Press Release
Alan ruled roost, but he’s hatched retiremen
Tuesday 2nd October 2007
When it comes to producing top quality eggs for some of the finest restaurants in the country, Alan Evans rules the roost. It was a 14-year-old schoolboy that he hatched his enthusiasm for hens while helping out on a Cornish chicken farm. Now, after a career in the egg world spanning nearly half a century, Alan is about to bow out as the Clarence Court Manager of Tremayne farm, near Camborne.His retirement signals the end of an era for an expert in all things fowl; a man who knows his Old Cotswold Legbars from his Mabel Pearman’s Burford Browns.
But it is not just his devotion to these traditional, yet rare hens that make Alan a breed apart at the farm, where he looks after some 1,500 free-range birds.
H also played a leading role in expanding its range to include more exotic laying birds such as pheasant, bantam and free-to-fly quail.
Along the way, celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver and Rick Stein have beaten a path to the door of Clarence Court.
While its egg are served at top London restaurants in the capital including The Ivy, Le Caprice and at Fifteen at Watergate Bay, web-cam installed in the pasture broadcasts images of the hens directly to Harrods’s famous food hall.
So, is it true what the ‘Foodies’ say about free-range hens producing tastier eggs? Undoubtedly, according to Alan, who lives at Sticker, near St Austell.
“It is no wonder the eggs taste so good,” he said.
“Recognising the importance of egg quality father than quantity means that every Clarence Court hen is able to live out its natural instincts of roaming, perching, bathing and communicating.
“Having worked with chickens for so long, I understand all their likes and dislikes.
“This means that I am able to get the very best from my birds and ensure that they produce to their full potential.
“I love my job and have respect for all the laying birds I look after, so its no wonder that they pay me back with lovely quality eggs.”
Alan said he had enjoyed a wonderful life in Cornwall. “ My birds have shared this too, with lots of exercise fresh air and all the freedom they need,” he added.
“That makes for a happy hen, and happy hens always lay better eggs.”
Company founder Phillip Lee Woolf said Alan’s key role at Tremayne farm fitted in with the philosophy of the business – that hens come first.
“With the help of farm managers such as Alan Evans, who are passionate about laying birds and the delights of the genuine, traditional free range egg, we have pioneered the revival of British speciality breeds of hens,” added Mr Lee-Woolf.
Alan may be retiring from the farm at the end of August, but he will not be giving up his favourite eggs.
He recommends serving them scrambled with a couple a thick slices of buttery granary bread and a sprinkling of black pepper and sea salt.