September 2017 at Wark Farm
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- 08-12-2017
It's reached that time in the month againwhere I say sorry for sending the regular email a bit late. Sorry. By way of redress I can offer you some seasonal partridge this month, apologies they're not free or anything but they are rather lovely. Not quite as exquisite as the grey partridge perhaps, these are red legged partridge, but still one of my favourite game birds. We have them available as oven ready birds, packs of 4 skinless breasts or packs of 8 legs. What are free at the moment are chanterelles so if you know your fungi why not pair a partridge with some, sautéed in butter, roasted potato discs and some rowan jelly to deglaze the tin with the cooking juices. Something to complement the recent twangs of autumn.
The partridge didn't originate on the farm, not far away though, they're just there to temp your tastebuds, but I have been thinking a lot recently about the diverse nature of the outputs this chunk of hillside can produce. Obviously there are our meats. We also offer woollen products. We provide a place of beauty and relaxation in the shape of our holiday cottage. We generate electricity. There are the butchery tuition mornings. And the farm experience days. The last are particularly interesting as an intangible but very real farm product, in the shape of knowledge shared, doors opened in peoples minds, life enhancing experiences and inspiration. Sharing the place that the farm is and why and how we do what we do is a precious thing. While the business here will always be grounded in the gutsy reality of a functioning organic farm we hope to gradually expand on these opportunities for others to access and share in this place. A very exciting step to realising this is the arrival on the farm of Susan and Richard as part of team Wark Farm. They are working in all aspects of the business and come with hugely complimentary skills, energy and inspiration for the farm. Susan is a textile artist, specialising in felting particularly (handy when one has 300 fleeces in the shed) and is already producing some beautiful products from the pure and crossed Hebridean fleeces. Richard is trained and working as a butcher but also studied and practices as a sculptor. We have a little steadying of the ship, after my recent challenges, to do before we develop some of the many ideas that are floating about amongst us but it's looking like a fun journey.