About Us

The Godfather of the modern Nose To Tail way of eating, Fergus Henderson, says “Its respect; common sense - that’s a lovely, dull word for it.”

Nose to Tail eating is a philosophy of eating and cooking that involves using every possible part of an animal and thus minimizing waste, as opposed to just the choice parts. If you were to purchase a butchered half lamb or full lamb direct from a farmer, you would have a selection of cuts to use. Some would be the very popular pieces like the shanks or legs for roasting. Others would be less tender parts which would be used in stews or curries or other slow-cooked dishes.

Nose to tail is not a new way of eating, but rather a return to a more traditional way of eating that respects the animal rather than makes it a commodity in a factory-style system of production and consumption.

Years ago, in areas that required self sufficiency many families would raise a pig or a sheep, or if they were lucky, a cow. They reared the animal, fed it and looked after it. They knew its name, they slaughtered it themselves and they used every last bit of it. That was respectful to the animal. But it would be naïve to ignore the fact that the primary reason for their modus operandi was financial. Meat was a luxury in those days, only in the last couple of decades has eating large amounts of meat become the norm in many parts of the world. People had to use the whole animal as it was just too expensive to waste any of it.

The cost of meat has decreased due to efficiencies in large scale production and the externalizing of costs such as the environmental impact. Combined with the increase of average per capita income this has resulted in a massive increase in the consumption of meat. What was perhaps a weekly occurrence had become a daily occurrence, even several times per day. This excessive meat consumption has taken a significant toll on the environment and the factory style rearing of the animals has led to sincere concerns about the well-being of the animals.

Socially and ethically conscious consumers have become concerned with the impact of meat consumption and there is a trend to eat less meat, eat ethical meat (free range, grass-fed) and eat the whole animal. The environmental impact of growing grain crops to feed animals that are naturally meant to eat grass is astonishing. First, before food production even begins, natural habitats and ecosystems are destroyed to clear land that will be used for agriculture. Once the land has been cleared, it must be primed to grow large amounts of food. This is done using heavy applications of artificial herbicides and fertilizers. Harvesting the crop represents a significant amount of nutrients, water, and energy being taken from the land. This leaves the land barren, and unfriendly for the growth and development of new organisms and ecosystems.

According to Giles Edwards of La Tête, a restaurant in Cape Town, South Africa, cooking and eating Nose to Tail is about changing the mindset of unconscious consumption and embracing a more sustainable way of living. It reflects a more responsible existence on this planet.

“If you’re going to kill the animal, it seems only polite to use the whole thing.” - Fergus Henderson, 2004 (The Whole Beat: Nose to Tail Eating)