A lifetime passion for butchery
Meet Our Butcher
Kevin Horn, our butcher, is an extremely important member of our little team and has definitely become part of The Hampshire Shepherd family. He’s the one who makes our lamb look good.
How it all started for Kevin
Kevin’s butchery journey and the start of his lifelong passion began at the age of 13 when he and a friend, looking for a Saturday job, tried every shop on the entire length of Fleet high street. The penultimate shop they tried was Clark the Butchers. Whether it was chance or fate, we will never know, but that day Clark’s were looking for a Saturday boy. The following Saturday, Kevin’s life in butchery began.
It didn’t take long for butchery to become Kevin’s life; every spare moment that he wasn’t at school, he was in the shop. Starting from the bottom, scrubbing butcher’s blocks, it didn’t take Kevin long to begin to absorb his trade. If there’s one thing you can say about Kevin is he has a passion to learn, and it didn’t take him long to begin to master his art. From the day after leaving school at 16, Kevin was a full-time butcher, with Clarks providing training in what would be considered as very traditional butchery, giving Kevin the perfect springboard to evolve throughout the rest of his career.
It didn’t take long for butchery to become Kevin’s life; every spare moment that he wasn’t at school, he was in the shop. Starting from the bottom, scrubbing butcher’s blocks, it didn’t take Kevin long to begin to absorb his trade. If there’s one thing you can say about Kevin is he has a passion to learn, and it didn’t take him long to begin to master his art. From the day after leaving school at 16, Kevin was a full-time butcher, with Clarks providing training in what would be considered as very traditional butchery, giving Kevin the perfect springboard to evolve throughout the rest of his career.
Spreading his wings
At the age of 20, Kevin was entered into the BBC3 Young Butcher of the Year Competition. This provided Kevin with an incredible experience, beating almost 400 other young butchers to reach the semi-finals.
After 11 years with Clarks Kevin felt that it was time to move on to allow him to develop his career. He went to run a farm shop butchery in Frensham. This gave him the opportunity to develop his skills further and explore a more modern approach to butchery, including dry ageing. After four years, a new opportunity presented itself in a butcher’s shop in North Camp. This role gave Kevin more of a chance to do what he loves and cut meat.
After 11 years with Clarks Kevin felt that it was time to move on to allow him to develop his career. He went to run a farm shop butchery in Frensham. This gave him the opportunity to develop his skills further and explore a more modern approach to butchery, including dry ageing. After four years, a new opportunity presented itself in a butcher’s shop in North Camp. This role gave Kevin more of a chance to do what he loves and cut meat.
Building a reputation
Before long, a very special opportunity presented itself for Kevin to run the butchers shop that he always dreamt of running in Rowledge. He took this from a good business with a 3-star hygiene rating, to a great business with a 5-star hygiene rating. This role provided Kevin with the scope to really explore his art form.
Kevin then took on the challenge of helping to set up and manage a brand new butchers shop in Tongham, employing the modern and the traditional to provide his customers with the finest of his art and a beautiful product from a lifetime of experience.
Kevin then took on the challenge of helping to set up and manage a brand new butchers shop in Tongham, employing the modern and the traditional to provide his customers with the finest of his art and a beautiful product from a lifetime of experience.
A butcher’s shop of his own
In 2024 Kevin achieved his dream when he opened his own butcher’s shop in Church Crookham. Now considered one of the premier butcher’s shops in Hampshire, Kevin brings a modern touch to a traditional butcher’s, leaving him perfectly placed to continue to support our business as we move forward with Little Church Farm Shop.
