Shepherd's Farm Shop is a new business set up and run by me, Susie Keenan, with help from my husband Euan (and also help from Mum, Jo, and big brother Andrew). Euan and I live in Newent, just down the road from Hazelfield, with our beloved black lab, Paddy.
I am passionate about great foods which have equally great stories. I believe the story behind our local and regional foods - who, how, why and where they are made - is what makes each product unique and special.
And of course we all have our own story....
My Story
I was brought up on a mixed farm in Devon, on the beautiful Portledge Estate which stretches along the North Coast, between Bideford and Clovelly. My Dad, Bob Davies, was farm manager on the Estate for 25 years.
Me and my Dad, on my wedding day (it was windy!)
My passion for working with people and local food started in my very first job at The Big Sheep, a neighbouring farm which diversified into a tourism attraction after a big new road cut it in two. Back then, The Big Sheep had a flock of milking ewes and produced sheeps' milk cheeses and ice creams, which I enthusiastically sold to visitors at weekends, school and later University holidays. I also helped organise seasonal Farmers' Markets and other local produce events.
Before starting University in 2000, I travelled and worked in Australia and New Zealand, and whilst in NZ became aware of how people there seemed to be more connected with their food, how it was produced and where it came from. It struck me that many people in the UK were becoming increasingly disconnected with where their food came from.
On returning from my travels, I abandoned my plan to study Psychology, and opted for a degree in Agri-Food Marketing and Business Studies, at the same establishment my Dad attended over 40 years previously, Harper Adams University College, in Shropshire.
My interest during my studies was always the 'alternative' food marketing route i.e. the supermarket doesn't have to be the only place we can get food! I completed my dissertation on local food sourcing opportunities for the catering industry, including local food for hospitals and schools.
Whilst on my work placement year in Scotland, I met Euan, and we married in 2005. We moved from Scotland to Gloucestershire for Euan's work in 2004 (he grows strawberries, raspberries, cherries and cut flowers), and by chance we have ended up only a few miles from where my Mum grew up, in the Forest of Dean, so there's a few family and friends kicking about around here! We live on a nursery where Euan grows strawberries in glasshouses - our strawberries should be available from the middle of April...pop into Shepherd's for a taste!
.JPG)
Euan and I (and Paddy of course!) really enjoy living in the area, and we've got to know many of the local food products and producers. We both really look forward to the prospect of meeting you in the shop, and introducing you to the fantsatic food and drink we sell at Shepherd's.
I am passionate about great foods which have equally great stories. I believe the story behind our local and regional foods - who, how, why and where they are made - is what makes each product unique and special.
And of course we all have our own story....
My Story
I was brought up on a mixed farm in Devon, on the beautiful Portledge Estate which stretches along the North Coast, between Bideford and Clovelly. My Dad, Bob Davies, was farm manager on the Estate for 25 years.
Me and my Dad, on my wedding day (it was windy!)
My passion for working with people and local food started in my very first job at The Big Sheep, a neighbouring farm which diversified into a tourism attraction after a big new road cut it in two. Back then, The Big Sheep had a flock of milking ewes and produced sheeps' milk cheeses and ice creams, which I enthusiastically sold to visitors at weekends, school and later University holidays. I also helped organise seasonal Farmers' Markets and other local produce events.
Before starting University in 2000, I travelled and worked in Australia and New Zealand, and whilst in NZ became aware of how people there seemed to be more connected with their food, how it was produced and where it came from. It struck me that many people in the UK were becoming increasingly disconnected with where their food came from.
On returning from my travels, I abandoned my plan to study Psychology, and opted for a degree in Agri-Food Marketing and Business Studies, at the same establishment my Dad attended over 40 years previously, Harper Adams University College, in Shropshire.
My interest during my studies was always the 'alternative' food marketing route i.e. the supermarket doesn't have to be the only place we can get food! I completed my dissertation on local food sourcing opportunities for the catering industry, including local food for hospitals and schools.
Whilst on my work placement year in Scotland, I met Euan, and we married in 2005. We moved from Scotland to Gloucestershire for Euan's work in 2004 (he grows strawberries, raspberries, cherries and cut flowers), and by chance we have ended up only a few miles from where my Mum grew up, in the Forest of Dean, so there's a few family and friends kicking about around here! We live on a nursery where Euan grows strawberries in glasshouses - our strawberries should be available from the middle of April...pop into Shepherd's for a taste!
Euan and I (and Paddy of course!) really enjoy living in the area, and we've got to know many of the local food products and producers. We both really look forward to the prospect of meeting you in the shop, and introducing you to the fantsatic food and drink we sell at Shepherd's.