The Ginger Pig
With free range, rare breed meat from their own farms near Whitby in north Yorkshire the Ginger Pig in Lauriston Road, near Victoria Park, has in the last year become a firm favourite in Hackney, with queues out of the door on Saturdays and Sundays.
It all started 15 years ago with Milly, Molly and Mandy, three Tamworth sows that Tim Wilson bought for his small farm in Yorkshire. Tamworths have a distinctive copper colour, but they weren’t viewed as viable for farming because, while their flavour was fantastic, they were slow to mature and had a lot of fat, which put consumers off. Tim, however, was undeterred and gradually built up his business selling sausages and bacon through agricultural shows and a farm shop in his barn. The success encouraged him to expand into other livestock, and he was one of the first traders at East London foodie heaven, Borough Market.
Tim came across his latest shop site by chance on his way to a party. Driving along Lauriston Road he passed through the area known locally as Victoria Park Village and immediately saw the potential. With its young families attracted by the good local schools and diverse community there is a real village atmosphere about the place. As well as catering to the locals, the growing selection of restaurants, café’s and quirky independent shops is attracting non-locals into the area. In fact less than a year after it opened the Hackney shop is producing more profit per square foot than any of the other Ginger Pig shops in London, including Marylebone, Waterloo and Borough Market.
The Hackney branch of the Ginger Pig generates more profit per square foot than any of the other London shops
Upstairs in the butchers, alongside the delicious sausages, bacon and pork, the free range beef and mutton from traditional breeds are traditionally dry-aged in a temperature and humidity controlled cooler to produce meltingly tender and rich tasting cuts. The chickens are slow growing birds allowed to roam on fresh pasture and fed on locally grown grain. Once the birds are fully mature they are dry plucked and hung for a minimum of 10 days in chilled conditions to develop a fuller flavour.
Downstairs in the Deli, manager Theo stocks high quality products from local or small producers that you won’t find on the shelves of your local supermarket, but would love to try. Cheeses come from Neal’s Yard dairy, and there are handmade pies, and chutneys alongside the cooked meats, olives and fish in the deli counter.
Thanks to Milly, Molly and Mandy we have another success story here in Hackney.
The Ginger Pig, 79 Lauriston Road, Hackney E9 7HJ Tel: 020 8986 6911
www.thegingerpig.co.uk
