Ashampstead butchers scoop regional title

Vicars Game staff celebrating after second consecutive win

STAFF at an Ashampstead butchers and farm shop were celebrating this week, after scooping a ‘Best Butcher in the South of England 2011 ' regional title, for the second year in a row.
Vicars Game, in Dog Lane, were pronounced winners of the title by the Countryside Alliance, after being nominated by customers.
The combined butchers and Casey Fields farm shop, co-owned by brothers, Alan Hayward, aged 63 and Owen Hayward, aged 62, has been in the village for seven years and employs between 30 and 50 staff, depending on the season.
“We are old fashioned, we don't cut corners, we sell the finest meat we can, cure our own bacon and serve a lot of local restaurants and pubs,” said Alan Hayward, who said he carved out his early career from the age of 13, at Griffins butchers in Bridge Street, Newbury.
The demand for game, he said, had soared over the past five years due to the success of celebrity chefs, such as Mike Robinson, of the Pot Kiln, in Frilsham.
“In days gone by, 90 per cent of all game shot in England was exported, now less than 50 per cent is exported,” he added.
A trip to the House of Lords is now in the Hayward's diary for March 7, with Vicars Game in the line up of 12 national finalists in London.