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A new butchery has opened at Bowhouse, the space for artisan food and drink producers in Fife.

Butcher, Sophie Cumber, is sourcing beef, lamb and game from Balcaskie Estate, where Bowhouse is situated. She specialises in a nose-to-tail approach, traditional hanging techniques and cuts that allow the natural flavour of the meat to shine. The farming system on Balcaskie Estate focuses on natural, native and wild meat production, producing organic beef, lamb and mutton, alongside free-range pork and wild venison.

Butchery at Bowhouse will initially trade online via Open Food Network, which allows Sophie to sell her meat to households across the UK.  When social distancing guidelines make it possible, the butchery will open to the public in a more conventional butchers shop format.Sophie will only be working with whole animals from Balcaskie estate, produced on a small scale. This means that making the most of each carcass with a nose-to-tail approach is key.

Butchery at Bowhouse stocks a range of roasts, steaks, mince, offal and stewing cuts alongside Sophie’s own seasoned sausages and bacon.

Sophie said:

“It’s been a pleasure to go back to my roots and work so closely with farmers again. This proximity to the source is one of the reasons I made the move to Bowhouse. Working so directly with those rearing the animals is really important. A single-link supply chain like this is at the heart of controlling quality, sustainability and is of course, much more resilient during these turbulent times. This may be a challenging time to launch the butchery but I’m delighted that our online shop allows us to send our top quality meat direct to people across the country.”

Meat from Butchery at Bowhouse is also available for local delivery and contactless collection via Bowhouse Link – an online market place that brings together selected producers and allows shoppers to select the food and drink for either contactless pick up or local delivery.

Sophie Cumber grew up on an Oxfordshire livestock farm before studying at Leith’s School of Food and Wine. She then went onto work at London’s Barbecoa butchers and Turner & George Meat Merchants before moving to Bowhouse in early 2020.

Find out more about Butchery at Bowhouse and buy online at https://openfoodnetwork.org.uk/butchery-at-bowhouse/shop.

Since its inception in 2017, Bowhouse has been a destination to connect shoppers with food and drink producers. The site is home to a number of makers transforming local ingredients. These include: