About Paul Shum Family Butchers
Paul Shum Family Butchers on Woodmill Farm, nestled in the heart of Yoxall, specialises in local meats, meaning very low food-miles for those that prefer their meat to come from within a small radius. Their ethos is ‘Fresh and local’ and all their lamb, beef and pork is sourced within a fifteen mile radius of the shop. They also make all their own pies, which greet you as a fabulous display when you walk into the shop, as well as stocking local cheeses.
They are also an important part of the local supply-chain, supplying various local restaurants and pubs with their produce. Some of those even advertise them on the menus to highlight how local the meat is and also works as a great example of local businesses helping each other out.
The produce really speaks for itself. All beef is dry aged for a minimum of five weeks which produces a much better flavour. Paul explains that supermarket meat is wet-aged and vacuum sealed at an early age, but they do it the old fashioned way for a better product. They also stick to the traditional beef breeds including Dexters, Herefords, Angus and belted Galloway (rather than continental breeds found in supermarkets).
The business started in 2018 and then after enjoying a successful Christmas, the country was soon plunged into lockdown as a result of Coronavirus.
As a fairly new business, Paul explained that it was actually the making of the business in some ways, as they were able to adapt very quickly.
They started selling meat packs and were sending them out to people who were self-isolating. They then teamed up with the Green Door Bakery, who are also based on Woodmill Farm, to supply additional items such pasta and rice, so that people could make complete meals.
Paul explained that they started stocking fruit and veg then changed the shop so they were set up to serve people in line with social distancing guidelines.
He said "When people were stuck for where to go to source food, they found us! At one point we had queues of people outside who were happy to wait to ensure that they were able to get fresh local food during those difficult times."
The business started with two staff when it first opened and after a successful five years, the team has now grown to employ 15 members of the team. Every employee is from the village itself or the surrounding areas. Three of them have been trained up from scratch as apprentices and Paul has been able to pass on his expertise so that everyone does everything the same way as a way of keeping those traditional skills alive. Examples include sausage making and the skill and art of cutting meat.
Paul explained that they are an important part of village life. Not just by employing local people, but as a business, they do a lot to support local charities. Examples include supporting the primary school with raffle prizes as well as providing meals for the elderly.
We couldn’t not mention the pies again! Chris, who makes the pies, does so using her grandma’s recipe! She is obviously doing something right as they sell nearly 200 pies a week, with people raving about how good the pastry is!
As well as traditional cuts of mean, the shop also stocks a variety of added value products, such as marinated meat. Examples include beer and mustard pork chops, sweet tandoori lamb and minted butterflied leg of lamb. There is also home-cured bacon, done on site, which is an art that is disappearing. Paul and the team really are champions of the old-fashioned techniques.
Their hard-work speaks for itself in the quality of their produce, however, it’s always nice to be recognised by your industry peers too. An award-winning butchers, they were pleased to bring home the award for Best Butchers in the Midlands 2023. This was a Countryside Alliance award that took place down in London at no other than the House of Lords!
Paul recognises that times are hard and people have been struggling recently with the cost of living crisis. As a result, they introduced a £20 family pack – 5 items of meat and 5 recipe cards to go with it.
Paul explained that "You can’t get this in supermarkets for anywhere near that price. We are keen to get young people coming into a butchers too – so the family packs give people the opportunity to talk with staff about what they want. It’s a really personalised service. That way you know you can feed your family for the week with £20 and can stick to a budget. It is important to know that when you shop locally, you are helping to support the whole community. Its not just the shop, other businesses are benefitting from the supply chain here and more and more nowadays, people want to know where their produce is coming from. Come in and speak to us – we have a personal knowledge of the product and can be on hand to answer any questions. We pride ourselves in offering a personalised service."
While they have to remain tight-lipped for now, keep your eyes peeled on TV on the run-up to Christmas as you may well notice them featured on a much-loved festive programme!
Family Packs are a great deal but on the day, to celebrate Small Business Saturday on the 2nd December, Paul Shum Family Butchers are also offering two 8oz sirloin steaks for £10.
Contact Details
You can follow them on their social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram.
Telephone Number: 01543898400
Website: www.butchersofyoxall.co.uk
Email: paulshumfamilybutchers@gmail.com
Social Media: Instagram and Facebook – paulshumfamilybutchers