Our Butcher

Robert Unwin is the man behind the counter at Roast Mutton Lakeland Butcher. He opened his flagship butcher’s shop Roast Mutton Lakeland Butcher in Kendal’s Woolpack Yard in July 2021.

Brought up on a north Lancashire small holding where his family produced all their own meat, Robert learnt first-hand at an early age about humane animal husbandry and the joy of a freezer full of delicious meat.

Despite a stint in the world of insurance in central London, Robert always found himself wanting to return to the north. Ultimately this led to him quitting his 9 to 5 City job at the age of 25 to return to his roots, change career and to retrain as a butcher.

For a period of three years Robert worked in five different butchers’ shops across the north of England, learning his craft and discovering along the way that the best meat-eating experience depends entirely on attention to detail, respect for the animal and the end product at every stage.

Having spent some considerable time in the Lakes as a child and as a young adult Robert was very aware of the county’s unique combination of passionate farmers, family-owned abattoirs and fine grazing. Which is why Robert wanted to bring his vision of farm-to-table eating to the town, selling only locally reared native and heritage breeds.

As a result, he has spent over nine months visiting farmers across the county doing his research. Since then he’s walked their pastures, got to know them and their families personally and more importantly gained an insightful understanding of each individual supplier’s approach to farming.

From the very beginning of the process Robert was determined to only work with those producers that clearly shared the same passion and respect for the animals they rear as he does. As a whole-animal butcher, Unwin strives to use “everything but the moo,” at Roast Mutton, with the goal of zero wasted protein, as a result unusual and custom cuts present no problem to him.

In Robert’s view we all need to eat better quality meat from farmers that we know and trust and return to a time when consumers and the people who produced their food enjoyed strong relationships.

Roast Mutton

Roast Mutton Lakeland Butcher opened its doors in July 2021 in the Lake District market town of Kendal, as a true nose to tail butchery. Since then Roast Mutton has gone from strength to strength, collecting the Country Side Alliance’s Award for the UK’s Best Butchery in 2023.

Owner Robert has always been very interested in the quality of meat, how it’s reared, animal welfare, and how that all comes together to produce the perfect steak or a perfect roast joint. Robert is fortunate that there are a good number of traditional farmers operating nearby; small scale operations where people really care. There are also two small, local, high-quality abattoirs, which are absolutely worth their weight in gold for a butcher like Robert.

Since he opened Roast Mutton, Robert wanted to bring his vision of farm-to-table eating to the town, selling only locally reared native and heritage breeds. He’s really built great relationships with his suppliers getting to know them face to face and how they operate their respective businesses. From the very beginning of the process Robert was determined to only work with those producers that clearly shared the same passion and respect for the animals they rear as he does. As a whole-animal butcher, he strives to use “everything but the moo,” at Roast Mutton, with the goal of zero wasted protein.

Robert’s aim is to run a butchery that works entirely with local free-range farms whose practices align with their own, which means they can guarantee the provenance of what they are selling. It’s also hugely important to him that as a butcher he knows that the that the meat he is selling is always ethically reared with a particular emphasis on quality, traceability and sustainability.

Our Farmers

Sourcing is a big part of the Roast Mutton story; the team work exclusively with local free-range farms who share their passion and beliefs. That way both Connor and Robert can guarantee the provenance of what they are selling.

It’s also hugely important to them both as butchers to know that the meat they sell is always ethically reared with the emphasis being on quality, traceability and sustainability. Not only that they’re totally committed to flying the flag for traditional native breeds, which is why they are extremely proud to celebrate and promote 100% grass fed regeneratively reared British meat.

Our mission is to ensure that our customers have the opportunity to eat the very best quality meat, produce that is sourced from farmers and estates that we personally know and trust.

As far as we’re concerned the entire butchery process is about respect for the animal. The skill of the butcher is a determining factor in that process, and Roast Mutton is all about that. It’s about a meticulous approach to helping customers understand where their meat has come from, that way they can determine the quality of what they are eating, and more importantly they are also play their part in supporting local producers, who in turn support their local communities and keep Britain farming.

We are a true nose to tail butcher, which means that we take every usable part of the carcasses we work with and then carefully preparing them for sale creating an array of delicious and nutritious products in the process.

Roast Mutton Lakeland is proud to work with some of the finest producers around sourcing pedigree Aberdeen Angus and Limousin Beef from Spital Farm, Kendal, Pork from rare breed Saddleback and Berkshire Black Pigs, reared at Johnscales Farm, in the Lyth Valley, wild Venison from the Levens Estate, Herdwick Hogget and Mutton from Grasmere, and Salt Marsh Lamb from the Lune Estuary.

Visit us

Tues – Sat, 9am – 5.30pm

Come and visit us at our Lakeland butchers shop in central Kendal, the gateway to the Lake District. Share a glass of wine with our Master Butcher Rob and talk everything meat. We look forward to seeing you. Cheers.

40 Woolpack Yard, Kendal, LA9 8DX.