Ribble Valley butcher joins Butchers Q Guild

Brendan Anderton Butchers in Longridge joins a select stable of 115 award-winning independent butchers UK-wide. The Q Guild brand is widely recognised as a seal of excellence, with some of the highest quality butchers in the UK figuring among its ranks.

Founder Brendan Anderton is a lifelong butcher. After leaving school aged 15, he cut his teeth in the trade at butchers’ shops in Blackburn and Longridge, before launching his own business in the late 1960s, working from the family farm in Ribchester and supplying meat with his then fiancée Petrina to local customers. In 1972, as a newly married couple, Brendan and Petrina purchased what was an electricians shop in Longridge – they suspected that it had once been a butchers having caught sight of the partially boarded up stonework above the front door – this stonework is the basis of the company logo. It is from here that Brendan and his team – led by Simon – continue to ply their trade today, following long-held principles based around traditional butchery skills, quality local produce and first-class service.

Like their father, Brendan’s two sons, Austin and Roger were just 15 when they had their first taste of butchery on joining the family business in the 1980s. Today, all three are graduate members of the Institute of Meat and, between them, hold an impressive array of meat and food industry qualifications up to degree level. Together, Austin and Roger have developed the catering business, gaining industry-leading meat processor accreditations including the renowned Red Tractor Meat processor approval, BRC (AA), AHDB, STS, Made in Lancashire and pending membership with the NACB and Food for Life Catering / Soil Association Mark.

More recently, Roger qualified as a ‘Master Butcher,’ a prestigious title rarely awarded by the Institute of Meat and currently held by less than 20 butchers across the country. Roger is the 17th and youngest-ever butcher to receive this accolade in 2015.

Brendan Anderton Butchers has followed a programme of carefully controlled expansion and diversification. In 2007, the catering side of the business, Anderton’s Ribble Valley Butchers,’ moved to purpose-built EC-licensed cutting premises in rural Hothersall.

The catering arm now runs a fleet of eleven refrigerated vans delivering throughout the North West / North Wales to an ever-growing and extremely diverse private and public sector customer base, among them many highly regarded restaurants.

In 2012, the business enhanced its retail presence by launching a second butchers shop in King Street, Clitheroe. Butchery Manager Gareth and the Clitheroe team are ensuring that the shop goes from strength to strength, introducing a deli, cook to order breakfast, dinner menu and an emerging buffet service.

Local sourcing remains key to the success of Brendan Anderton Butchers. For over 40 years, the principals have established and cemented a supplier network so ensuring consistency, full gate-to-plate traceability and total quality control over all meat products. Other producers and suppliers are also local wherever possible.

Brendan Anderton Butchers processes all its own all-British beef, lamb, pork and chicken, at the same time constantly seeking to develop and introduce innovative new product ranges.

All five members of the Anderton family are now involved in the business. Petrina remains as the Company Secretary and Emma oversees and ensures that the business remains complaint with accreditation standards and legal / industry legislation.

The company now employs a 42 strong workforce across its retail and catering operations and the next generation are already set to follow.

Brendan Anderton Butchers is actually re-joining the Butchers Q Guild, as it was also a member many years ago. “We wanted to get back into the club, to again share and benefit from the knowledge, expertise, ideas and inspiration of other like-minded butchers across the nation. Our own business is moving forward quickly and being members of the Q Guild once again will help us to keep ahead and rise to the future challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.”

Posted 1st August 2016 in . .

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