At the very kind invitation of Paul Kelly, Master Poulter, Masters and their Consorts were invited to Kelly Turkeys, near Chelmsford in Essex on Saturday 13 September.  

The business was started in 1971 by Paul’s father, Derek. A fascinating and informative day and we all now have a much better appreciation of the complex process turkeys go through before they land on our plates at Christmas.  

The day started with coffee and biscuits before we were taken on a tour of the hatchery, where we saw the very cute baby turkeys recently hatched.  We were then taken by coach to Claydons Farm where we enjoyed a Masterclass by Paul on his way of cooking turkey and then carving it!  

After a delicious lunch we learnt about how their turkeys are processed for despatch, after which we were taken to a woodland site where we enjoyed walking amongst 2,000 free-range turkeys.  

It was clear that Paul and his family are passionate about breeding and raising turkeys and that welfare is their primary concern.  If you would like to find out more about Kelly Turkeys, please do take a look at their website.  

Sue Jones,
Master