Talking turkey

Paul Kelly likes to tell it how it is. “My goal is to find the perfect tasting turkey,” he says, without showing even a glimmer of doubt that the prize is out there, just waiting to be grasped.

After nearly 40 years of experience in the family-run Kelly Turkeys, Paul is now at the helm of a business employing over 100 people in the busiest period in the run up to Christmas.

“I firmly believe that the Kelly Bronze turkey is the best tasting turkey on the market. They are raised slowly and to higher welfare standards, given space to range and do all the things they naturally like to do in the wild.”

And you don’t have to take Paul’s word for it. Kelly Turkeys have been showered with awards in recent years including BBC Good Food, Farmers Weekly and Claridges’ Quality British Turkey Award for six years in succession.

“People thought we were mad when we first introduced free range turkeys in the 1980s,” says Paul quite seriously. “Of course, there was a premium to pay for this higher welfare commitment but we believed it would be worth it when it came to the quality and taste of the product.”

And so, after years of careful production, it has proved. For the last three years, Kelly Turkeys have produced a large number of their birds to RSPCA welfare standards as members of the Freedom Food farm assurance and food labelling scheme.

“Caring well for our animals is something that has always been central to our farming philosophy,” says Paul. “It might sound pretty obvious, but happy, healthy turkeys make for better tasting meat on your plate – I’m convinced of that. We wouldn’t produce turkey any other way; it simply wouldn’t be a Kelly turkey.”