Award-winning family butcher’s Hugh Black & Sons has proved a popular addition to Stirling’s Port Street since the shop opened there in 2017.
The branch, which was visited by HRH The Princess Royal earlier this year, is one of the firm’s 13 retail stores and offers a range of high-quality products made from locally sourced meats.
Hugh Black & Sons has grown to become one of Scotland’s largest independent butchers after opening the first shop in Armadale, West Lothian in 1987.
It is very much a family business and the owners pride themselves on the Farm to Fork philosophy which sees all their Scotch beef, lamb and pork sourced locally and processed by a team of skilled butchers at their cutting plant and factory.
They work closely with farmers and Quality Meat Scotland to ensure high production and animal welfare standards and understand the increasing importance of provenance and sustainability to customers.
Stirling is one of the company’s newest branches and was selected for a visit from HRH The Princess Royal in September.
Princess Anne toured the shop as part of her role as patron of the Scotch Chef’s Club, run by Quality Meat Scotland, to gain first hand insight into the firm’s dedication to quality, traceability and sustainable local sourcing practices.
Laura Black is Business Development Manager at the company and is married to Director Hugh Black whose parents Hugh Snr and Mary established the family-run business.
She said: “The visit from the Princess Royal was a wonderful day which was both exciting and nerve-wracking for us all! We were worried about getting everything right, but she was just so lovely that within a few seconds of meeting her we were all just having a chat and she made everybody feel at ease.
She was interested in hearing about individual staff, was very knowledgeable about breeds of cattle and seemed to really enjoy chatting to everybody.”
Hugh Black & Sons were selected for a visit from the Princess Royal after winning the prestigious Best for Scottish Sourcing (Multiple Retailer) award at the Scotland Food and Drink Awards last year.
Laura says: “We were given the option to choose which store we wanted to host the visit and we decided on Stirling as the store is a good size and in a central location. It also seemed the perfect place since there is a Castle in the city.
The Princess was at the shop for almost an hour and my husband Hugh spoke about the business and gave a slideshow which demonstrated the Farm to Fork process.
She asked about the Scotland Food and Drink award we won and was keen to hear all about the provenance of our meat. It was a wonderful experience and we were very proud to host her.”
In addition to Hugh and Laura, the event was attended by Alan Simpson, Lord-Lieutenant of Stirling and Falkirk; Kate Rowell, Chair of Quality Meat Scotland and key members of the Hugh Black & Sons team including General Manager Cameron Black; Area Managers John Harvey and Agnes Lindsay and Head Butcher for the Stirling branch Ivon Pinkerton.
Following the tour, Princess Anne unveiled a plaque to formally commemorate the visit which has pride of place in the Stirling store.
The firm’s origins date back to 1987 when Hugh Black Snr sold his family farm and bought the butcher’s shop in Armadale where he, Mary and sons Craig and Hugh Jnr worked to learn the trade and establish a reputation for excellent products and service.
Shops in Lanark and Bathgate followed before the opening of a factory unit in Bathgate to allow more space for production.
When Hugh Snr died in 2002, Craig and Hugh Jnr continued to expand the business and the 3rd generation of the family are now involved in its operations. Craig’s three sons work at Head Office and the Whitburn and Carluke shops while Hugh’s three young children help out on the company farm which supplies their Scotch Lamb.
The Stirling store – at 83, Port Street – was the 12th of the firm’s shops to open in 2017.
Laura says: “When the premises came up, we thought it would be a good spot for a new store as it is within the necessary travelling distance from the factory, it’s a market town which is centrally located and we have connections in the area. We thought we could make it work and we’ve had a good response from local people since opening.”
The shop, which is open from 8.30am until 5pm Monday to Saturday, sells the company’s range of meat and deli products which can also be ordered online – via www.hughblackandsons.co.uk – for collection.
It also has a defibrillator (AED) outside as part of the ‘Butchers at the Heart of the Community’ initiative, which along with Scottish Craft Butchers and Save a Life Scotland, provides AEDs to around 400 Scottish butchers shops.
Hugh Black & Sons staff and customers fundraised to provide the devices, which can be found outside most of their shops, while many staff have received first aid training as part of the initiative.
More details about the firm can be found on Facebook – www.facebook.com/HBSButchers/ – and Instagram – www.facebook.com/HBSButchers/
