Surrey Homes | SH76 | May 2021 | Restoration & New Build supplement inside

Slow,
Grow, Eat
Hairdresser-turned-shepherdess, Zoë Colville farms
nearly 100 acres of land near Maidstone with her
partner, Chris Woodhead. With prime focus on
their animals’ wellbeing, together they rear cows,
sheep, goats and pigs, eventually selling their meat
through The Little Farm Fridge. This month,
Zoe reflects on misconceptions surrounding
lamb and why education is so important
Before we kept livestock I’d never seen a dead animal,
except a fox on the side of the road maybe. I never
even saw our cats Winston and Xenon after their
demise either. Add that I was a vegetarian for almost ten
years before meeting Chris, the fact that we now run
a little butcher’s shop off the farm is pretty crazy!
This often has me wondering about the general public
and their knowledge of the meat they are eating, and
how much education is truly needed. There have been
a fair few situations where I’ve had conversations with
people and found myself thinking, “How do you
not know that?” And then reminding myself that I wouldn’t
have known either. Unless you actively go looking for that
information, it’s not just fed to you like other topics. I
believe schools are the answer; schools and social media.
During lockdown last year we had a couple and their dog
watch us load the newborn lambs onto the top deck of the
trailer and the ewes on the bottom, the lovely lady asked,
“Oh no they aren’t off to slaughter are they?” And Chris and
I looked at each other thinking it was a windup. But she was
very serious, I can see how calling it ‘lamb’ can be confusing.
Little do most people know that the animals look more like
ewes than they do lambs when they are sent to the abattoir.
Some will be a heavier carcass than me, that’s a far cry from
the cute little thing hopping all over the field at sunset. Most
of our lambs will go for meat when they are 6-7 months and
older. They will be weaned naturally by their mother before
this age and are on average 40kg as a minimum weight. I
hope this can go some way to help clear up the misconception
that they are babies separated from their mothers.
I have lots of people asking if I receive a lot of abuse on
my social media from activists and in actual fact it’s quite the
opposite. I did a poll and 15% of my followers choose to not eat
meat, yet actively follow us, often engaging in conversation and
that is a huge compliment to how we care for our livestock. I
think there aren’t many things I can’t show on Instagram, as long
as you explain in detail what’s happened and – most importantly
– why. Anything can be taken out of context, an image, a
comment, a video, but I am of the mindset that if you are clear
and matter-of-fact about the explanation it will limit any kind
of miscommunication and leaves very little room for confusion.
The Little Farm Fridge Recipe of the month
How to cook it... Beef Shin
Try this super-simple Mexican-inspired stew
• Serves 4
• 1 pack Little Farm Fridge
Beef Shin
• 1 sachet taco seasoning mix
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
Follow Zoe on Instagram @thechiefshepherdess
and @thelittlefarmfridge. You can order
meat online at thelittlefarmfridge.co.uk
• 1 organic beef stock cube
• salt & pepper
• honey – I do 2 drizzles!
Sear the shin in oil and the seasoning and then pop
it in a slow cooker with the remaining ingredients for
the day! Serve with fluffy rice, finely chopped chillies
and coriander – maybe even a little soured cream.
istockphoto.com/andreusK