Major deal brings heritage breed '¨meat to tables at Tate galleries

An online heritage meat supplier in Ripon is welcoming a party of head chefs today after it won a major contract with Tate Catering, the firm that supplies some of the UK's best-known art galleries.
Lee Simmons and John Pallagi of Farmison & Co, which has won a major deal to supply meat to Tate Britain and Tate Modern. (S)Lee Simmons and John Pallagi of Farmison & Co, which has won a major deal to supply meat to Tate Britain and Tate Modern. (S)
Lee Simmons and John Pallagi of Farmison & Co, which has won a major deal to supply meat to Tate Britain and Tate Modern. (S)

The nine-strong delegation of chefs, who mastermind the menus at Tate Britain, Tate Modern and other sites, are in the district for a two-day ‘passion trip’, visiting local farmers and gamekeepers.

Online wholesale and retail company Farmison & Co supplies meat from rare and native breeds and claims to have the widest range of heritage meat online anywhere in the world.

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It already supplies many of the best-known restaurants in Yorkshire, including the Yorke Arms at Ramsgill, The Star at Harome and the Black Swan at Oldstead.

The Tate deal will see high-quality Yorkshire produce served at high-profile events across London and beyond, providing a prominent platform for the region’s food industry.

John Pallagi, managing director of Farmison & Co, said: “This deal is hugely important in pioneering and sustaining the growth of public access to British heritage and native produce.

“It’s a major contract for us at Farmison, but also for Yorkshire, because it affects so many Yorkshire businesses, including abattoirs and 15 or 20 farmers. It goes right through the supply chain.”

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Tate Catering’s executive head chef Stephen Goodlad, who is leading the delegation of chefs, said: “Tate catering is committed to reducing its carbon footprint across all its kitchens and the chefs at both Tate Britain and Tate Modern fully complement our ethos.

“We pride ourselves on using British premium specialist suppliers and we select our supplier partners carefully. For this reason we use Farmison because of their approach to British Heritage produce sourced mainly – or exclusively – from the local farms, dales and moors of their home base of Yorkshire.

“Their versatility, quick turnaround and bespoke approach to the supplier chain ensures we get a locally-sourced, quality product we are proud to utilise on all our menus across all aspects of our restaurants.”

Uniquely, Farmison & Co’s website enables customers to select not only cuts of meat, but also the breed of the meat, which is dry-aged for up to 90 days.

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