Absolutely heads to Berkshire to find out the top tips…
The Copas family began farming land in Berkshire in 1901, but it wasn’t until 1957 that they took a giant leap into turkey rearing – and it all started with a rather pointed gift. Tom Copas Senior was a teenager in 1957, young, sprightly and far too impatient for school; his father thought it was time for a hobby. The result, a gift of 153 turkeys, blossomed into a small business that in turn became the much respected heritage brand Copas Traditional Turkeys is today.
Now in its 66th year, Copas Traditional Turkeys is truly a family business with Tom Jr taking over the helm from his dad, each led by the same values and artisan methods that Tom Snr embraced when he met his first flock of feathered friends. They believe that the very best turkey will have been given a long life, room to roam across meadows and will have gone through age old production processes, including hand plucking and game hanging, to enhance and preserve the birds flavour, naturally.
Copas Turkeys are loved by some of Britain’s favourite chefs and foodies as well as a loyal following of home delivery and farm gate customers. Christmas is truly a day of celebration, relaxation and gaiety which is why, over the last 60 years, we have dedicated each year to producing the finest award winning turkeys in the land, just for Christmas.
Absolutely met up with Tom Copas Jr to find out about continuing the family business, preparing for Christmas all year long, and moody alpacas.
What are your earliest memories of life on the farm?
Eating too much fruit in the orchards in the summer, playing in the coldstore around all the turkeys hanging, packing turkeys at Christmas (there is some photo evidence of me loading long legged turkeys as we were allowed to do then in a fetching red tracksuit!) and chasing or being chased by cows.
I did get left behind by dad once whilst checking crops and I decided to pick up a few conkers. He noticed I didn’t have much to say about all the pheasants on the road!
Were you always going to take over the family business?
It wasn’t always the plan, although it might have been dad’s. I chose to do product design and engineering at university as I wasn’t sure I would be heading back to the farm. I loved my course, but over the duration I decided I would eventually end up back in the family business.
Can you describe the farm’s setting?
We’re lucky to be located in stunning Berkshire countryside in the village of Cookham, on the other side of the River Thames from Marlow. The farm is in a valley, with fields and a cherry orchard surrounding our office and buildings, and Quarry Wood, the setting for Wind In The Willows, just over the road.
How would you say things have changed since the early days of the Copas family running the farm?
We have been farming for over 120 years, so in some ways a fair bit. Some things have never changed, but some have dramatically. The care and attention to the farm and produce has never changed, but we have embraced technology, machinery and modernised where we can. But it’s all still very manual. The opportunities aren’t what they were, but everyone sees that and you have to work harder and harder for your market these days.
Today, what challenges do you face?
Recently there have been a catalogue. Brexit affecting our seasonal labour, covid affecting seasonal labour even more and changing buying habits, Ukraine catapulting our feed costs, and the biggest and looming one is bird flu. It could be catastrophic for us so we have done what we can to reduce our risk, improved biosecurity and remaining vigilant.
Can you describe a typical day?
Up early and walk the dogs round the farm, get baby Thomas up (Thomas Copas 4th), fed and off to forest school, back to the office for most the day unless required for meetings elsewhere, then back home to cook dinner and/or put Thomas to bed. Pretty office based these days which is a shame, but is where I need to be.
When do you start preparing for the Christmas period?
It’s actually a year-round job. No sooner has Christmas gone, we start preparing for the next one. The farm needs a good clean and we start planning. Unlike commercial turkey producers, we rear our turkeys to full maturity, around 26 weeks, so they arrive at one day old in early June and free range out into the fields in mid-July.
Can you explain how you look after your turkeys?
As mentioned, they arrive when they are just one day old and spend their first few weeks in temperature-controlled barns to give them the best start in life. The team do regular checks to be sure the temperature and food levels are correct. After six weeks, when they are big enough to run around, we release them into the fields and cherry orchards. Mid-October, we start firework training by letting off a loud rocket daily to acclimatise the birds ready for Bonfire Night & Diwali. The less stressed we can keep the turkeys, the better.
Are the alpacas characters?
Our alpacas are rehomed males and tend to be a bit grumpy, but that suits us to be honest! They’re here to scare away the foxes, which they do very well.
If we were buying a Copas Christmas turkey, what can we expect?
We love people’s reactions when they taste a Copas turkey for the first time and once they do, they tend to come back every year. As well as the best tasting turkey that is easy to cook (no need to baste as our mature birds have a fat layer under the skin that melts into the meat), we are also proud of our customer service. For many of our customers, our Festive Fayre at the farm on 23 December is the official start to their Christmas.
What else do you offer that’s perfect for Christmas?
As well as our award-winning turkeys, we offer Wiltshire ham, smoked Scottish salmon, an array of cheeses, pigs in blankets, jars and pouches of sauces and accompaniments, and even some gifts for the avid cook in your family. Our latest addition is getting rave reviews: Copas Small Batch Rosemary Gin, made with botanicals inspired by the farm and surrounding area. It recently won the Great British Food Best Gin Award.
How did you feel about your recent success at the Great Taste Awards?
We’re always excited to see our results when the Great Taste Awards are announced and it’s an honour when any of our products win. This year our Copas Gin won a Gold Star, as did our chicken cuts.
Do you get time off over Christmas?
Once the final customer has collected their order on 23 December and we’ve cleared away the Christmas Fayre, the whole team, including me, gathers to raise a glass of bubbles and head off home for the festive season. By then we are all exhausted, very happy and looking forward to a few days away from each other before we return in the New Year.
