YesChef Magazine recently sat down with our very own Trevor Cunningham to get to know him and Lisduggan Farm Foods a little better. Check out the article below.
Trevor Cunningham
I call Trevor on a Tuesday morning, he’s in the van on his way to drop off some deliveries, he’s been up since 5am – well before the lark but will have time to chat later in the day. When I call later in the afternoon, he’s free to chat and I get the sense that this is a man who likes to give things his full attention.
Trevor comes from a long line of meat producers and he is the 6th generation to produce products for sale in the retail marketplace in Ireland. He started work when he was 16, “I went in for the summer and put on the white coat and thought I may as well roll up my sleeves and get involved.” Over a period of time, Trevor has transformed what was the old Meadow Meats factory in Christendom in Waterford into a facility that is licensed to diversify with different meat products ie. beef, pork, lamb, and poultry. The uniqueness of this licence allows Trevor to experiment and work with the different meats.
“Using the knowledge that I have acquired over close on fifty years in the trade, I strive to develop products to whet the appetite of the end consumer. Within my processes I concentrate on trying to develop flavoursome meat products with a healthy edge to them. My 7oz burger has a fat content of less than 3 percent, which allows it to be possibly one of the few burgers in the marketplace that can actually be called low-fat. And it is unique in that it doesn’t lack anything in flavour, despite its very low fat content. I ask Trevor what is the secret? “The quality of the meat and the seasoning mix that I’ve developed over the years along with the usage of vegetable extract is the key to the depth of flavour that we achieve in our products.”
Trevor has been working on a new product for the last couple of years, experimenting with meat content and flavour mixes and is excited about its potential release for the summer. “We have a smokery here and I’ve been working on a smoked sausage for the BBQ market, we’ve again gone for a high meat content, with a focus on delivering flavour and retaining a low fat content. I’ve tried every mix and the lowest fat content I can go to is possibly 13% for the sausage to retain its juiciness.
The sausage is in its final development phase and we’re looking forward to releasing it in time for summer market – longer in length than your usual sausage, the ‘Smokey Dog’ will pack a unique smokey flavour, with a meaty finish, perfect for summer BBQ’s.”
Trevor’s attention to detail, dogged determination, and commitment to producing a high quality, flavoursome product means that the Smokey Dog is one to watch out for. We hope that the YesChef team will be road testing it quite shortly and we’ll let you know!
To get in touch if you have any queries, or would like to discuss an order, contact us here.