Abattoir inspires chef to hold ethical dinner

Published on Saturday 15 March 2008 09:59

STANDING in the freezing cold abattoir, Roy Brett watched as the cows moved slowly towards the electric-shock machines that would end their lives. The butchers employed by the slaughterhouse were already sharpening their knives at the prospect of the task ahead.

Meanwhile nearby, in the market attached to the abattoir, the cooks were busy planning meals that would use the spoils of that day's slaughter.

It was a ritual carried out with a ruthless efficiency on a daily basis, but for Roy, the executive chef at the award-winning The Grill at Dakota Forth Bridge in South Queensferry, it was done with a compassion that has a certain poignancy.

"It was incredibly humbling to be with these majestic creatures at the end of their lives," says the softly-spoken Edinburgh-born man, who developed a passion for organic food while working at Rick Stein's flagship seafood restaurant in Padstow.

"I felt a huge respect, both for the animals and the people whose life's work it was to make sure they lived and died in the best possible circumstances. I can't say it was a pleasurable experience, but in many ways it was a positive one."

The 39-year-old, who lives in Colinton with his wife Karin and their two young children, is a supporter of the Slow Food Movement, a world-wide group which promotes the importance of ethical, traditional, humane and fairly-traded food production and preparation.

He requested the visit to the Scotch Premier Meat abattoir in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, after it became one of his main suppliers.

"It was important to me that I saw how the farmers and abattoir treated their animals before using the meat in the restaurant," he says. "I needed to confront and understand the whole process, and I'm really glad I was able to do that. It was reassuring."

Roy is one of the chefs who will be taking part in a dinner organised by the Slow Food Movement at the Atrium restaurant on Monday night.

The meal will take place on the same day as the innovative Chef's Market, a collaboration between the local branch of Slow Food and the Edinburgh Farmer's Market.

The event will see a dozen farmer's market stalls erected in the foyer outside the Cambridge Street venue, giving 50 of Edinburgh's leading chefs the opportunity to find out about and taste the food being grown by local farmers and producers.

Later in the evening Roy and Neil Forbes, the Atrium's head chef, will be joined by Tom Lewis – who runs Monachyle Mhor hotel and a fish shop and bakery in the Trossachs – to produce a meal with produce from the market.

"It's going to be a really exciting day," says Roy with a contagious enthusiasm. "There will be all sorts of people there who are passionate about food, so it will be an opportunity to share ideas and learn more. I'm really interested in the whole concept of slow food, but I'm by no means an expert."

The event will emulate the ideals that Roy saw in practise during his visit to the abattoir, where, minutes after the cows' instantaneous slaughter, the meat was processed. After witnessing the process, Roy was invited by the abattoir owner to taste the meat.

"I have to admit it wasn't the first thing I felt like doing after watching the slaughter," he says. "But eating the meat was part of the process of honouring the animals that had been killed as well as the people who looked after them, so I did it gladly and it was delicious. I felt as if the process had come full circle."

For further details about Slow Food Edinburgh go to www.slowfoodedinburgh.co.uk or contact Donald Reid on 0845 370 7569, e-mail [e-mail]