British meat has had its fair share of media scares. Yet research released today found that a whopping 93% of Brits said that recent media coverage of trouble in the meat industry had not put them off eating meat. 7 out of 10 Brits said they would like to eat lamb more often for Sunday lunch, showing its popularity is rising within the UK.

Meat Promotion Wales who commissioned the research argue that it is now critical that Britain puts its money where its mouth is by putting lamb on their plate more regularly. UK Sheep farmers have been badly hit by both media scares and the export ban on lamb throughout the Summer, resulting in an extra 1.1 million lambs on the domestic market from Wales alone.

This is a great example of first class British sheep farming which has been somewhat unfairly affected by food scares. The Welsh lamb market accounts for a third of the UK lamb market and has to-date had no outbreaks of foot and mouth. Unfortunately despite this, Welsh sheep farmers in particular are still facing a bleak mid-winter, so why not support them by getting a nice cut of lamb on your Christmas dinner plate? It’s succulent, it’s different and you’ll be doing local farmers a great service in these somewhat tempestuous times.

Whether it’s a Sunday roast, dinner party, or intimate meal here’s your chance to ask Matthew Tebbutt how to impress your friends and family with minimal fuss and support your local farmers.

Matthew Tebbutt, Gwyn Howells, Chief Executive of Meat Promotion Wales and Norma Barry, Welsh Assembly Government's Food and Market Development Director joined us online to discuss.

H: Host, Glen Tomset
M: Matthew Tebbutt
G: Gwyn Howells, Chief Executive of Meat Promotion Wales

H: Hello and welcome to the Consumer Advice program, I'm Glen Tomset, it's nice to have your company. Now today we're talking about meat, Welsh meat in particular, Welsh lamb, of course with the recent onslaught if you like of foot and mouth which hit Surrey it's affected most parts of the UK, in fact all of the parts of the UK, it means that lamb animals haven't been able to, livestock indeed hasn't been able to be moving around as freely as it used to be. The Welsh meat promotion people are here to talk about something very important, they've got a lot of lamb literally lining up to be consumed. Two people to talk about that today, we've got Matthew Tebbutt whose a chef, got a lovely restaurant in Abergavenny in Wales, finding out how the restriction of lamb has affected his business, and also talking to Gwyn Howells whose the Chief Executive of Meat Promotion Wales, gentlemen thanks very much for joining us. So the lamb presumably Gywn, literally are lining up waiting to be consumed? How many are we talking about here?

G: In Wales alone we reckon there's just over a million lambs over and above what we would expect at this time of year, and obviously that is as a direct result of the ban on exports which came in in the early days of August because of the foot and mouth outbreak in Surrey, so the last three months have rendered the industry in a state of serious crisis in that there have been more lambs on the market because of the export ban, and therefore they've been stacking up on farm and the opportunity is there if you like now for consuming, for consumers in Great Britain to make, take advantage of the situation and consume plenty of delicious lamb from now on until the start of the year

H: So it really is a case of Hybu Cig Cymru, which means meat promotion Wales – you've got this big campaign on at the moment to drive more people to go into their supermarkets, to go into the butchers and buy Welsh lamb. Is it working?

G: Yes it is, we hope obviously that it will because the industry needs all the help that it can get from the consuming public, it's on the back of some robust figures anyway in terms of the consumption of lamb. A year on year growth in terms of lamb consumption is very very significant and good news for the industry, but we do have a particular problem at the moment in that we have to have a marketing balance and supply on the market exceeds demand and we're asking people to indulge themselves in the feast that is Welsh lamb, over the coming months and to help the industry and the economy generally by doing so as well

H: Now this is an interactive program, if you'd like to get in touch with us here on the program today, all you have to do is write in that little box at the bottom of the screen, hit the send button and your questions will be coming right through to me here in the studio and I can put those questions to both our guests, Matthew and to Gwyn. Matthew tell me, you're a chef, you run a very successful restaurant in Abergavenny

M: That's right

H: Lovely part of the country, and how has this whole affair affected your business? Is lamb, has it been off the menu?

M: No no, absolutely not, I mean I'm pleased to say I mean it's been on since day one and it's just as ever successful, I mean people still demand, people still – well they want to support it, they want to know where the lamb's come from, there's a big move at the moment to find out where everything is sourced and it's thriving, so no it hasn't affected us at all so – we're pushing it

H: Do you actually put on your menu Welsh lamb?

