UK butcher sets sights on prize at Dutch competition
A North of England butchery business, Kitson & Sons Butchers, is to become the first in the UK to take part in Holland’s premier Easter prime cattle showcase, Paasvee 2017, and the owner has his eyes set on the title prize.
Anthony Kitson.
Anthony Kitson, who runs three butcher’s shops in North Yorkshire and Cleveland, will be taking part in Paasvee, an open air cattle showpiece which will be taking place on 5th April, in Schagen, Holland.
Recently Anthony travelled over to visit three farms in southern Holland to pick the animal he has high hopes will make him the first-ever English butcher to compete and win a prize at the annual Dutch event.
He chose a pure-bred British Blue cow from Paul Van Driessen, who farms south-west of Rotterdam.
According to Anthony, the Dutch’s perception of meat is that it should have no fat, whereas in the UK, butchers prefer fat to allow their customers to enjoy the full flavour of the meat.
He claims that the cow he has chosen for the competition has a covering of fat on it, but he hopes this initiative will give him a better chance of winning.
The UK butcher says he is trying to change mind-sets, and suggests that Dutch butchers are not as commercially minded as their British counterparts, meaning their products often fail to deliver the great experience that a British beef steak can.
Anthony commented: “Through this pioneering venture we are representing the UK in Europe and all we stand for in meat retailing, cooking and cuisine.”
Whatever the outcome at Paasvee, Anthony’s entry will return to the UK and be sold at his three shops.
“This will allow our customers to both view and taste the difference of what is perceived as a very good quality animal in Holland against our own UK-produced meat,” Anthony added.
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