Last week Thursday I was invited to attend Chalmar Beef’s 50th Milestone Celebration in Bapsfontein. They were hosting an auction with beef from 45 selected animals, that had been fed for longer – whole carcasses as well as individual cuts of meat were auctioned & I was super excited to see how this all worked!
The late Oom Wimpie Wethmar started this business 50 years ago, in a simple small building. He had great dreams for Chalmar Beef, & together with his wife, they built this up into the thriving business it is today. This family-run business has a feeling of coming home (especially since I am from a farming community in KZN), & the staff are all so friendly & welcoming. I was so impressed with the stories from people involved with & working for Chalmar Beef, & you could really see their passion for the entire business as well as the Wethmar family.
“The Chalmar Beef farm and abattoir operation includes over 300 dedicated and passionate people, it has a farm feedlot capacity of 20 000 cattle and a further 19 000 cattle on pasture. The farm also produces maize silage on 1 000ha of high potential soil.
Our farm is still owned by the Wethmar family who are involved in the daily operations.”
Profits from the sale of some of the beef also went toward assisting Little Eden Society. Founded in 1967 by Domitilla and Danny Hyams, LITTLE EDEN is the permanent home to 300 residents who have profound intellectual disability, the majority of whom have been discarded and abandoned by society. Within the confines of LITTLE EDEN these precious souls find daily warmth, care and love together with all the ancillary programmes and therapies to make them stars in their own right.
Besides the 2 healthy & nutritious meals provided weekly for all residents of the home, they are also able to make a further 2 soups/sauces with the bones & leftovers. The Wethmars live for their community & providing support, & this really showed throughout the afternoon I spent there.
I had never attended an auction in any form, so when they sat us down for the festivities to begin, I felt a flutter of excitement in my tummy. The bidders were registered, & I saw the paddles being held in tight hands & you could feel the electricity in the room. We had sampled some of the delicious meat for lunch, & when my knife simply glided through the meat as if it were butter, I knew that I would be a meat snob after this spoiling!
I don’t think any picture could do the food justice, but believe me when I say I never have, & probably never will, taste food like that. Restaurant’s such as Marble, The Grill at 120, Chaplins Grill, Square Time Café, Pachas & many more made our mouth-watering meat dishes supplied from Chalmar Beef. I was teasing my husband with sneak peeks from throughout the day & he was extremely jealous!
The auction went off with much support & excitement, & I definitely noticed that some people were bidding on more than others – I’m not sure where they were from, but we should be asking where our meat is supplied from, & if you hear its Chalmar then you are in for a definite treat.
With our tummies full, & our wallets empty, we were entertained by talented singers before being led through their shop on the property. This is open 6 days a week, & they even have cyclists that stop off along their journey to enjoy an ice cream & drink. If you aren’t able to get to the shop yourself, you can now place your order in their online store & have it delivered to you (if you live in Gauteng). This shop is run by friendly staff who assist you with everything you could possibly want – including an amazing cup of coffee.
You feel Oom Wimpie’s presence all over the farm – from his picture proudly displayed in the shop; to the way the staff remember him with so much love; to the pride the family has in continuing his work. They WANT you to come to visit them & learn more about this passion project of theirs, & you can even get some recipes that have been created in their home with the delicious Chalmar Beef.
All in all, it was a day that I will always remember with such fondness. Besides all the awesome bloggers & media members that I got to meet, I also learnt so much about the importance of loving what you do, & how family will always support you in reaching your dreams. I can’t wait to go back, & know that I will be doing all my meat shopping online from now on.
You can stay up to date with their events, as well as their recipes & so on by following them on Facebook & Instagram. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity!
And please try some of their meat – I promise you will love it.