M: Absolutely. I mean everything on our menu is sourced locally. What we have done is step up the amount of lamb on the menu, so as well as the prime cut we're using the secondary bits and pieces, the offal, the less familiar bits and pieces you know the whole ethos of eating the whole beast is very much about who and what we do, so we're using a lot of breast, a lot of neck, the shin and the shank obviously, which are a lot of the cheaper parts, but just delicious

H: Are people frightened to buy lamb do you think Gwyn?

G: No I don't think, the research that we've undertaken recently in fact shows that the consuming public is very very robust, has huge confidence in the product, and the results show that 93% of the consuming public actually trust and have confidence in the product, which is very very good news for the industry, and I think it underlines the fact that the industry is highly regulated in the UK, it is probably second to none in terms of the quality of its product throughout the world, so people can be assured that when they buy lamb or any other red meat product for that matter, they are buying with confidence and it is a quality product

H: Ok, and talk about mutton if you like, I believe that's becoming very very popular again, is that the case?

M: Absolutely, it is, we put mutton on the restaurant menu. Mutton is growing in popularity, it's still quite a niche market, what people don't expect from mutton is the expense to which it costs the farmer to maintain those lambs onto hogget, onto finally mutton, in keeping it, so at the end of the day you're left with an ingredient on the menu that surprises people because it's up there with prime cuts of lamb, but it's a different animal in a sense, it's a different beast and it eats very differently

H: Different texture meat?

M: Absolutely, it's a lot stronger, much more developed flavour. I mean it is, equally as delicious but it's a totally different beast

H: Blue tongue of course has been in the news a lot in the last few months, I mean there have been exclusion zones in parts of the south east of England. I know for a fact parts of other, Sussex as well – how has that affected you, we've had the foot and mouth of course in Surrey back in the summer, signs are still up in parts of Surrey saying that there's a certain area that you should avoid, how has the blue tongue scare affected the Welsh lamb production?

G: Well it is a very very worrying development, and obviously it's been sort of a development which has occurred in the last three years in northern Europe where blue tongue has become a disease which is prevalent, has actually you know come to the shores of the UK as you suggested over the last month, and obviously there is a worry in that it's very very difficult to control in that the disease is spread by midges, and obviously you can't control midges very easily which fly all over the place. But what I would stress I think, whilst it is a disease which renders, knocks animals and can be fatal in some cases to animals, there is actually no worry or risk in terms of people eating meat, so the message is that whilst we have a disease which we're trying to deal with within the industry, there is no danger to the consuming public

H: After a national scare like foot and mouth, like blue tongue, the hardest thing is reassuring the public that there is nothing wrong with the production of lamb from Wales. I mean what is the hardest hurdle and the toughest task you face?

G: Well I think it's constantly reassuring the consuming public that the products that we have and the brands that we have in terms of Welsh lamb and Welsh beef for that matter are second to none, they are premium brands, the production is in Wales on a very natural, green grass, environment standards are very very high and people can be assured that when they are buying both lamb and beef, be it in the shops or in restaurants like Matt that they have a top quality product and they can do so with confidence, there is no danger whatsoever

H: Do you get, you're at the sharp end, you're at the consumer end, with people literally at your restaurant buying lamb Matt, what sort of questions do they ask you – ‘is this lamb safe to eat?' Do you get that sort of question?

M: No we don't, we – I mean ours is a very rural community, there's a great support for the local community, if I was buying lamb from another part of the country they'd be up in arms. They want to know where it comes from, they want to know that – generally they know who it is, they know the farmer, they know the sheep, they know the field. I mean it goes back as far as that, and there is no one I've come across whose been put off at all.

H: So for somebody like you then who runs a restaurant and your colleagues as well in other parts of the country, in Wales, do you literally buy from the farmer down the road, is that how it works?

M: Yes that's, as I say, we've been doing it for sort of 6 years now, it is a growing movement which is a good thing, to buy within the local area, I mean it just made sense when we first set up the restaurant, it just made sense, you've got this beautiful produce all round the area and we – when I worked in London we were using the produce from Monmasher, in particular, so we got down there and it didn't make sense to go and buy your beef or your lamb or your chickens from anywhere else than on your doorstep which they are, and they're fantastic

H: Ok, got your questions coming in, if there's anything you'd like to put to our two guests here today, Matthew Tebbutt is a chef and also Gwynn Howells whose the chief executive officer of meat promotion, Wales, feel free to fill in that little box at the bottom of the screen, hit the submit button, it'll come through to here, to me in the studio here, I can put your questions to our guest. One here for you chaps ‘I try and buy a local produce wherever I can, however I find that my local supermarket often only offers imported meat. Is anything being done to promote British meat farmers?' Gwyn?

