Rarebreed Farm Branches Out with New Shop at Cornwall Services
Isabel Rose Farm, which specialises in breeding rare Cornish Large Black pigs*, has this week opened its first ever shop. Located at Cornwall Services, on the Victoria Interchange junction of the A30, the outlet is housed in a wooden ‘stable’ outside the main building.
The shop – which is less than 3 miles from the farm – sells the owners own products including sausages, bacon, belly pork, pork joints and fresh farm eggs, as well as a selection of other local and homemade items such as jams, chutneys, and honey. They are also offering homemade cakes and locally produced juices and cordials, with a variety of Cornish cheeses, Cornish coffee and plants from a neighbouring farm.
Mandy Wright from Isabel Rose Farm comments:
“We are so excited about this new venture! We only started farming 3 years ago after my son visited his uncle’s farm in Scotland and fell in love with the rarebreed pigs. At the time he was struggling to find all year round employment in Cornwall, so we did a pig-rearing course, realized we wanted to be part of a community helping to restore these traditional breeds, set up the farm and haven’t looked back! Our approach is all about ethical, sustainable and conscientious farming and the new shop will help us spread that message and introduce people to some fantastic local products.”
Co-founder, Nerissa Marx adds:
“Family and friends have been buying our meat and raving about the completely different taste for ages. Our dream has always been to open a Farm Shop so that we can get our products out more widely, but we couldn’t find the right place for it. The opportunity came up at with the ‘stable’ outlet at Cornwall Services and we knew that was where we wanted to be!”
Alex Lawson. Manager at Cornwall Services, comments:
“Cornwall Services isn’t your run-of-the-mill service station and Isabel Rose Farm is a brilliant addition to what we offer at here. We are big supporters of local, Cornish produce, and you can’t get much more local than this farm. It will be great for both locals and visitors to be able to experience some of the amazing products that small producers in Cornwall offer. We are excited to welcome them on site and can’t wait to start shopping there ourselves! ”
The shop has a charming rustic feel, with old original daffodil boxes from the 60s, vintage apple crates from the 50s, and an old pine dresser and shelving. The free-range eggs are even arranged in the wooden ‘nesting’ boxes filled with straw, so children and adults alike will get the feel of collecting their own farm eggs.
The shop will be open 7 days a week.
* The Cornish Large Blacks have been part of The Rarebreed Survival Trusts vulnerable list for a number of years. Along with the Breeds Society and the British Pig Association they are working hard to increase the numbers but at present there are only about 300 breeding sows in the UK. Their number demise started due to the increase in the Commercial Pig which they produce to weight in about 3-4 months compared to the Rarebreed that can take 10 months. Isabel Rose Farm also has a breeding programme to help increase the numbers of Cornish Large Blacks, which has seen positive results.
Posted: June 9, 2016 at 8:45 pm
