Kaleb’s Farm
He may have been the breakout star of Clarkson’s Farm, but farming not fame is Kaleb Cooper’s driver – with BBQ meat boxes, from home-reared livestock, one of his latest ventures. RUPERT BATES reports
If I had a pound for every time this magazine advocated the virtues of a farm-to-fork ethos, I could afford kilos of Kobe beef. But I don’t want Japanese meat as my staple protein, thank you. I’m quite happy cooking and eating in the English Cotswolds.
Which is exactly what BBQ magazine did, heading to the home of Kaleb Cooper Contracting in Oxfordshire. Yes, that Kaleb Cooper, but no mention of Jeremy Clarkson and the other farm down the road; no spoilers ahead of season five on Amazon Prime.
Fame may have come fast to the young entrepreneur since Clarkson’s Farm first aired five years ago, but the fact that he was out silaging on the day of our visit tells you all you need to know. First, foremost and, you suspect, forever, Kaleb is a farmer.
Every farmyard tells its own story – a microcosm of its rural community. Agriculture is endeavour on an epic scale, but the true test of success is not whether you can eke out miniscule margins from the land and the livestock against economic, political and regulatory headwinds – odds stacked higher than the tallest hay barn – but the interaction between human and animal.
Whether it is herding the cattle, feeding the lambs, shuttle runs on the tractor to fetch and carry, the work ethic of the team at Kaleb Cooper Contracting is as self-evident as the enjoyment.
The barns, with the cows out in the fields, proved the perfect BBQ venue, setting up the Kamado Joe grill on top of an old tyre. Dealing with the vagaries of the British weather is obviously an occupational hazard for farmers – and the afternoon veered from torrential rain to shafts of sunshine and even the odd clap of thunder, as if Zeus himself had smelt the smoke through the clouds and was demanding a burger.
Cooper Livestock (part of Kaleb Cooper Contracting) now runs a meat box business and deliveries tailored to BBQ meals is a natural extension. Beef burgers, lamb shoulders, pork sausages, ribeye and sirloin steaks, short ribs and briskets, all come from the farm, and there are even buffalo boxes, supporting a Cotswolds neighbour’s herd.
You know the animals have been reared with love and the highest standards of husbandry. But the true test is to come. Farm to fork, pasture to plate. Happy cow, heavenly steak?
“The food I tasted from your BBQ was insanely good and that is so important to us and our food journey. I have always wanted to put the animals we’ve reared into our freezer, or onto our barbecues. But then thought why not offer it to other people too,” says Kaleb.
Provenance is paramount, and Cooper Livestock has taken traceability to the next level, mapping out each cow’s life, with What3Words pinpointing every patch of pasture. Brought to the barn at two weeks old to be nurtured with milk and nuts and then, once weaned, the calves are housed through the winter and fed the farm’s own silage, before heading out to the grazing fields and rich pasture, so homegrown I swear they mooed with a West Country burr.
“Our cattle are in great shape and really well looked after, enjoying lush grass, then bedded and fed in the winter. If you love and care for your animals, you’ll get beautiful tasting meat.”
Don’t get Kaleb started on supermarket packaging and meat from other countries, where standards of welfare and produce are usually lower; food miles and environmental footprints monumentally higher.
“We should be eating our own meat. It is as simple as that. What keeps you alive on a daily basis? Not your phone, not your car, not your clothes. It is the food you put in your mouth for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”
As husband-and-wife BBQ team Nick and Harry Hook tended the flames and captured the meat on camera, Kaleb loved the symmetry of barbecue completing the cycle; cows, pigs and sheep reared outside and the meat cooked outside, although I felt the eyes of the cattle on me from across the yard, hoping they wouldn’t ask what we were cooking.
But the cows looked so content, you wonder if, as in Wagyu beef folklore, they drink beer and cider – Hawkstone obviously – which reminded us of the ideal pairings with the BBQ.
“Through the summer I will have a barbecue four or five times a week. I’m not a very good cook and could definitely do with a BBQ masterclass. The problem is my mind is so busy, I can forget I’m cooking. But something changes in front of a BBQ. I am more present, thinking let’s flip that burger, add some seasoning, close the lid, trust my instincts. I do feel at one with a BBQ when I get going, eating great food in great company, relaxing with friends and family and not rushing my life away,” says Kaleb.
“My go-to BBQ on a big scale would include a beef burger with onions, cheese, tomato and lettuce, a steak, chicken wings and a pork chop. Favourite sides are corn on the cob and coleslaw. I love farming and putting great produce, be it a potato or a steak, on the plate.”
Despite the location and the food, strictly speaking the afternoon wasn’t exactly farm-to-fork. With the meat so appealing, there was no time for cutlery.
