Katy Meets...Phil Davies, our butcher.

By Katy O'Regan

There is one man in the village who has made us feel very welcome since we moved here in 2012. He makes an effort to remember as many of his customers’ names as possible and always greets everyone with a cheery welcome. Phil Davies the butcher has been a part of Holmes Chapel since 2003. His seamless takeover of the shop on London Road was possible because his wife, Kate, was working in the village at the time and noticed that the butcher’s shop needed a new lease of life.

Phil is a butcher’s son, although he initially dabbled in an electrical career after leaving school through a YTS scheme (for younger readers, this was akin to an apprenticeship in the 1980s and 90s). His father had two busy butcher shops at Crewe and Sandbach markets. Finding his YTS placement insufficiently challenging, Phil left and went to work full-time with his father.

Learning the craft of butchery has evolved over the years. In the early days, the skill was passed on in the workplace, learning about different meats, and how to cut, grind, and prepare them for sale. His father taught him the valuable skills we all appreciate when we visit his shop in the village: his warmth and friendly welcome. Traditional face to face customer service is so valuable in our digital world, and it is this skill you can already see he is passing on to their own apprentice, Teus. These days, there are college courses in butchery to complement on the job training, and this is how Teus is learning all the theory and some practical skills at Reaseheath College.

Some of us villagers might have also seen Phil’s wife, Kate, behind the counter on occasion, as she enjoys stepping in during busy periods, although she is always a part of the team behind the scenes, keeping an important eye on bookkeeping, admin, and their social media.

Kate and Phil have been together for 22 years and are the perfect match. Phil is actually a little shy, while Kate is the opposite. When I met them both for a coffee, I found similarities between them and myself and my husband, Matt! Kate is very proud of the business and Phil, and she loves stepping in during times like Christmas when they fulfil the many orders of fresh turkeys, hams, lamb, and beef. The only small problem of a family business is the ability to have time off, and on the odd occasion in the past, they did close the doors for a week. However, they know this is not ideal. Fortunately, they were recently joined by experienced butcher Tom, and with him in the business, Phil and Kate now know they have reliable hands looking after things if they take a well earned family holiday.

New team member Tom has a wealth of experience, having had his own shop for seven years before deciding to take his career in a slightly different direction. He quickly, however, realised that independent retail is what he enjoys, and they snapped him up after an introduction through one of their fabulous customers. Tom is in a senior role within the business to help them manage the shop on a day to day basis, meaning in the coming months Phil can start to take a step back to create a better work/life balance.

All the team bring their own talents to the butcher. One thing they all do well is coming up with the prepared specials each week. Ranging from Pork Kyiv Truffles, minced pork nests filled with creamy garlic sauce and a garlic and herb oil and crumb, Greek style Pork kebabs, to Honey Mustard Chicken Parcels, a whole chicken fillet filled with honey mustard sauce and sausage meat, wrapped in streaky bacon. We also know Phil has us covered for sunny days with his BBQ packs and winter midweek warmers with their range of ready to cook pies.

The next few months will be the usual busy build up to Christmas, as us festive villagers fill out our order forms and they get the orders ready for collection as close to the big day as possible. I check with Kate and Phil how they feel about this period; they both admit they love it. There is something special about being part of so many families’ Christmas celebrations, making sure a vital part of the day runs smoothly with quality fresh produce. I feel grateful too; it is reassuring we have their family as part of our community, and I am sure they will be here for many more Christmases to come.