We are a family of carnivores - albeit comprising an ex-vegetarian and an ex-vegan - but are working on eating less meat. Buying supermarket meat is something I’ve felt uneasy about for a while, although we’ve always bought the best we can afford. I spent a lot of time last year looking for a local butcher/farm shop we could buy from regularly, and it was surprisingly difficult to find one that ticked all our boxes:

• Great tasting

• Grass-fed

• High welfare

• Ethically-reared

• Supporting local farmers

• Local and traceable

So I was delighted to discover the Dorset Meat Company, founded by Jane and Nick Somper. They work with 20 small, family-run farms in Dorset and Wiltshire and believe that small-scale farming is better for everyone - the farmer, the animals, the local ecology and the consumer.

On paper, the Dorset Meat Company ticked all the boxes, so the proof was in the tasting. I ordered diced lamb, diced goat, streaky bacon, farmhouse pork sausages, chicken breasts and beef steak mince. The first thing to say is that is all looked like “proper” meat. You could see the quality. When you think that these animals have only eaten a diet of grass, wildflowers and legumes and are untainted by growth promoters and chemicals, it makes sense.

All the items in my order were noticeably more tasty than our usual meat, in particular the beef steak mince which was so fine in texture and flavoursome. The bacon held its shape really well and didn’t spew out loads of water. Even our normally fussy boy wolfed down his spag bol, stew and curry. He also ate sausages for the first time in about a year and declared them to be “really, really good.”

Changing habits

I’m not going to lie - it costs more than we would usually spend on meat, but surely that’s the point. We need to get used to paying the right price to support small-scale farmers rather than forcing them to be the victims of supermarket price wars. It makes me shudder to see a whole large chicken in the supermarket for £3.75. So the plan is to buy and eat less meat, but the meat we do eat will be of the highest quality. I’ll spend £40-50/month on a changing selection of seasonal meat from the Dorset Meat Company in a monthly delivery, and I’m vowing not to do any supermarket top-ups in between. When it’s gone, we’ll go veggie.

You can place a one-off order or build your own recurring order and have it delivered to your door every one, two or four weeks. They also have cheese and deli items for sale, and a lovely collection of recipes on their website.

For further information, visit: thedorsetmeatcompany.co.uk