We made our debut at the local Farmers Market today. It was at a National Trust Property and coincided with a Victorian Day – so everyone was in costume (including us after some nifty last minute needlework!). A great atmosphere with carols and street sellers hawking their wares from baskets.
We had some Highland beef butchered the previous day and were able to bring a good supply of vacuum packed meat. It was very difficult to estimate what the demand would be and we were a little concerned at the slow start. But all that changed when we fired up the camping stove and cooked our samples of steak. The whiff of Highland beef in the air really attracted people to our stall and after a tester we got lots of custom. We were pleased that the reaction to the taste test was so positive. We were not quite sure what cuts of meat would be most popular but soon found that the steaks, roasts and (to our surprise) brisket seemed to go very quickly. We had set ourselves a provisional sales target and were really delighted that at the end of the day we had totally sold out. Definitely a great success.
The success was not just in meat sales, it also proved to be a really fun family day out. We had told quite a few friends that we would be there and they all popped by to say hello. We also had some really interesting conversations with like minded foodies and self sufficiency aficionados. And we got to know a few of our fellow stall holders (special thanks to the cake stall next door, which was the prime attraction for the children!). Our 8 year old had a brilliant time giving out change and bagging up people’s meat. I think he was more excited than anyone about having our own “shop”.
After our first Farmers Market we have lots of ideas for how to improve on the next one. We’ll definitely be back!
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