Mark Hix is a celebrated food writer and renowned restaurateur. Previously Chef Director of Caprice Holdings, he left in 2007 to open Hix Oyster & Chop House in Smithfield and Lyme Regis, Dorset. In 2008 Mark won GQ's Chef of the Year Award, the Academy Award for Outstanding Contribution to London Restaurants and the Restaurateur of the Year at 2009 Tatler Awards.
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It can be fun preparing your own meat at home, especially as a lot of the high street butchers tend to do boring cuts. If you go to a butchers shop in Europe they are much more economical with their cuts. Take a chicken for example, most people just roast it, attack it and that's about it.
Now a good quality free range or well brought up bird isn't necessarily a cheap family meal anymore, but if it's butchered correctly you can get three dishes from it. The breasts can be removed with a sharp knife quite easily with a bit of practice and the legs too. Well that's two meals and the carcass makes a hearty chicken soup as you will still find some good bits of chicken left on it once the stock is made.