Putting people back in touch with where their food comes from has been a major ambition for Devizes butcher Steve Cook.

He invited more than 70 chefs and catering managers from across the South of England to the beef farm where he buys his cattle.

Mr Cook, who owns award-winning butchers Walter Rose and Sons, which he runs in partnership with his family, with shops in Devizes and Trowbridge, said it had been a long held desire to put together a day telling the whole story of the meat they sell.

He said: “We talk about quality, taste and texture, we tell our customers about the importance of buying locally raised, naturally fed animals and how careful management and butchery of the carcass adds the magic to the story.

“But we wanted to be able to talk them through the whole process, to let them see and hear the reality, and it was a cracker of a day, a real runaway success.”

The event, held at farmer Tim Johnson’s Stokes Marsh Farm at Coulston, between Westbury and Devizes, drew chefs from as far away as the Midlands and London.

Chefs from Wadworth outlets attended and watched a masterclass in butchery by Paul Underwood and Jack Cook from Walter Rose.

There was a blind tasting session on the difference between meat hung for a week, two weeks and three weeks and demonstrations of different styles of cooking, from barbecue to water bath.

Mr Cook added: “Many of these people were experiencing the rearing process for the first time and gained an understanding of the hard work and care that goes into rearing these animals.”

Farmer Tim Johnson said: “From our point of view, being able to show the people who are selling our product to the public in their pubs and restaurants is a vital part of the story.”