Cook & Butcher celebrates 15 years trading in Thatcham town centre

“Nothing’s in a pack unless we put it there ourselves.”

An independent butcher has celebrated 15 years of trading in Thatcham.

Times have changed but the quality has not at The Cook & Butcher, which has come a long way since it first opened in the town centre on March 5, 2010.

Owner Pete Congerton, 37, from Thatcham, was 21 when he founded the business with his brother and friend.

He now runs the shop with his wife Laura Congerton, 38, and the pair have just celebrated their 16th wedding anniversary.

Mr Congerton earned his stripes working at Wyatts Butchers – previously at 7-8 The Broadway – when he was just 14.

He told newburytoday: “We’re thankful to our loyal customer base, and we’re still growing with new customers each week.”

The shop first opened off the High Street, where Barber Zone is now, before moving to its current site in The Broadway 10 years ago.

“It was a friend I worked with, a bit older than myself, we started the shop together,” Mr Congerton continued.

“We opened with the intention of sticking with local producers. Butchering from whole carcass. And I think that’s what’s got us to where we are really.”

The shop continues to pride itself on selling the finest local produce, sourcing all of its beef from Broad View Farm in Cold Ash.

It also uses other suppliers in Highclere, Padworth, Woolhampton and Oxford for poultry.

But conditions have changed over the years, with high running costs and changing consumer habits presenting a constant challenge.

The shop celebrated its 10-year anniversary in March 2020 – just before the outbreak of the Covid pandemic, and Mr Congerton said things have never been the same since.

He added: “We went from being in the best place to the worst place at the end of that month.

“But even though things have become a challenge, we’ve never compromised on what we believe in.”

The shop won Butcher of the Year in Berkshire at the London and South East England Prestige Awards just last year.

It also won the Covid Heroes award from Thatcham Town Council in 2021.

And it previously scooped up Best Local Exhibitor, Most Attractive Stand and Best in Food Fayre at the Royal County of Berkshire Show in 2016 – the first time in the show’s history anyone had come in first place in all three award categories.