WHAT meat lover would pass up a lovely juicy fillet steak or even a succulent rib of beef?
But there's more to beef than those hackneyed and familiar joints, no matter how delicious those old favourites may be.
Just ask Neil Risdon, who's been serving the choicest cuts from his butcher's shop in Calcott Farm for the past four years.
We might know about fillet rump and sirloin – supposedly named after King James I knighted the joint that was served to him – but if chuck rib, or feather blade has not made it onto your culinary radar yet, have no fear.
These are the personal favourites of Neil who has been in the butchering trade since he was 14-years-old.
The horsemeat crisis may have put the major supermarkets under uncomfortable scrutiny, but it's far from bad news for Mr Risdon who advertises where all his meat comes from on a blackboard above the counter.
Since the horsemeat scandal broke he has seen a surge in trade of more than 25 per cent.
He said: "We've seen a huge increase in trade since the scandal started.
"People want to know where their meat has come from.
"And they want to know that what they are eating is what they have asked for. It can only be a good thing for us."
Although the big seller since the horse meant scandal has been chicken – he is selling the equivalent of 120 chickens in a week during busy periods – the 30-year-old is still expecting to sell up to two whole cows (about 250kg of beef) six lambs and four pigs a week.
He has even been known to sell wild boar.
But it is not just the quality of the meat customers are looking for, but the knowledge of the three butchers behind the counter who between them have 50 years' experience.
With just a cleaver, a paring knife and a carving blade, a carcass is butchered into a selection of chops, steaks and stewing meat in minutes.
Aside from poultry there is generally only one way of butchering pork and lamb – both of which should be eaten as soon as possible from the time the animal is slaughtered.
But there are several variations on how to butcher a cow, referred to in the trade as "fashions".
There are not just international variations but they can also vary on a regional basis too.
But the most widely practised and the fashion that Neil uses to cut his own beef is the London Method.
The meat is first hung for at least 21 days in a cold, dry chiller before it is ready to be butchered.
A cow is divided into two forequarters and two hindquarters. As a rule the forequarters are a little tougher than the hindquarters so cuts from that part of the animal are good for stewing, braising and slow cooking as these methods help to tenderise the meat.
For example, chuck steak, which comes from near the neck and is a stewing steak, tends to carry more fat so it can take a slow cook and because of that it gives out more flavour.
Neil points out another little known cut:
"Ribs are very nice, but we also do another cut which is when we leave bone on the chuck. That's called back rib.
"It's got a lot more flavour running through it," he says.
"The general rule is closer to the head , the sweeter the meat.
"I love it and it is what I take home for a roast.
"It might need a little longer and slower cooking but you get a far superior flavour.
"We get quite high demand for it."
But for a real treat, try asking for feather blade, which sits on the side of the shoulder blade and when sliced looks like a feather with the nerve like the quill.
He said: "It has a lot of sinew that breaks down to make a great juice, but it is not been very well known. But people have learnt about it now, we have got quit a high demand for it.
"The problem is there is only about a pound and a half in weight of the cut in one animal but it cooks beautifully."
Some of the other cuts that people should be willing to try, Neil said, are leg of mutton cut, which despite its name is actually taken from the shoulder of the cow and is typically sliced for braising steak or cubed for casseroles.
Neil says TV chefs are probably the biggest culinary trend-setters and it is clear when one has used a recipe using a particular cut of meat.
Cookery programmes have led to a surge in popularity in cuts that suffered years in the gastronomic wilderness, but are now enjoying a new resurgence.
He said: "Belly pork is one that's become very popular.
"We know pretty much straight away when something been on telly.
"You get a lot people coming into us over the weekend after it's been shown.
"If only the chefs could let us know a couple of days before what they are doing on telly, we could make a fortune!
Neil S Risdon High Class Butchers is at Calcott Hall Farm Shop, Ongar Road Brentwood. Call 01277 239761 to find out more.