Old Queenian, Ed Davies, joint founder of the multi-award winning Somerset meat supplier ‘
The Meat Men‘ returned to school this week and demonstrated his skills to the next generation at Queen’s College. Ed delivered his masterclass to a large group of pupils from Year 7 to Year 13 by sharing his specialist techniques and traditional skills as he prepared the two pigs that had been donated to the school six months earlier.
As part of the filming of the BBC Countryfile series at Queen’s College earlier in the summer, BBC celebrity presenter and farmer, Adam Henson, gave the school two of his family’s own Berkshire pigs to rear so pupils could learn hands-on about Food Provenance and Food Sustainability and where their food comes from.
Our Head of the Faculty of Art, Design and Food, Mr Joe Mann, approached Ed in the hope that he would use his years of experience to continue this education of our pupils and enthuse our young chefs at Queen’s. Mr Mann said, “We are eager to learn from food industry professionals and Ed of ‘The Meat Men’ kindly agreed to come in and share his butchery skills, expertise and knowledge with our classes”.</p>
During the class, Ed demonstrated a number of meat preparation techniques as well as sharing valuable insight into meat production, the benefits of sourcing local meat, traceability, and seasonality. Ed delivered his masterclass this week to a large group of pupils from Year 7 to Year 13 teaching specialist butchery preparation techniques and traditional butchery skills.
Mr Mann added, “It has been invaluable for the learners to learn first-hand about how to minimize wastage when breaking down the whole animal. We looked at the different cuts including what you can do with some of the lesser-known cuts and about the costings involved”.
Ed said, “It was lovely to be invited back by Queen’s College to give a talk to their student chefs. For me, it was a great opportunity to be able to give something”.
Mr Mann added, “Overall, it was a fantastic experience for the pupils. Queen’s College would like to thank Ed for an outstanding butchery demonstration. Not only did the learners have the opportunity to observe a true professional, but they also learnt about what it takes to start and maintain a successful business”.
