This Little Piggy’s first festival was a huge success, and not only that, the festival was in aid of a great cause – raising money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
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Month: July 2015
Edstone Music Festival
Our ‘thislittlepiggywenttomarket’ van will making its first appearance at Edstone Music Festival on Saturday 11th July 2015, in support of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The festival raises money for the MS society and its dedicated fight against this condition, one which we proudly support.
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The Pigs' Favourite Treat
The charming home-reared Oxford Sandy and Blacks at Carlton Towers are feeding on pig nuts twice a day with a little treat of fruit and vegetables. We not only source the ingredients we use at Cooks and Carlton Towers locally, but the pigs’ treats are locally sourced, too.
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About Oxford Sandy and Blacks
The Oxford Sandy and Blacks owe their name to their characteristic toffee-coloured coat blotted with black splodges which is an excellent protection against sunburn. Also known as ‘Oxford Forest Pigs’ or ‘Plum Pudding’, they have been kept traditionally by farmers and cottagers especially around Oxfordshire as far back as two hundred years ago and seem to be closely linked to Tamworth and Berkshire pigs.
…characteristic toffee-coloured coat blotted with black splodges…
In recent years, the number of Oxford Sandy and Blacks had declined significantly, so much so that the breed had come close to extinction. It was not until 1985 that a group of dedicated breeders founded the Oxford Sandy and Black Society to ensure that a herd book was kept and promote this historic breed’s wellbeing.
Known for their excellent temperament and mothering abilities, the Oxford Sandy and Blacks are natural foragers and less inclined to put on excess fat. Higher boned than other breeds, they produce a good ratio of meat to bone and are valued by breeders, as they produce not only excellent bacon and ham, but also memorable pork.
Find out more about this charming breed at www.oxfordsandypigs.co.uk.
In the News
It seems there are more than just us who find Carlton Towers’ own Oxford Sandy and Blacks endearing. Here they are along with Lord Gerald featuring in the newspaper this week. The piece sums up very nicely many of the upcoming plans at Cooks including plans for the pigs – vegetarians look away now.
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First Pigs Arrive at Carlton Towers
These are our delightful Oxford Sandy and Blacks living a lovely life in the walled garden at Carlton. It is so hard not to fall in love with them as they are simply bursting with character.
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This Little Piggy Went To Market
This Little Piggy Went to Market is an exciting new project at Carlton Towers which runs perfectly alongside Cooks, the Carlton School of Food, as part of our ‘From Park to Plate’ journey.
Rearing animals and growing our own produce has been the missing piece of the puzzle in the plan to use Carlton Towers estate to its full potential. Carlton’s grand state rooms have long been the ideal venue for dream weddings and memorable special events. More recently, in May 2014, the servants’ passage and kitchen were returned to their former glory, now housing Cooks, the Carlton School of Food. Cooks classes run regularly with a wide range of cuisines and cooking styles to suit everyone’s culinary taste, age and cooking skills. But be sure to keep an eye for the courses with Carlton’s own porkers.
The Oxford Sandy and Blacks were the obvious breed of choice…
The Oxford Sandy and Blacks were the obvious breed of choice in the plan to turn Cooks into an academy of food, in which to learn every step in process of creating the delicious dishes we love to eat. Not only do they produce excellent bacon, lean ham and pork, but the historic breed are great foragers, too. These little piggies are currently working hard fertilising the land in the previously unused walled garden, which will be used to plant our own vegetables and eventually hops for The Carlton Towers Brewery.
Apart from the plan to use the pork for Cooks courses -the first samples of the scrumptious home-reared pork went down a treat- our This Little Piggy Went To Market van will be making an appearance at local festivals and events, which will give the public a chance to sample some of this delicious home-reared pork.
Master butcher David Lishman is also excited about this new addition at Carlton Towers. Together with our resident chef Richard Walton-Allen, David ran the first ‘Carlton Porkers’ cookery class at Cooks with our first batch of home-reared pork. There is also going to be a ‘Park to Plate’ arrangement with David Lishman, as the meat form our pigs will be excellent for his traditional curing butchery classes.
So what are the next plans for these charming Oxford Sandy and Blacks?
Soon they will be moved to Carlton’s woodlands where they will roam and forage freely in a perfectly natural way. And there are plans that these characterful pigs will one day snuffle for truffles around truffle-infused oak trees- Lord Gerald received one as a present from daughter Flossy for Christmas. Watch this space.
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This Little Piggy Went To Market
Carlton Towers
Carlton, Yorkshire
DN14 9LZ
01405 861662
info@thislittlepiggywenttomarket.co.uk