2009 East of England regional winners

Businesses from Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Lincolnshire and Suffolk are celebrating winning a regional title in the fifth annual Countryside Alliance Awards. The four businesses now go forward to the Grand Final and are up against fellow regional winners in a bid for a British title. The Countryside Alliance Awards celebrate the characters, skills, traditions and enterprise of the countryside through the people who work so hard to make it tick. This year’s East of England champions are: 1. Local Food Award: Offley Hoo Traditional Meats, Great Offley, Hitchin, Herts http://www.rarebreed-beef-lamb-pork.co.uk/ 01462 769302 : Head Judge Alice Barnard said: “Offley Hoo Traditional Meats raise and sell their own rarebreed and native meat through a meat box scheme. Sarah and Jon Birchall who run the business are incredibly passionate about what they do and the animals at the farm have a wonderful life! Educational visits for schools and groups are also run by the Birchalls, helping people gain a greater understanding about farming and the countryside. Demonstrations include butter and bread making and milking the house cow, with many more in the pipeline. Winning this award would really reward Sarah and Jon for all of their hard work, as well as showing what an important role they play in the community working with the Church, local schools and WI among others.” Highly Commended: Steeple Gate Lamb and Beef , near Southminster, Essex. 2. Village Shop / Post Office Award: Otley Village Shop, Otley, Suffolk: Alice says: "For the third year in a row Penny and Andrew Sunaway’s shop and post office have taken the crown! They are an exceptional team and continue to innovate every year. This category was very strong and I wondered if they would be able to offer something new having already qualified twice before. And they really did. Clearly lots had happened in the last year including the incorporation of the travel agents which can organise you a holiday in Portugal or a bus trip to Ipswich! The business continues to be the heart of the community. The produce is fresh and locally sourced and competitively priced. They support their village and that relationship is reciprocal. Every year I wonder if they can continue to raise the bar, every year they do. This business is about people, village life and being the best.” Highly Commended: St Ippolyts Village Stores, Hertfordshire 3. Daily Telegraph Traditional Business Award: Meridian Meats, Tetford, Lincolnshire http://www.meridianmeatsshop.co.uk/   01507 603 357. Alice says: "Jim Sutcliffe won this year's Young Butcher of the Year competition and having been to visit him I can see why. Jim is enthusiastic, creative, passionate and driven. For someone so young, Jim understands tradition and the importance of passing his skills on to the next generation. Jim takes time to visit local schools to explain how farm animals are reared and slaughtered humanely and how they’re butchered. Traditional produce such as Lincolnshire chine, haslets and plum bread are sold in the shop, alongside the traditional cuts of meat that you would expect to find through to some very inventive sausages! To Jim good farm husbandry, excellent stock and animal welfare are critical and this is reflected in the quality and taste of the meat. Jim is quite exceptional." Highly Commended: Crumps the Butcher, near Baldock, Hertfordshire 4. Rural Enterprise Award:  Johnson’s Farm, Old Hurst, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire 01487 824658. Alice says: "As soon as I arrived at the farm the was a buzz of excitement, how often to you walk past a farm shop and café to visit crocodiles? I met Andy and Peter in the café for a cup of coffee before I went to meet the celebrities in the temperature controlled crocodile house. I was immediately struck by the enthusiasm and passion of the team that run the enterprise. Andy’s family have been at the farm for almost 100 years. In that time they have been tenants, almost lost the farm and then purchased it. Things haven’t always been easy but you wouldn’t know it. Optimism is the only feeling tolerated! Andy knows all there is to know about crocodiles. He was the first croc farm in Europe. He is breeding crocodiles for meat for the UK market (and for export) but this is a long term plan. He is adamant the welfare of his reptiles is paramount. It’s hard to love a crocodile, but Andy does! He plans to put a percentage of his profits from this venture into crocodile conservation to tackle species on the brink of extinction in the wild. He hopes too to widen the gene pool through his breeding programme to help zoos to breed out from close family lines. After meeting the crocodiles I met emu, ostrich, pigs, cows, donkeys, rare breed sheep and Reg the friendly racoon, I was amazed at how diverse this working farm really is.  The farm shop was well stocked; in fact it had the largest meat counter I had ever seen, mainly stocked from the farm or from his brothers. Cakes, homemade pies, English cheeses, seasonal vegetables, literally everything you could want. There are plans to open a farming museum so that those that visit can see the way practices have changed from the Victorian times to the present. The plans don’t stop there. In the New Year there will be a shopping village with florist, saddlers, and independent enterprises all housed adjacent to the shop. I can’t wait to return to see these ideas come to life. The shop itself has a turnover of over £1 million p/a. But this place isn’t about money. It’s about passion, sustainability, vision and drive. I have never judged such an exceptional venture, it is a worthy winner and a true rural enterprise.” Highly Commended: Agrarian Renaissance, Stevenage, Hertfordshire