VIDEO: Notts butcher fries up the UK's best steak
He’s been a butcher all his life – but national award-winning Scott Barlow says he still leaves the messy work to the missus.
Father-of-two Scott, aged 44, has been involved in the family business of dishing up quality meat since he was 16 years old and has won awards previously for his excellent pies and sausages.
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Hide AdBut the steaks were high when he entered the national Q Guild competition for best steak in the country – giving him a rare chance to prove his meat is a cut above.
Now cleaver boy Scott has an “offal” lot to boast about, as judges named him the UK’s Steak Champion above 400 other entries.
Scott said: “I’m overwhelmed. It’s a tough competition. It’s something I’ve been working towards for a long time, I’m passionate about food and I’ve won competitions in the past for pies and sausages, but to win it for the steak is the big one.”
Scott comes from a long line of butchers in the family, starting with his grandfather who opened his first shop in Eastwood.
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Hide AdHe said: “It was the family that brought me into it – I wasn’t forced but it was expected. I actually went away to work as a meat inspector for the government for a while, but I decided meat was my passion.
“I bought the first shop in Nuncargate Road and 10 years ago took over the family business in Eastwood.
“It was struggling, so I came in and did some re-branding, and I changed the focus from selling legs of lamb and cuts of meat, but also ready-made products to attract a wider customer base, and to generally make it a butcher’s shop that’s a more friendly place to visit.”
Since then he has built a well-known brand, which now attracts national praise.
And the business is a joint effort, he added.
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Hide AdScott said: “My wife Kelly does all the nasty jobs, like keeping the books – the real messy work.”
But the couple are not so hopeful that their children, nine-year-old Lucy and Charlie, 13, will carry on the legacy.
Scott said: “My daughter isn’t interested and Charlie has just been doing trials at Derby County, so he’s got other ideas, but he does work Saturdays and helps out.”
And Scott said the award comes at a great time for the business as well, as he has just marked the opening of a new Bistro, Porterhouse by Barlow's, in Forest Road Annesley.
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Hide AdScott said: “I had the idea when I took over the café and saw something that could be different, Annesley was missing something, it needed somewhere a bit different to eat, so I knocked it to bits and did it up and put in a charcoal oven. Charcoal has got the oxygen, it keeps everything moist and you get a much better flavour."
See our video for some top tips on the perfect steak from Scott.