A CUT ABOVE
Lizzie Gore-Grimes meets Fermanagh food producer Maurice Kettyle to talk about the terroir of Irish beef, the secret to his salt-moss ageing and why, when it comes to meat, “eating less but eating better” is the way of the future.
Lizzie Gore-Grimes meets a specialist butcher raising the bar for Irish beef
“I’m a farmer’s boy, born and bred,” admits Maurice Kettyle with a smile that makes his eyes crinkle. To meet him, you could be excused for thinking the founder of Kettyle Irish Foods just stepped off the set of a Hollywood western, with his weather-worn good looks and imposing six-foot-plus frame, but as soon as he starts speaking, you know he has his (wellied) feet firmly on the ground.
“I grew up working with my father on the family farm just outside Lisnaskea, near Enniskillen. The land here around the lakes is nothing short of luscious; there’s no other word for it. I remember long summers as a child spent bringing the cattle over and back to the islands on the lake to graze.”
Today, Kettyle Irish Foods is one of Ireland’s most successful specialist meat businesses. Established in 2003, it remains based in Lisnaskea, supplying over 1,000 tonnes of the finest quality Irish beef, lamb and pork to chefs, retailers and restaurants all around the world.
“Respect was the key thing I learned from my father. Respect for the land, respect for the animals, respect for the farmer. This is vital. We don’t own this land – we’re just caretakers.”
Maurice speaks passionately about the importance of protecting Ireland’s community of small farmers. “We work with over 9,500 specially selected farmers from all over the island of Ireland.
These small farmers and the land and community of people around them are our heritage; they are a crucial part of what makes Irish beef, pork and lamb some of the most sought-after in the world.”
The idea of terroir might be one more often associated with wine (as the characteristic taste and flavour imparted by the environment), but Maurice believes firmly in the terroir of Irish beef. “You are what you eat, and the same goes for the animals. The rain, the grass, the soil, the heather… you name it… what nourishes them goes on to imbue layers of flavour into the meat. This is what makes our native meat so special.”
He’s clearly a great believer in tradition, but Maurice is also an innovator. When he first began the business, no one in Ireland was salt-ageing.
RIGHT Maurice Kettyle (in the blue shirt) pictured with his Kettyle Foods team, photographed on the grounds of Belle Isle Castle and Estate, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh. Having grown up on a farm nearby in Lisnaskea, Kettyle is now one of Ireland’s most successful specialist meat suppliers, working with chefs and restaurants all over the world.