G: Yes I think it's a very very good question and an important point and I think if the consuming public have that worry I think they should contact the supermarket and the manager there and say why don't you have home produced product on the shelves, because I think what is important in the retail sector is the consumers have a choice, and whether to buy home produced product or imported product, and I think the choice needs to be there and people have the choice of supporting local industry and therefore local economy, and I think that is important. And ensuring of course they get value for money and top quality in the bargain

H: So really we're looking to help the Welsh lamb farmers here aren't we, we really want to recreate that business if you like, that production of lamb, is it going to work? The reassurance, I mean you're doing this big campaign this week, and drive to help the farmers – is it going to work do you think?

G: Well it'll have to work because obviously the sheep industry in Wales is a huge contributor to the GDP if you like, the economy of Wales generally, and obviously we need a sustainable and a prosperous industry in order to pin the economy, the rural economy communities and obviously the farmers themselves, and this campaign will aim to actually boost consumption, boost awareness of the brands that we have in terms of Welsh lamb and make sure there is lamb there next year when the production cycle restarts again

H: You're hoping to shift a lot between now and December, 1.1 million – that's a lot of lamb isn't it?

G: It is a lot of lamb, so we hope that people have big appetites in the autumn months and they can help the industry out of this predicament

H: Ok, Matt here we go, Bethany wants to know ‘I had thought of preparing Christmas dinner that was slightly different this year, but I'm not sure a leg of lamb would be enough.' Do you have any advice for her, this is Bethany?

G: For Christmas dinner, it's a great one, I would be roasting a couple of racks for the main event, but also the sort of thing you could do is the day before you could braise off a shoulder, depending on how many you're cooking for, braise off a lovely shoulder, it gets better with age, you sit it in a pot, you reheat it gently and you could have a little bit of rack, a little bit of shoulder, so you're eating two parts of the animal, that's a fantastic thing to do, and like you'd couple lamb with mint you could couple it with cranberry, it will do the same, have the same affect on the fat and –

H: It's quite a temperamental meat isn't it, it can get very greasy, which leads me into Janine's question here, she wants to know ‘sometimes when I cook lamb it comes out a bit greasy. How can I avoid this?'

M: Greasy –

H: It's a bit hot I guess

M: Greasy, it's not something I would generally associate, I mean it has fat, it has a fat like all meat does. I mean if you don't like that you change your cut, you get a leaner cut, so that's that, and one way, I mean if you were to, whatever cut she was using, what you could do is render the fat down before you cooked it which means you just, you recede the meat up, you put it in a hot pan, you'd allow the fat to come out naturally as you would a duck or something, you get that lovely crispy skin and then you would take it out of the pan and cook it in the normal way, and then you've lost most of that surplus fat

H: Ok more of your questions very very shortly, if you've just tuned in you're watching the Consumer Advice program, we're talking today on getting the Welsh lamb market moving again, of course with Foot and mouth and blue tongue, exclusion zones have been set up, animals haven't been moving around the country as much in terms of exporting, different parts of the country, different parts of the world if you like, because you do export a lot of lamb to other parts of the world don't you? We talk about New Zealand lamb coming from the other side of the world literally, but you shift a lot of stuff internationally as well don't you?

G: Yes it's a very very important part of the industry, in fact that 1 in 3 of all our lambs actually finds its home in export terms, obviously Europe is our main market, France being the premier market, followed by Italy and the Benelux countries, but also countries like Spain, Portugal, Greece, Germany and further a field from our, from Europe as well, into the Middle East, United Arab Emirates we're exporting lamb on a weekly basis into the UAE, and also to Hong Kong, so we're picking premier markets in fact for what is a premier product and there is demand in those markets for the brand which is very important

H: Any worries from those international markets on foot and mouth or blue tongue?

G: Funnily enough no. I think the messages are coming back loud and clear from those markets is that they want to see the markets resumed as soon as possible and for us to start exporting volumes of meat to those markets, because obviously we've built those markets over the years and we need to continue to supply them because we have a duty to do that, and people demand it and enjoy it and obviously it is important for business

H: Because what's the breakdown of exported lamb from Wales, from the UK, doesn't Wales – it's about a third isn't it I believe, a third of the market?

G: It is a third, a third of the export market

H: Yes

G: Which is a huge amount and when that door has been shut to you for 3 months of the year it does render a big problem for the industry

H: Ok another one here for our chef Matt whose with us today, got a lovely restaurant – what's it called, in Abergavenny?

M: It's called the Foxhunter

H: The Foxhunter?

