University butcher tipped as rising star

Posted 17 July

Harper Adams University’s in-house butcher has been tipped as a rising star on a national industry awards shortlist.

Amy Bower is one of four Rising Stars shortlisted for this year’s TUCO awards, set to be held on July 29 – and the wider Harper Adams University catering team is in the running for the Team of the Year at the same event.

TUCO is leading professional membership body for in-house caterers operating in the higher, further education and public sector.

Harper Adams has already tasted success with the organisation – winning its Sustainability Award last year.

Thousands of  meals are produced on-site at Harper Adams daily – and the catering team work to ensure that the food they produce reflects the wider messages about food sustainability which underpin lectures at the University.

Menus at Harper Adams have featured produce drawn from across the University’s Future Farm, from ice-cream made from the dairy herds’ milk to dishes featuring wine grown on the University’s vineyard.

Amy, as a full-time butcher, works with meat produced on the Future Farm – and says it was the University’s approach to sustainability which most attracted her to her role.

She said: “One of the main reasons I wanted to work at Harper is because of its food miles - my apprentice portfolio was wholly based on food miles and how unique Harper is.

“It is something very close to my heart - that as a nation and a world we should be eating locally, eating within the capability of the land we have.

“I am so grateful for my role here, that I can turn the beautifully-reared animals from our farm to the great food that our students eat daily.”

Harper Adams University Head of Catering and Retail David Nuttall said: “I’m so thrilled for Amy that her work has seen her shortlisted as a Rising Star – and we will all be keeping her fingers crossed for her at the awards night!

“It is also a testament to the work of the whole team that they have been shortlisted for Team of the Year – building on last year’s success at the same awards and a fantastic run of other awards over the past 12 months.

“Only last month, we were delighted to be named the winners of the Sustainability award at the U Dine awards – adding a further trophy to the growing cabinet of accolades for our catering team!”