Story

Back in 2021, we started Homage to the Bovine, selling our pasture-fed retired dairy beef directly from our farm here in Cornwall.

Every year, a small number of cows retire from our milking herd. Rather than leaving the farm straight away, they spend another 18 months out at pasture, enjoying a long and very well-earned retirement, before becoming the beef that we serve.

Most beef sold in the UK comes from cattle under 30 months old. Some of our cows can be up to ten years old, and that age is what gives the beef its wonderfully deep, distinctive flavour.

We wanted to do things properly, so we built our own butchery and dry-ageing store on the farm. It means we can look after the entire process ourselves, from the fields right through to the finished cuts. Our beef is hung for 28 days, allowing it to tenderise naturally and develop even more flavour.

Then came the burgers.

We took Homage to the Bovine to the Buttermarket in Redruth and discovered how much we loved serving our beef directly to people. After a year there, we realised fairly quickly that if we really wanted to do this properly — and do it on our own terms — we needed more space.

So we took a deep breath and went for it.

We found our dream building at The Drapery, 4 West End, Redruth — an iconic old building in Nathan’s hometown, with its steel frame and huge glass frontage. It was beautiful, full of history and, as we would later discover, quite a lot of surprises.

Sixteen fairly intense weeks of renovation later, it became Cowgirls.

We wanted to create somewhere that felt unpretentious and welcoming. Somewhere you could come for a really good burger, a coffee, an ice cream or a drink, knowing that a huge amount of care had gone into what was on your plate.

At the heart of it all is still the farm.

We’re farmers first, and Cowgirls gives us the chance to bring what we produce directly to the people eating it. When you eat here, you’re supporting our farm, other local farmers and producers, and all the people working behind the scenes to get that food onto your plate.

It’s been a much bigger undertaking than we ever imagined, and we’re still learning as we go. But we’re incredibly proud to have created something here in Redruth that feels like us.

To everyone who bought beef from the farm, found us at a farmers’ market, ate a burger from our trailer, visited us at the Buttermarket, sent us a kind message or simply told somebody about Cowgirls — thank you.

We genuinely wouldn’t be here without you.

Debs & Nathan x