M: That's right

H: Ok. So if you're in that area, or even if you're not, take a weekend trip down there and stay there, why not! Amelia Ross wants to know ‘what is the best marinade for lamb?' That's a good question

M: That's up to yourself, I mean lamb will stand up to big flavours, just as you'd marinade venison with juniper and rosemary and garlic and what have you, you can stand up to lamb as well or Moroccan spices, chorizo, cumin, coriander seeds –

H: Oh my mouth's watering

M: Anything you like

H: Stop stop

M: Anything, it stands up to a lot

H: Yes, what about serving lamb, I mean obviously it's served as a Sunday meal with roast potatoes and all the veggies, what about serving it with something a bit different?

M: Well I was with an Australian chef the other day actually and he marinated his lamb in yogurt –

H: Yogurt? What just a natural yogurt or –

M: Yes, slashes it, yogurt, garlic, whatever herbs you want to throw in there. That then crisps up the skin and goes beautifully sticky and then he served that again with these sort of Mediterranean style vegetables, but put in a few spices and what have you that he made with the lamb alongside the cooking so – that was fab, and that was his alternative Sunday roast

H: Would you glaze it with honey at all, would you –

M: Yes

H: Pour honey over it?

M: You could, you could

H: I know you do that with ham don't you?

M: Yes I mean it's pretty much, it's one of those meats that could pretty much go with whatever you want it to

H: Ok

M: There's nothing that would startle it

H: Gwyn what do you want people to do to get behind this promotion to get the whole lamb market in Wales moving again, what would you like people who are tuned in today to do?

G: Well I think to be a bit, to be aware of lamb as a dish, and obviously I think there's lots of work which has been done over the last few years to actually raise awareness of lamb as a growing meat and growing in popularity, I think we need to build on that for the next few months and actually get people to go into shops, look for lamb and as Matt mentioned, you know there's an array of cuts available for all meat meal occasions there and we need them to actually ask the retailers, whoever they are, to source them with local product, and I think that's very very important

H: Ok, we've got another one here for you Matt, Hilary Mathers wants to know ‘how do I make my kids want to eat lamb?' my kids love lamb

M: I was going to say that's unusual, I mean it depends, if her kids don't like fat then you'd need to choose a leaner cut like a rack or a rump, or something,

H: Shank is good isn't it?

M: Shank is lovely, shank is cheap, it's one of those cuts you can bung in the oven and forget about for a few hours, you'd be hard pushed to over cook it, it's delicious, I mean the kids, depending on what they like you could, you know, chuck in those flavours and they've got to like it

H: What about being a bit experimental and inventive with your lamb cooking, I guess you can get lamb cookbooks as well can you?

M: Yes I mean the middle eastern cookery books use a lot of lamb, a lot of lamb sort of kebabs and koftas and this that and the other and loads of spices and herbs, oh there's all sorts of – I mean a lot of the older style cookbooks I think are great with lamb, a lot of the, you know Elizabeth Davids and this sort of provencal cooking, they're the classic, you know garlic and rosemary and this that and the other

H: Ok, sounds very mouth-watering, very mouth-watering indeed. Straight down to his restaurant at the end of the program, I can tell you! What about you know you go into the butchers you go into the supermarket, you see lamb in front of you in the freezer or wherever it happens to be on the display units there – what do you go for as the best bit of lamb, question here from James, he wants to know that very question ‘what should you look for when buying lamb, what is the best bit?' The best bit, well that's – each to their own really, I mean the prime cuts are seen as the rack, and then I mean there's different cuts – I mean obviously there's shoulders, and legs, what have you, but the loin is the most expensive part. When you look for it you should look, I mean it's got to have – to my mind it's got to have a lot of fat on it, it's got to have a good size eye of meat and then you know you buy it from a good butcher it comes from a good source, you know you drill the butcher and you have to have the confidence in him to be able to tell you straight that where it's come from is a good source, and it's local and you know it's the best that he can get his hands on

H: Gentlemen, thank you very much, we've had Matthew Tebbutt in with us today whose a chef talking about Welsh lamb, also Gwen Howells the meat promotion Wales, chief executive officer. Good luck with the drive to get those lamb moving, 1.1 million hopefully by the middle / end of December. Try Welsh lamb, put it on your Sunday roast list, have it for the next party, have it for Christmas, have it for new year, have it for Easter – it's a great meat, give it a go. If you want more recipes and ideas and also tips on the way to cook lamb, go to the website buywelshlamb.co.uk. Thank you for your company, we'll see you again very very soon. Bye bye for now.

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