Pastures and camps
A provenance card travels with every named venison lot we sell, giving chefs the farm, camp, abattoir and harvest date.
A provenance card holds the essential story of each venison lot, naming the farm, the species and the handling route right up to the abattoir. For chefs and butchers, it means confidence in every cut: you know the herd, the handling, the conditions and the people behind the meat. This is especially important with venison, where regional differences in veld, forage, rainfall and even wind can shape the flavour and quality.
For the deer, careful record-keeping also matters. Full records let us track each move step by step, which cuts stress and risk at every stage. Animals moved with care and full records settle quicker at their destination, which is vital both for welfare and for the consistency chefs rely on.
Every provenance card is handwritten by our venison provenance manager, who also runs the cold chain and the named lot register. On the back, the handlers sign their names beside the abattoir date. Cards are tough, water-resistant and sized to fit beside the butcher block or inside a kitchen logbook. We use heavy card stock with a protective finish, so it won’t warp or smear in a busy kitchen.
Cards travel with the venison, never leaving the cold chain. At every handling point, from our cold room to the kitchen, the lot is checked against its card. Cards are updated each season to reflect any changes in herd, veld type, or abattoir. Chefs and butchers can keep the card for their own provenance records or return it for our archive.
Mistakes can happen if a card gets separated from its venison lot, or if details are missed during a busy day at the abattoir. We double-check every card at handover and during each cold room transfer. In dry seasons or during high movement, updates can slip when staff are stretched thin, so we keep a wall chart at the cold room for daily tracking.
Seasonal changes can bring new veld conditions or herd shifts, and each one goes on the card. In the run-up to the end-of-year festive season, when demand is high and movement is brisk, we reinforce checks at each transfer. If you ever find a card with a missing detail, send a message through our contact form and our venison provenance manager will trace the lot history and correct the record.
