Epicure Founder: Jacqueline Broadhead
I am a farmer’s daughter and was always actively involved with work on my parent’s farm but with two older brothers and decreasing profits in farming I was never going to be able to continue in the farms future.
I pursued a career in science gaining a biology degree at York University and then a PhD at the John Innes Institute, Norwich in Plant biochemistry and molecular biology.
A further career in science was going to lead to a lot of desk work which I did not want. I got a more applied research job for a new company investigating agricultural crops for industrial applications. This heightened my interest in sustainability but again the work was desk based and I missed working with animals.
Why Cheese?
I had always had a passion for good food and drink and made beers and wines and produced my own vegetable etc. I wanted to keep livestock but my aim was to make them cover their costs. Meat seemed very over done but cheese production in East Yorkshire was minimal. I started making cheese in the kitchen and enjoyed it as it involved some of my scientific skills.
At this point I had no animals or land. I found land in the village to rent and purchased my first cow and bull calf in 2005.
Why Rare Breeds?
Biology had made me realise how important a diverse genetic base is for all realms of life. I also wanted to work in a system that was sustainable and involved as few chemical inputs as possible. I looked in to rare breeds and after much deliberation on animal hardiness, milk properties and rarity of the breed I decided on Shetland cattle. They are proving to be wonderful animals to work with.
Pigs
My next dilemma was what to do with the whey from cheese making. Pigs seemed to be the answer so I looked again in to the rare breeds and the Tamworth stood out.
By this time I had been fortunate enough to purchase 111 acres of land which had 10 acres of woodland which would be ideal for the pigs. The meat from the pigs feed on the whey is so succulent and tasty it is amazing and I am hoping to set up curing and air-drying to produce some wonderfully tasty alternatives to the Spanish and Italian meats.
Sheep
My original idea was to produce cheese from sheep milk but I could not find a suitable rare breed of sheep that would provide enough milk. However, I needed something to tidy up the grassland after the cattle graze it and sheep fitted in to the system for this.
I had never dealt with sheep and my purchase of Kerry Hills has been an interesting experience in my first year and much has been learnt. I am fortunate that a local sheep farmer has given me much help and advice. I call them Surprised looking sheep and the pictures with their heads held high and pricked ears will show you why. Watch this space for meat availability and potentially wool products.
A big thank you for all the support
There is a lot of “I” in this but with out the help and support of many people around me from work colleagues, friends, locals and family I would have struggled to get as far as I have. It has probably been one of the best parts of setting out on this mad caper in realising how wonderful people can be in what often seems such a cruel, uncaring and selfish world.
Most of all I offer huge thanks to my parents who retired from their farm to help me set up and have been invaluable advisers and helpers.
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