forcing the farmers to put males from the dairy industry down as a waste product. Crazy! We decided to put a stop to this by buying the billy kids off the dairies and rearing themselves. We’re obsessed with providing the best quality, tastiest produce that is sustainable and ethical, so getting involved with #Goatober is a great thing to be part of.”

“The Cole family of Ballycastle, County Antrim, is at the forefront of the Northern Irish food revolution, producing cabrito (goat) and rose veal on their farm” Kathy McGuinness, The Sunday Times

GOATOBER N.IRELAND
Friday, 20 October 2017
Broughgammon Farm
50 Straid Road, Ballycastle, Co.Antrim, BT54 6NP

5:30pm butchery demo
6:30 farm tour (brief tour of the farm and meet the goats
7:30 dinner starts

Tickets are £38 per person and can be booked through Wefifo here. The full menu is:

Starter: Broughgammon’s award-winning Choriz-Offal Goat Taco
The Great British Street Food Awards 2017 Best Snack!
Served on a Blanco Nino taco with pea guacamole, beet salsa, raw goats milk cheese and goat bacon topping.

To follow: Cabrito a la Cruz
Argentinian style slow cooked kid over a hardwood fire, served with homegrown seasonal salads and local and homemade breads.

Pudding: Ballycastle Lardy Cake
Traditionally made with lard, the Broughgammon’s version uses the sweeter kid-goat suet and will be served with an autumnal compote. This is a West Country classic with a difference.