Where we came from
With over thirty years of experience Gerard King is a third-generation butcher who started out in Hackney as a packing boy in his family shop. There he slowly learnt his butchery craft, cutting and preparing meat for a cosmopolitan and discerning mix of customers - including the local Turks, Greeks and West Indians that then populated East London - which gave him a valuable understanding of different food cultures and cooking techniques.
From left to right: Bill King c.1950, St.Jude Street shop c.1970, Gerald King c.1960
Smithfield Market played a huge part in the working lives of Gerard, his father and grandfather. Their daily visits to the iconic market, usually at 3am to get meat from their favourite suppliers, shaped his early experience of butchery and left him with an abiding passion for the industry. After leaving his father’s shop, Gerard went on to work in some of the best-known butchers shops in London, including Doves in Battersea, before coming to Suffolk to help set up the multi award-winning butchery at the Suffolk Food Hall.
With his deeply-ingrained knowledge, and real love, of good meat, Gerard opened Salter & King in Aldeburgh in 2013.
Focussing on traditional-breed, seasonal and pasture-fed organic and free-range meat, Salter and King aims to provide the link between local farmers and their appreciative customers, bringing expertise and natural, wonderful meat to the town and surrounding villages.