Izzy’s Butchers and Pennant Valley Game are trading names of the business Wild Welsh Meat Limited.
Pennant Valley Game was formed in 2012 by Izzy Hosking with her passion for game and her husband a gamekeeper. But in 2019 the opportunity arose to acquire the local butchers shop in Llanrhaeadr Ym Mochanant. With Izzy’s experience of handling meat and its butchery this gave the prospect of a business less limited by the seasonality of game meat. So in March 2020 Izzy’s Butchers was born securing the village a traditional butchers, Izzy’s Butcher.
The butchery and care of game meat can be more difficult than farmed meat and has its guidance via the Food Standards Agency’s Wild Game Guidance and also the British Association for Shooting and Conservation Wild Game Guide. With these two legislative parameters means that Izzy and Pennant Valley Game held the equivalent of HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) a high industry standard.
So with this practical, technical and theoretical background it is no wonder that Izzy’s butchers prides itself on supplying quality meat, prepared to the highest standard. Working with local farmers, ensures that where possible meat is locally sourced. Local Pork is often sourced from only 5 miles away, as indeed the majority of Lamb and Mutton is sourced from Izzy’s husbands own flock of Sheep. All beef is Welsh Beef, all poultry is British. Game will still be dominating feature when in season.
So Izzy’s Butchers creates this mid Wales emporium for all types of meat.
Often Game meat is overlooked and one reason for that is its lack of availability so with the butchers shop and Pennant Valley Game under the same roof mid Wales has game meat readily obtainable when in season.
Game meat is good for you, it’s ethically produced, and it’s truly seasonal. It is also superbly versatile and rich in flavour.
From a health-giving perspective, venison is an excellent source of Omega-3 fatty acids and contains half the saturated fat of beef. It’s also lower in calories, cholesterol, salt, and higher in protein.
Like wild deer, gamebirds enjoy a varied, foraged diet and plenty of exercise. As a result, pheasant, partridge and pigeon are all lower in fat, and offer more protein, iron, zinc and selenium than chicken.
With such a background it is not a surprise that Pennant Valley Game was Runner up in the Eat Game Small retailer in 2022 and also Runner up in the Countryside Alliance best Welsh Butcher in 2023.
