IT'S THE WEEKEND: Food and Drink - Supporting the meat experts during National Butchers' Week

The initiative, now in its eighth year, launches on Monday and aims to celebrate everything that is great about the British institution of the high street butcher, reinforcing the fact that butchers remain the number one choice for range, service and convenience when it comes to buying meat.

In Abergavenny, the Beavan Family Butchers believe community support is needed more than ever before to ensure the traditional butcher remains a staple of our high streets.

Huw, Jan and their son Gareth run the butchers on Hillcrest Road.

Mr Beavan, 50, who has a national diploma in agriculture and farming from Usk Agricultural College,is the third generation of his family to run the family farm. The Beavans have two - one off the Skirrid mountain which they run and the other near White Castle run by his brother Jim and wife Kate. The family as a whole has been farming for over 100 years and in 2009 the Beavans decided to open a butchers shop on the outskirts of Abergavenny where they sell their own meat.

“The premises had previously been a butchers but had been closed for 18 months so we decided to open our own butchers,” explained Mrs Beavan.

“We hadn’t considered it before but started from scratch and steadily built up trade from customers and pubs and restaurants, promoting our own meat.

“We keep Limousin and Belgian Blues heifers producing top quality lean meat slaughtered at Talgarth and hang it to ensure tenderness and flavour that is not found elsewhere.

“We have 900 ewes and expect around 1500 lambs each year which are sold in market in late spring and a small number retained for sale through the shop.

“We pride ourselves on traceability and limited transportation.

“We are able to offer technical advice which you don’t get in a supermarket. It’s surprising how many people ask for advice on how to cook a piece of meat.

“We are competing with the supermarkets but we make our own sausages, faggots and burgers here at the shop throughout the year.

“Some of our more popular flavours are sweet chilli and garlic and pork and apple.”

In Newport, Tony Turner opened the family butchers shop A.D Turner's in the market in 1961.

Mr Turner, 76, still works in the shop which is run by his sons Mike, 46, and Patrick.

Mike joined the family business straight from school and is also joined by staff Gavin and James as well as his mother Teresa, who works there part-time.

He said: “Ray Jones, 66, also works with us and is a good friend of my father's. Between him and my father they have a combined age of 142 and we call them ‘the oldest boys on the block.’

“We’ve seen many highs and lows here. In 1961 there were 21 butchers in the market and now we are the only one.

“We make our own sausages and have 12 different flavours. We come in early in the mornings to prepare the meat and our customers love to watch us at work.

“We have a tremendous and loyal following but would love people to come and have a look and meet us.

“Unfortunately it’s a dying trade.

“People do need to support their butcher throughout the year and not just at Christmas.”

Mike said the local butcher scores highly on quality of cuts you don’t get in the supermarket but that they have had to diversify offering pies, pasties and during the summer offering barbecue products.

He said: “We never stand still and are always doing new things.

“We have the knowledge, experience and know where our meat comes from which you don’t get in a supermarket.

“We are seeing young customers coming to us and we’re happy to give them advice on what to cook and how to cook it.”

Mark Ashenden took over Palfrey’s Butchers on Church Road, Newport, last July.

Mr Ashenden, 44, was a butcher at the business for 12 years before taking it over.

Mr Ashenden, of Ringland, took his first job at Dewhurst Butchers in Newport’s John Frost Square when he was 16 and learned how to cut down carcasses, bone joints of meat out, how to cut chops and what to do with certain cuts in a week.

At 17 he was named Welsh Young Butcher of the Year and during his career returned to work at Dewhurst’s on several occasions.

He says the business, which was established 86 years ago, offers a traditional and personalised service which you don’t get in supermarkets.

He said: “In the supermarket you only have a choice of what is on the shelf, whereas here if you want something special I will do whatever I can to source it.

“I offer a face-to-face service and know all of my customers, many of whom are regulars and can give advice on what meat is best for what they want to cook and how to cook it which you don’t get in a supermarket.

“It’s all about traceability, knowledge and experience.

"I make my own sausages, burgers, pies and faggots and can tell you exactly what is in it.

“I was chatting to someone in a supermarket recently and asked him where his chicken was from but he didn’t know.

“I source and cut the meat myself and can tell my customers exactly what they are getting.”

Ed Bedington, editor of Meat Trades Journal (MTJ), which organises and promotes the scheme, said: “The focus on independent retail and, particularly, butchers continues to grow as consumers look for increasing assurance and the personal touch of dealing with shorter supply chains.

“National Butchers’ Week (NBW) aims to support and strengthen that view and give butchers an opportunity to set out their stall for consumers, who traditionally may have avoided the high street when it comes to buying their meat."

With that added focus on the high street, the 2015 campaign will build on the work of previous years, which saw MTJ launch the very successful ‘Idiot’s Guide to the Butcher’, and the longer-running campaign of encouraging consumers to get into the shops and ‘Ask the Experts’.

A social media campaign, using the hashtag #butcherisbetter will encourage consumers to engage and share their reasons for shopping at their local butcher.

“We’ll be encouraging both the trade and consumers to tweet about the great experience that can be found using the butcher’s shop, and spread the word that the #butcherisbetter,” he added.

The week will also look at the evolution of the high street butcher and how, while the technology and trends have evolved over time, the butcher is still performing the same function of providing high-quality meat to consumers.

For recipe ideas, advice and details about the scheme visit www.nationalbutchersweek.co.uk