Former dairy farmers, Sue and Craig Cunningham, have just opened a one-of-a-kind business in the Mudgee region. One that prides itself on being 'not a butcher shop'.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Casaco Meats, named for 'Craig and Sue Company' is a new family-owned and run, 100 percent local business that sells meat harvested directly from animals grown on their farm. From birth to processing, Sue and Craig oversee the entire process.
Sue told the Mudgee Guardian that the animals are slaughtered at a licensed abattoir in Sydney, hand-picked by Sue and Craig for their standards of quality.
Sue said it's taken some time to get it approved and set up but says Council was extremely helpful along the way and they're particularly proud of the fact that they're the first and only on-farm butchery in the entire region.
One of the reasons they decided to start the business and have it the way is, was because Sue and Craig found that when they went to their local butcher, sometimes information on the meat they were buying was scarce.
Keeping it in the family, the small team of four consists of Sue and her husband, Craig, his father Max Cunningham - a registered butcher - and their son, Brad.
Sue said that they even tried blind taste tests with friends and family to see if they could taste the difference between store-bought meat and their own.
"Once they tasted it they said, 'we will be back.'" she said.