Channel 4’s Live Drop Down Menu visited us at Sharpham Park last month on the wettest day of the year, to film our White Park Cattle, a breed that has been around in England for over 500 years.

At Sharpham Park, organic farming forms the basis of everything we do, and our White Park Cattle is no exception. Our farm operates on a mixed economy organic basis, meaning our spelt is used to feed the cattle (and in turn, they help to fertilise the earth that the spelt is grown from!). This gives the meat a real gamey taste, with a fantastic marbling effect through the fat.

Freddie joined Gizzie Erskine (a fan of our pearled spelt!), Matt Tebbutt, Ben Tish and Nadia Sawalha in the studio last Wednesday to film our White Cattle beef being turned into a delicious dish by chef Adam Byatt, who cooked ‘Shank of Beef with Horseradish Mash,’ as voted for by the enthusiastic audience.

The recipe included a rich braise, consisting of red wine, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, bay leaves, beef stock and black pepper, as well as vichy carrots and velvet-smooth horseradish mash, which was all quickly gobbled up by the guests. If you missed the show on Wednesday, you can catch up on 4oD here.

We made an appearance in HELLO! Magazine’s Haute Cuisine supplement last week, with a 14-page-spread about setting up our farm, producing spelt, and our farm shop at Kilver Court, alongside some delicious recipes kindly provided by Monty and Freddie.

We bought Sharpham Park back in 2004 when it came on the market for the first time in 100 years. When deciding what to do with our 300 acre acquisition, I discovered spelt, which is an ancient alternative to wheat. Easier to digest than wheat, spelt is a very versatile ingredient. Over the years we have released a range of spelt products, including pasta, cakes, biscuits, ‘speltotto’ and breakfast granola.

The recipes in the feature make good use of some our home grown ingredients, including spelt, with ‘Fougasse Bread’ and ‘Sharpham Park Walnut Pesto’ provided by Freddie, and ‘Autumn Fruit Spelt Grumbles’, ‘Campanelle Pasta with Walnut Pesto’ and ‘Beetroot Speltotto with Goat’s Cheese and Spinach’ provided by Monty.