From Withyburn Croft to No88: The Story Behind our Dexter Beef Supplier.

Karen Arellano
7 days ago
4 min read

At No88, we often talk about “Food with the Soul of Shetland.” For us, that isn't just a phrase on our website. It's something we genuinely try to put on every plate.That means knowing where our ingredients come from, getting to know the people who produce them and, whenever possible, keeping our food journey as close to home as we can. One of the producers we are particularly proud to work with is Withyburn Croft in Bigton, where Stacey Fullerton and her family care for their animals on a sixth-generation family croft.

Withyburn truly is a Croft with a story-

Withyburn Croft is more than somewhere cattle are raised. It is a family home and a working Shetland croft with generations of history behind it and there is something particularly lovely about Staceys story.

The name Withyburn comes from the croft's Dexter cattle. Stacey brought her Dexter herd from Somerset to Shetland in 2019, bringing together two very different farming landscapes and traditions. Somerset and Shetland might be hundreds of miles apart and worlds apart in landscape, but the same care for animals and the land connects them.

Dexter cattle have been a lifelong passion for Stacey. Having been brought up with Dexters through her mum’s herd, they have been part of her life from the very beginning. She entered the show ring with her Dexter's in 1999 and has continued to develop her knowledge and experience of the breed ever since. Her commitment has recently seen her complete her judges’ training, demonstrating the depth of her knowledge and her dedication to maintaining the quality and integrity of the Dexter breed.

Why we love working with local crofters -

At No88, we don't want our ingredients to be anonymous.We want to know the people behind them.

We want to know where our beef has come from, how it has been raised and who has put the time and care into producing it. That's why our suppliers mean so much to us.

Withyburn Croft is exactly the kind of producer we love supporting. Their approach is small-scale and personal, with a strong emphasis on knowing the animals and looking after their welfare. Stacey talks about how working on a smaller farm allows you to know the animals much better and recognise quickly when something isn't right.For us, that connection matters; from the croft to our kitchen. When we buy Withyburn beef, we're not simply buying a product.We're buying into a story.The cattle have been raised here in Shetland, surrounded by the landscape that makes this place so special. That landscape is a huge part of what inspires our cooking at No88.Our kitchen is built around the incredible produce available on these islands — from seafood harvested from Shetland's waters to lamb and beef reared outdoors and vegetables grown by local crofters.And that's why we love being able to tell our guests where their food comes from.

Respecting the ingredient -

Once that beautiful Shetland beef arrives in our kitchen, our job is to treat it with the respect it deserves.John's cooking is all about allowing great ingredients to speak for themselves while adding flavours and techniques inspired by his own journey and our life here in Shetland.We don't believe an ingredient needs to be complicated to be special.Good produce, cooked with care, can be all it needs.Our menu changes with the seasons and with what our local producers have available. At different times, our Shetland beef has featured in dishes such as our slow-braised beef, where the meat is given the time it needs to become wonderfully tender and full of flavour.

More than farm to fork -

People often use the phrase farm to fork, but here in No88 it feels much more personal than that.It means knowing the crofter who raised the animal, knowing the fisherman who caught the fish, growing our herbs in our own garden and being able to tell our guests the story behind what is on their plate.That's what we love about Shetland.Supporting the people who feed our islands. Working with producers such as Withyburn Croft is also our small way of supporting the future of local food and crofting. Shetland's landscape, traditions and communities are all connected. When we choose local produce, we're helping keep those connections alive. Withyburn Croft itself is committed to sharing the story of Shetland crofting, including through its croft tours, where visitors can meet the animals and learn more about life on a working croft.For us, that makes the relationship even more special.We can serve the beef at No88, while our guests can visit the place where that story begins.

A little bit of Shetland on your plate -

The next time you sit down at No88 and see Shetland beef on the menu, we hope you think about more than just the dish in front of you.Think about the croft-Think about the landscape-Think about the people who have cared for the animals and think about the journey that has brought that ingredient from a family croft in Bigton, to our kitchen here at No88.

That's what Food with the Soul of Shetland means to us and that's why we're so proud to work with Withyburn Croft.