BBQ packs have been flying out of the door thanks to blue skies and summer sun, but steaks are popular all year round at what has been hailed Nottinghamshire's best butcher's shop. Our recent poll, asking Nottinghamshire Live readers to vote for their favourite, put a farm shop butchery counter at the top.
Six shops were vying for the glory of being crowned the best in the county. Barlows in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, G. Kemp & Son in Aspley, Robin Tuxford in Netherfield, A. Wright in Carrington and Alan Knight in Clifton were strong contenders but it was Spring Lane Farm Shop in Mapperley that triumphed.
Robin Tarn, 71, of Calverton, said: "It's brilliant. I shop here regularly. The beef is cheaper here and better quality than that you get in Asda, Sainsbury's, Tesco, everywhere. I've been coming here a lot of years.
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"I buy virtually everything... pork chops, lamb chops, joint of beef, joint of pork. The lamb is brilliant. I used to be a butcher myself when I first left school. You can't fault the staff. I've never had any complaints about anything. I would recommend to to anybody."
It makes it a double win for the family-run business, which also discovered it had been named the best farm shop and deli for Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire in the Muddy Stillettos Awards celebrating independent businesses. Jessica Spencer, the great granddaughter of the couple who originally starting selling fruit, vegetables and eggs from their farmhouse door, said: "We came out on top of that as well so it's fantastic really, beating Chatsworth and Welbeck.
"The fact they're both customer votes makes it even more special. When your own customers have to go online and vote for you it really brings it home that we're being supported by locals. It's fantastic."
The butchery counter is triple the size it was when it first opened as a four-metre display but now the refrigerated cabinet almost spans the full width of the shop, which as the name suggests is off Spring Lane.
Beef, pork, lamb - the full range of meat in various cuts is there, from joints to chops, diced and mince. Customers can choose from a range of steaks - ribeye, fillet, rump, sirloin and braising - as well as chicken and gammon.
So many different types of sausage - there's about 17 in all - include standard pork and award-winning Lincolnshire alongside French-style Toulouse, sweet-chilli pork and hot Spanish pork sausage. Coeliacs will be pleased to learn there's gluten-free sausages on sale too.
Last weekend the shop sold 126 barbecue packs containing a mix of sausages, burgers and chicken skewers. It's likely they'll sell another 100 so this Saturday and Sunday. Costing £20, they're really popular and good value for the amount of meat they contain.
Butchery manager Stan Hopkinson, who has worked there for more than 17 years, said: "We are a very busy place. It's nice to know customers are appreciating what we're doing and that we're getting it right for them." Asked what makes them standout from the crowd, Stan said: "Quality and the service we provide, we try and give the best service, the wide selection of choice, everything really."
Farm shops have a reputation for being expensive but Stan said: "We do keep a very competitive price, the owners believe in not ripping customers off. We are very keen on our price, there's no need to make a big margin as long as you're making a big enough margin and that's where we try to be to keep customers coming back."
The barbecue chicken skewers can be bought individually and come in a variety of flavours including Jamaican jerk, Mexican, Chinese, Argentine Fire and Chinese. A couple of years ago stir fries were introduced - a mix of chicken or beef, with vegetables and an allergen-free glaze.
Jessica, who is sales and marketing manager, said: "They're really, really popular as you can just throw in a wok, fry and have it with some noodles or rice. It's a really easy meal."
Stan and fellow butchers Jason, Pete and Dan, can be seen behind the counter, where they are busy butchering at wooden chopping blocks. The farm shop also has cheese and deli counters, a bakery, rows of fruit and vegetables, frozen food and bottles of beer, gin and wine.
Selling from the site goes back decades. It was in the 1960s that Edna and Herbert Spencer first sold to the public from the farmhouse door. They started farming there in the 1940s just as the Second World War was coming to an end.
Jessica said: "We were dairy farmers at the time, and were milking cows up until 2001 and then decided we were better to go into farm retail and pushed that. We started with a little garage at the top here which is the first bit of the farm shop you come into and it's grown and grown."
Jessica's grandparents Cyril and Dorothy took over - and still live there - before it passed down to her mum Claire, one of the directors, herself and brother Charlie. Today the farm rears cows and sheep as well as growing potatoes, wheat and barley.
Recently a new entrance to the car park was added. Jessica said: "It's double the size, The road is quite busy but it was a small gateway so to have doubled the size of it makes it so much safer and easier for customers to get in and out.
"We are in talks about re-laying the car park as we know it really needs resurfacing and we are talking about having a coffee shop but it's very, very early days at the moment so fingers crossed. A lot of our customers have said they would like to see one so we're doing our best."
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