A group of trainee chefs learned about butchery skills and the importance of top quality farming on a visit to Wiltshire.

The students from South Thames College spent time at the cutting room of Devizes butchers Walter Rose and Sons and Stokes March Farm in Coulston where farmer Tim Johnson supplies most of Walter Rose’s beef.

Chef/lecturer Ross Anderson said the venture had been a huge success – opening the eyes of his students, who are studying for the level one qualification in catering, to the importance of good animal husbandry and craft butchery.

He said: “We want to inspire the young chefs of the future and I am convinced that by giving them first hand experience of the whole food chain they will end up with a far better understanding of the care and effort that has gone into producing the meat they are being asked to cook.

“They have learnt more in this one day, meeting the farmer, talking to the butchers and experiencing the whole process than we could possibly have communicated in a classroom environment – and it is something that will remain relevant to the whole of their training.”