RFC Visits Belmont Butchery

This week we paid a visit to the Belmont Butchery, a butcher shop located on Belmont Avenue near Carytown. Since we love to support local small businesses, we were eager to find out if this was a place where we could get quality meat. We were looking for keywords ("grass-fed," "free-range," "organic"), and a sense of soul. As it turned out, we found a lot of both.

During our visit, we were privileged to talk with Tanya Cauthen, the owner of the shop and an experienced chef who has been in and out of the Richmond restaurant community for years. When we arrived, we watched as Cauthen and her two assistants chatted with customers, helping them choose their cuts of meat and wrapping their purchases in clean white paper. Large pieces of beef looked luscious and red inside the glass cases, placed next to chicken and coils of sausage. On one side of the store we noticed a map of Italy marked with the words "Chris is Here" and a small indicating arrow. Along the opposing wall sat a small collection of cheeses and wines, and on one shelf I noticed a cookbook called The Cook and the Gardener. We also saw the latest issue of Edible Chesapeake. It was with a sense of eager anticipation that we asked Cauthen if she’d chat with us for a few minutes. She finished ringing up a customer, and asked us if she could talk while she worked.

A wide selection of meats, including poultry.

Before we could even ask, Cauthen told us that she is all about supporting "pastoral" style farming – places where pigs wallow in mud, cows roam across hills munching grass, and chickens peck at the ground in ample yard space. We were thrilled when she said she gets a lot of her meat from farms in the area, and the rest, if not local, is as natural as possible. Cauthen emphasized that she is all about finding a “happy medium” for her customers. She supplies them with meat from a variety of sources, hoping to promote organic, sustainable farming with the promise of quality. If people like the meat they get from these sources, they will continue to seek them out.

A big blackboard explains meat cuts and extolls the quality of Belmont Butchery's selection.

Cauthen wants the Belmont Butchery to be a "forum for awareness," a place where people can develop a preference for good foods and an understanding of where they come from. We quickly realized there was a lot we could learn here about natural foods and sustainable agriculture. One interesting discussion was about "certified organic" products. Cauthen told us the certification process is lengthy and expensive – financially impossible for some small businesses to undergo. She said she isn’t always focused on organic certifications, instead searching for local farms with agricultural practices she finds appropriate. While she feels some standards are important, Cauthen is truly focused on the quality of the meat.

We were also interested to learn the "Prime" designation for cuts of beef (i.e. the 'best' cuts) are actually impossible to get from grass-fed beef, because 'prime' quality beef has intermuscular fat, or marbling, a phenomenon that results from the corn-based diet characteristic of industrial cows.

How can we, as consumers, support Virginia farmers? Cauthen tells us to "Go to the farmer’s markets. Talk to the farmers." Personally asking these people when and where to obtain their produce will help you create a year-round method of obtaining food outside faceless stores. "I don’t like big conglomerates," Cauthen says. We agree.

Cutting meat for a customer.

Right now, Cauthen tells us, a Butchery employee is in Italy, working as an intern at a butcher shop there. She points at the map. He will eventually return, ready to teach his co-workers how to cut meat Italian-style. Cauthen seems proud as she describes her employees and customers. Throughout our conversation, there has been a tangible sense of community – somewhere out there exists a diverse group of people connected to good food, moving in and out of the butcher shop and around Richmond. Cauthen is vocal about the personal relationships she maintains with other local businesses, and the farms who supply her with meat. Clearly she values solidarity and trust above financial gain. We felt distinctly reassured that the mission of the Butchery was to draw its customers into a community of good eating. “Food should have a face,” Cauthen said, whether it’s the humanely-raised animal you are eating or the people providing you with a meal.

Wine and cheese round out the selection of artisanal foods.

Finally, we had heard the Belmont Butchery was involved in the Richmond chapter of the Slow Food movement, which you can read about here. When we asked, Cauthen said there hasn’t been much activity lately – the holiday season is, as always, intense – but she wants the group to move forward. We volunteered to help, so look for more information on Slow Food in upcoming posts!