Turkey News
Bernard Matthews has appointed Andy Deutsch to the new role of chief operating officer
Deutsch, who joined the company on the 5th of October, has worked in the food industry for more than 30 years, across a wide range of roles and organisations.
He brings extensive experience in foodservice, chilled and frozen sectors to the poultry processor’s management team.
“We are delighted to have Andy joining us at what is a very exciting time for the company, as we launch our new brand identity, start our sponsorship of the Simpsons on Channel 4 and introduce British chicken products to our portfolio,” said Rob Burnett, CEO of Bernard Matthews.
“Andy’s experience and understanding of the food industry will play a key role in helping deliver our ambitious plans for the future.
Deutsch added: “Bernard Matthews is one of the UK’s most iconic food brands so it’s a real pleasure to be given the opportunity to be part of the development and growth of the business in this new phase in the company’s history.”
In his new role as chief operating officer Deutsch will be responsible for various different things,including: procurement, supply chain, planning and production.
Before joining the business he worked for Hain Daniels, where he held MD roles in Food to Go & Desserts and its Chilled & Frozen subsidiary.
Previous he also had senior roles at Vion, Northern Foods and Fisher Foods and has worked with a range of consumer brands and retail own-label products.
Bernard Matthews, the largest turkey producer in the UK, is headquartered near Norwich in Norfolk and employs approximately 2,000 people across East Anglia.
It is a totally integrated food business, allowing for full traceability across its 56 farms, which rear nearly seven million turkeys per annum.
Through its farming and production business the company supplies nearly half the homes in the UK with tasty, versatile and affordable turkey and chicken meal time solutions.
FarmGate Hatcheries is introducing a new breed of turkey “created to help producers meet the growing demand for smaller Christmas turkeys”.
The Super Mini Special produces 4kg hens developed from pure bronze-feathered male and female pedigree lines used in producing the company’s Tiny and Super Mini poult.
Paul Kelly, managing director of FarmGate Hatcheries, Danbury, Essex, said: “The 4kg weights are so hard to get from other smaller breeds grown from June hatches.
“We’ve tried and tested this new breed over the past four years and it’s perfect for guaranteeing the 4kg oven-ready weight band, with the stags giving great 6kg to 8kg oven-ready turkeys.”
Farmgate Hatcheries, part of Kelly Turkeys, announced that limited supplies of poults of the new breed will be available in both bronze and white, both as sexed hens and as hatched, from mid May onwards.
Kelly added: “Our small breeds of bronze turkeys are the genuine article, bred from a bronze mother and a bronze father. [They are] expensive to produce, but bullet-proof when it comes to a probing press and food journalists.
“We’re also very pleased with the meat quality of our small breeds. In our own kitchen we’ve found the Super Mini Special to have a particularly high meat yield, with delicious eating qualities and very fine textured meat.”