Farm’s delight at receiving gold stars for its produce

The judges particularly liked the farm’s ‘Organic Fennel Salami with Red Wine’, awarding it the highest possible award of three gold stars, concluding that “this salami has been made with great finesse to ensure first class texture and a stunning array of flavours; very well made indeed”.

The salami is made with pork from Peelham’s organic free-ranging female pigs and is naturally fermented using their own recipe of organic herbs and spices.

Also a winner with the judges was Peelham’s ‘Organic, Pasture-for-Life Sirloin Steak’, which received a gold star thanks to its “grass-filled flavours”, saying it was “extremely juicy … a wonderfully beefy flavour for 28 days aged … iron rich too … delicious”.

The steak is from the organic, never fed on grain Aberdeen Angus and 28-day aged in the farm’s recently expanded hanging chill.

Denise Walton of Peelham Farm said: “The whole family and our team are so delighted to get these awards.

“It is testament to the hard work and dedication of all of us as a team – from the farm right through our on-farm facilities to the final product, it shows that small farm-based producers like us can punch above our weight when it comes to quality.

“Being recognised with these Great Taste Gold Star Awards means so much to independent producers such as us, fitting with our ethos of ethical and sustainable farming and food production, which we sincerely hope will become more of the norm as we face the extraordinary challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss.”

The Waltons started adding value in a small way to the meat from their farmed animals 25 years ago, building the on-farm butchery in 2008.

They were inspired to start working on charcuterie and salamis following a visit to the Italian Salone del Gusto and Slow Food Terra Madre in 2002, making life-long friends with artisan salumieris in the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region of Northern Italy with whom they continue to exchange many visits.

For more information, go to www.peelham.co.uk​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​