FAMILY BUTCHER CARVES NICHE WITH HEREFORD PRIME

By Natalie Campbell

In a climate where the local butcher is facing a dramatic decline Bowmont Wholesale Meats in Invercargill is carving out a niche for itself.

A technique called dry-aging is used to heighten tenderness
and flavour consistently throughout the cuts.

Run by the Flynn family, Bowmonts has processed and been a staunch supporter of Hereford Prime since the pilot scheme began in 1994.

The Flynn family have worked hard to develop their business relying on quality, consistency and honesty - contributing to the growth of their business in the face of growing competition from supermarket butcheries.

Over summer, deliveries are made fortnightly into tourist haven Milford Sound, where Hereford Prime is served on the boats cruising the picturesque sounds.

Several tonnes of Hereford Prime are delivered in there at a time and it’s often an early start to beat the queues of buses and campervans though the historic Homer Tunnel.

A huge number of prestigious restaurants, bars, supermarkets, retirement homes and hotels also stock Bowmont produce which includes lamb, pork, poultry and manufactured small goods. They even have a foot in the door in Auckland. However freight costs curb the potential of expanding this market.

When Bowmont Wholesale Meats in Invercargill were offered the chance to be part of the development of Hereford Prime, they jumped at the opportunity. That’s because quality and consistency are the philosophies on which their business laid its foundations on back in the 1930s when it was first established by Jack Flynn.

Son John took over in the 1950s and he and wife Judith are slowly reducing their input, leaving the business in the hands of the third generation – Stephen and wife Catriona, and Scott. Another son, John is working in Australia and daughter Angela lives in Alexandra. It’s obvious quality and consistency are the fundamental keys to the business.

Hereford Prime is delivered into the Milford
Sound region and served on a number
of boats cruising the picturesque sounds.

The Bowmont motto is “where quality counts” and every piece of meat that leaves the factory is guaranteed. “Not that we get any complaints,” says John Flynn smiling. But if a customer is unhappy they replace the purchase. Strict quality control guidelines are implemented and John is proud of the fact any cut of meat can be traced from the farmer to the plate. A stringent documentation process allows this to happen.

The quality control guidelines are obviously paying off as Bowmonts won the inaugural Steak of Origin best branded beef competition and have been a finalist every year they have entered. Hereford Prime is the only beef Bowmonts process. They joined the project after a visit in the early 1990s by the late Don Goodall, Laurie Paterson and Graham Hawke’s to see if they were interested in developing the Hereford Prime product.

It was the quality and consistency of the then proposed brand that appealed to John. “We believe it’s a good product and know it is consistent,” says John. The factory size allows strict controls to be implemented, and quality and consistency are the main contributors to the growing clientele and reputation of Bowmont Wholesale Meats. John says they are tight on what happens in the factory and everything is documented.

“If you put out top quality products you will get the clients.” The “Hereford Prime” brand is only placed on beef, which meet strict quality criteria of pH, meat and fat colour, rib eye area, quality and marbling. On average they process about 21 tonnes of beef a week. Peak processing and distribution is from November to April when up to 70 beef carcases pass through the factory doors each week.

Stephen Flynn, left and foreman Brent Crossan, right,
in the dry ageing chiller. During dry ageing about 2%
moisture is drawn from the carcase which
prevents fluids pooling on the plate after cooking.

During winter and early spring the Bowmont factory processes between 25-40 beef carcases. The Flynn family can see potential for expansion of Hereford Prime markets in the South Island, but chiller capacity and an outlet for the sub-primal cuts is curbing that growth. The dry-ageing process has been implemented and sees carcases hung on the bone in a chiller to heighten tenderness and flavour consistently throughout the cuts.

During the process about 2% moisture is drawn from the carcase which prevents the pooling of bloody fluid on plates often noticeable after cooking lower quality cuts of meat. A large number of chefs supplied by Bowmonts request the dryaged Hereford Prime, simply because of the superior results. A vacuum fan draws moist air from the 1-2 degree chiller – it’s a process that is closely monitored to ensure the beef is not over tenderised.

John says the trick is to ensure the meat still has a “nice bite” to it. “That’s to do with temperature and time in the chiller,” he says. The dry-ageing process has largely been employed on the hind quarters. The most sought-after cuts by restaurants are eye fillet, porterhouse, scotch fillet (cube roll) and rump.

The eye fillet, porterhouse and rump are all dry aged. At maximum capacity, the Bowmont dry-ageing chiller can hold about 250 hind quarters but with demand for the dry-aged beef growing John says they are investigating opportunities to expand chiller space. When a carcase arrives from the Invercargill Prime Range abattoir the hind quarter is removed and dry-aged for 2-3 weeks.

Strict quality control measures are enforced
in the factory of Bowmont Wholesale Meats
to ensure the quality of their products,
which include Hereford Prime.

The fore-quarter is boned out one week after arriving then vacuum packed and chilled. Vacuum packed beef will easily store for up to five weeks, however demand means the beef is being sold much sooner. Sub-primal cuts from the forequarters are sold into the prison systems, retirement homes and some supermarkets. John says there is a lot more potential for Hereford Prime beef to be tapped into – the key to that expansion is sourcing a market for the sub-primal cuts.

At current processing levels the Flynn family has outlets for the sub-primals, but an increase in carcases would be challenging. The business has experienced a lot of growth in the past few years and the Flynns are keen to capitalise on the potential of Hereford Prime. However, it hasn’t always been straight forward.

In 2004, the business was left crippled by a fire, devastating the Flynn family and staff. John and Judith were woken by a phone call at 4am on December 6 2004 to say the factory was on fire. By 9am all the staff (and a number of their partners) and friends had arrived and not one had been told of the fire – testament to the respect the Flynn family are awarded by staff and the community.

When it was safe, 30 electricians were at the scene working frantically and the clean up began – which included discarding about $250,000 worth of meat. Just 48 hours later, on the Monday morning the site was inspected by the health department. John recalls the inspector couldn’t believe what had been achieved. The plant was re-opened later that morning – not one customer was turned away and not a single order missed.

Hereford Prime is the only beef Bowmont Wholesale
Meats processes and John Flynn says it was
the quality and consistency of the brand
that appealed..

“One good thing from the fire was we were able to re-build a purpose- built factory.”

Since the fire the factory floor has more than doubled in size from 860sqm to 1840sqm and staff numbers have grown from 25 to 38 in the past three years. Another four staff are employed in the family’s hydroponic lettuce business, Drysdale Lettuces.

The future of Hereford Prime at Bowmont Wholesale Meats looks promising as the business is passed to the third generation – sons Stephen and Scott, ably assisted by foreman Brent Crossan.