Sillfield Farm ::: Peter Gott

Peter Gott

Born in 1955, I come from a family of retailers, food manufacturers and farmers with four retail shops and four markets within the North West of England. I left school with eight O-levels and two A-levels.

As a young farmer I managed a flock of sheep, but this was not enough to provide me with a decent living, so I set myself up as a market trader and travelled around the markets of Northern England selling bacon and cheese. I then bought the in sides of bacon and further processed them, before selling the different cuts and joints through the market stalls. The marketing skills acquired, were to stand me in good stead in later life.
After several years trading, I moved into the pig farming business in which I have been ever since.

Wild Boar production started in 1993, when my brother gave me four wild boar gilts as a joke. And it's just gone from there. The farm has about eighteen acres of coniferous woodland - an ideal habitat for wild boar. We now have about one hundred and fifty wild boar stock originating mainly from German and Belgian lines, as well as some wild boar breeding stock with Russian blood in them - but they can be elusive in the woodland undergrowth. The wild boar is reared on conventional pig-feed, but all additives and growth promoters are excluded.

Being a farmer, I thoroughly understand the fundamentals of going to market. In order to promote the business and learn ever more about the food industry, I attend various food fairs and festivals - mainly in Britain, but also abroad. This, eventually, led to renting stall space at London's Borough Market, close to London Bridge. Initially this was just once a month, but now Sillfield Farm has a permanent site there. I certainly earn my living the hard way - every Wednesday night, fifty-two weeks of the year, we load up a large trailer with produce (such as hand made pies, wild boar fresh meat and Westmorland cheeses) and drive down to London.

In 1994, Sillfield Farm won the "Best Market Stall Award" out of over three hundred market traders at the Dutch International Market in Den Bosch.
We attend many individual indoor and outdoor markets and events throughout the UK and abroad - including Ireland, Scotland, Holland, Spain, France, Italy, and Germany.
As a member of the N.M.T.F (National Market Traders Federation), I helped to set up the Southern Irish Market and Street Traders Association.
I strongly believe in the Slow Food movement, which encourages and promotes local food and artisan food production. For more information please see 'Slow Food' page.

I am also much involved with the promotion of quality food and food production through the media - successfully steering many journalists and broadcasters in what is regarded as the “right direction”. Programmes in which I have been involved include: Rick Stein's "Food Heroes", Clarissa Dickson-Wright's "Clarissa and the Countryman" and in the BBC 2 series "Jimmy's Farm". I also presented a programme for BBC Open University titled “Bringing Home the Bacon”.

I live and work with my wife, Christine and my daughter, Julie, is also involved in the business.
My son, Martin, is developing his cheese-making skills at Holker Farm, Grange Over Sands.

I see myself as a "Man with a Mission", who works very hard not only to keep my business successful, but also to bring inspiration and enthusiasm to all those with whom I associate.




	Peter Gott Born in 1955, I come from a family of retailers, food manufacturers and farmers with four retail shops and four markets within the North West of England. I left school with eight O-levels and two A-levels. As a young farmer I managed a flock of sheep, but this was not enough to provide me with a decent living, so I set myself up as a market trader and travelled around the markets of Northern England selling bacon and cheese. I then bought the in sides of bacon and further processed them, before selling the different cuts and joints through the market stalls. The marketing skills acquired, were to stand me in good stead in later life. After several years trading, I moved into the pig farming business in which I have been ever since. Wild Boar production started in 1993, when my brother gave me four wild boar gilts as a joke. And it's just gone from there. The farm has about eighteen acres of coniferous woodland - an ideal habitat for wild boar. We now have about one hundred and fifty wild boar stock originating mainly from German and Belgian lines, as well as some wild boar breeding stock with Russian blood in them - but they can be elusive in the woodland undergrowth. The wild boar is reared on conventional pig-feed, but all additives and growth promoters are excluded. Being a farmer, I thoroughly understand the fundamentals of going to market. In order to promote the business and learn ever more about the food industry, I attend various food fairs and festivals - mainly in Britain, but also abroad. This, eventually, led to renting stall space at London's Borough Market, close to London Bridge. Initially this was just once a month, but now Sillfield Farm has a permanent site there. I certainly earn my living the hard way - every Wednesday night, fifty-two weeks of the year, we load up a large trailer with produce (such as hand made pies, wild boar fresh meat and Westmorland cheeses) and drive down to London. In 1994, Sillfield Farm won the "Best Market Stall Award" out of over three hundred market traders at the Dutch International Market in Den Bosch. We attend many individual indoor and outdoor markets and events throughout the UK and abroad - including Ireland, Scotland, Holland, Spain, France, Italy, and Germany. As a member of the N.M.T.F (National Market Traders Federation), I helped to set up the Southern Irish Market and Street Traders Association. I strongly believe in the Slow Food movement, which encourages and promotes local food and artisan food production. For more information please see 'Slow Food' page. I am also much involved with the promotion of quality food and food production through the media - successfully steering many journalists and broadcasters in what is regarded as the “right direction”. Programmes in which I have been involved include: Rick Stein's "Food Heroes", Clarissa Dickson-Wright's "Clarissa and the Countryman" and in the BBC 2 series "Jimmy's Farm". I also presented a programme for BBC Open University titled “Bringing Home the Bacon”. I live and work with my wife, Christine and my daughter, Julie, is also involved in the business. My son, Martin, is developing his cheese-making skills at Holker Farm, Grange Over Sands. I see myself as a "Man with a Mission", who works very hard not only to keep my business successful, but also to bring inspiration and enthusiasm to all those with whom I associate.