New butcher opens its doors in Lancashire food hall

Roast Mutton Lancashire Butcher has opened at Derby House in Wrightington.

It is the realisation of owner Robert Unwin’s ambition to create something truly special in his home county.

Brought up on a north Lancashire smallholding where his family produced all their own meat, Robert learnt first-hand at an early age about humane animal husbandry and the joy of a freezer full of delicious meat, something that was later to influence his decision to change career and train to become an artisan butcher.

Opening his first shop Roast Mutton, Lakeland Butcher, Kendal, in 2021, his attention to detail, respect for the animal and the end product quickly won him a raft of accolades, including Britain’s Best Butcher in 2023.

Robert has joined forces with Connor Farley, who will be the man behind the counter at the shop.

Connor started out as a chef, completing a catering course at a nearby college, while working as a full-time chef in a bistro called The Paddock.

Coincidentally it is still in the same building, which now also houses Roast Mutton Lancashire Butcher.

After four years behind the stoves at The Paddock, Connor decided it was high time he followed his real passion, sourcing and preparing quality meat.

With that in mind he quickly set about retraining, finding a trainee butcher’s role in a local farm shop, where he stayed for eight years, rising through the ranks, learning every single process inside out, spending all of his free time developing his skills with a view to owning his own butchery and supplementing his practical learning with professional accredited training.

Now Connor is set to make his own mark in the world of butchery, as the co-owner of Roast Mutton Lancashire Butcher in partnership with Robert Unwin.

As Roast Mutton Lancashire Butcher customers will discover sourcing is a big part of the Roast Mutton story; the team work exclusively with local free-range farms who share their passion and beliefs. That way both Connor and Robert can guarantee the provenance of what they are selling.

It’s also hugely important to them both as butchers to know that the meat they sell is always ethically reared with the emphasis being on quality, traceability and sustainability. Not only that they’re totally committed to flying the flag for traditional native breeds, which is why they are extremely proud to celebrate and promote 100 per cent grass fed regeneratively reared British meat.

Their mission is to ensure that their customers have the opportunity to eat the very best quality meat, produce that is sourced from farmers and estates that they personally know and trust.

As far as they’re concerned the entire butchery process is about respect for the animal. The skill of the butcher is a determining factor in that process.

It’s about a meticulous approach to helping customers understand where their meat has come from, that way they can determine the quality of what they are eating, and more importantly they also play their part in supporting local producers, who in turn support their local communities and keep Britain farming.

Robert and Connor wanted to bring their vision of farm-to-table eating to their native Lancashire.

Roast Mutton will supply customers with quality locally reared heritage and rare breed grass fed beef, lamb and mutton, as well as pork, poultry and carefully selected locally sourced game.

In Robert and Connor’s view we all need to eat better quality meat from farmers that we know and trust and returning to a time before supermarkets got in the way of the relationship that consumers had with the people who produced their food.

They said: ‘’We’ve chosen to take an animal for our own nourishment, so absolutely nothing should go to waste.

"Ultimately the entire process should be about respect for that animal.

"The skill of the butcher is a determining factor in that process and Roast Mutton Lancashire Butcher is all about that.

“It’s about a meticulous approach to helping customers understand where their meat has come from, that way they can determine the quality of what they are eating, and more importantly they are also supporting local farms who in turn support their local communities.’’