The craft of traditional butchering is not dead in York.

Martin Richardson, 36, who trained with two successful butchers in the city, lamented the loss of so many butcher shops in a city once famed for them. Shambles, for instance, once consisted of nothing but butcher shops.

But having established Richardson's of Woodthorpe in Moorcroft Road, Martin has learned that the expertise he has to offer after 20 years - barring a six-year gap to manage a warehouse and distribution centre - is still yearned for by the shopper.

He has benefited from such popularity, encouragement and support from people in the Woodthorpe area that he has decided to gun for the Small Business of the Year title in the 2004 Evening Press Business Awards.

His "old fashioned way" includes buying all his locally-sourced cattle on the hoof at York Auction Market. He then ensures that all the carcasses are hung for 14 days or more to enhance the flavour, texture and quality. All butchering of the meat is done on the premises.

He says: "We sell the whole of the beast from the tongue, which is pickled in the shop's own brine tub, all the way to the oxtail. All the pigs and lambs are also locally sourced by Alec Traves at Escrick and these are also delivered to me in carcass form."

But is there a danger of his traditional methods dying out?

No, because he has employed two young full-time trainee butchers "who have been given the opportunity to learn the methods I did over the years".

He also employs three part-time assistants, one of them his 75-year-old father "who keeps us all in line", says Martin.

Updated: 11:10 Friday, September 10, 2004