Newsham Life - Episode One, Part One: Where Great Steak Begins

There's an absolute pleasure in buying food from people who genuinely know it. The sort of places where you ask what's looking good this week and the answer comes with a story, a recommendation and years of experience.

That's why one of the first conversations about our September Steak Night took place not in the kitchen, but at Frank Family Butchers in Thirsk, where our founder Will and Culinary Director James Ramsden met with the team to choose the cut that would become the centrepiece of the menu.

Frank Family Butchers has been part of Yorkshire's food landscape for generations. Independent and family-run, they've built their reputation on traditional butchery, carefully sourced livestock and the sort of knowledge that only comes from spending a lifetime working with exceptional produce. They're the people local chefs, home cooks and food lovers trust when they want advice just as much as ingredients.

Standing around the butcher's block, the conversation naturally turned to different cuts, how they cook, what makes one more suitable than another and, perhaps most importantly, what was looking particularly good at that moment.

The choice was bavette. It's not the most familiar cut on the menu, but that's exactly what makes it interesting. Rich in flavour with a wonderfully open texture, bavette rewards careful cooking and a little patience. Cook it quickly, let it rest, slice it across the grain and it delivers everything you could hope for from a great steak.

For James, that's exactly the point.

That philosophy runs through everything we do at Peckish.

Every menu begins with the same question: What's at its best right now? Sometimes the answer comes from the kitchen garden. Sometimes it's a conversation with one of our growers. And sometimes, as it did this time, it's standing with a trusted butcher discussing the merits of one cut over another.

For Will, those relationships are every bit as important as the finished plate.

"We've always believed that good hospitality starts long before guests arrive," he says. "It's about the people behind the ingredients as much as the ingredients themselves. Those relationships shape every menu we create and every experience we offer."

Over the coming weeks we'll continue following the journey of this bavette. Back at the estate, James will prepare the steak, share a few of the techniques that make all the difference and eventually cook it over fire before everything comes together around the table for our September Steak Night.

After all, every memorable meal has a story.

This just happens to be where ours begins.