L’Escargot Bleu restaurant and wine bar in Edinburgh is the first restaurant in the UK to be certified by Pasture for Life, which supports and promotes producers of 100% pasture-fed beef, lamb and dairy. Its strapline seems to me to be particularly true to the culinary zeitgeist: “We champion the restorative power of grazing animals on pasture”.

Since opening on Broughton Street in the capital’s New Town in 2009, Fred Berkmiller, chef-patron of the popular French restaurant, has been pioneering a sourcing and sustainability movement that challenges the industry to put provenance and health above profit.

Chef Fred says: “By choosing meat raised purely on pasture, we know it’s of a much higher quality, it’s healthier than grain-fed meat and it tastes better. Pasture for Life farms not only treat animals well, but they also put goodness back into soils rather than depleting them, encouraging more wildlife. We can also trace the provenance of every single piece of meat.”

It’s heartening for me to learn that the number of Scottish farmers producing beef and lamb purely from pasture is growing – even if you can only buy it direct or online from the farm, at farmers’ markets and farm shops rather than at supermarkets. There are currently four PFL-accredited farms in Scotland, and it transpires that chef Fred sources from them all.

“So far we are using on regular basis Peelham Farm for our veal needs, even the bones for our stock, we are buying and have bought Dexter beef from Fife Dexters, we are in the process of working with Grierson Organic again as they are PFL and organic, and we are expecting a delivery this week from Macbeth butchers in Wishaw, who have their own farm and are certified now. We are also in discussion with Balcaskie estate for deliveries in April,” he tells me. He notes that he is still buying non-PFL certified beef too like Shetland Kye from Uradale farm, who are organic.

During lockdown, l’escargot bleu offered a weekly sell-out takeaway menu offering dishes like rosé veal steak tartare, Hebridean mutton navarin and cassoulet of confit beef cheeks in duck fat, all featuring grass-fed meat. Repeat business and feedback solidified Fred’s view that consumers are looking for restaurants they can trust.

Ahead of next week’s visit to l’Escargot Bleu to announce the accolade, Jimmy Woodrow of Pasture for Life said: “The Pasture for Life story is one of community and ours has, unsurprisingly, come of age in the past couple of years. Our farmers wouldn't be able to do what they do without supportive butchers, chefs and retailers and, ultimately, members of the public.

“Chefs, in particular, have captured the public imagination in recent years and have a key role to play in communicating the story of farming to the public. We're delighted to have Fred and his team at l'escargot bleu on board and it's heartening for farmers to see such unflinching insistence on quality at a time when it would be understandable tolook for the easy option.”

Fred adds: “The food system in this country has become so industrialised that chefs like me struggle to source quality ingredients. I realised over a decade ago that things were only getting worse. If I am not supporting pasture-fed meat producers, and educating my customers and staff, who is? It’s becoming increasingly political, and joining Pasture for Life not only strengthens my relationships with suppliers, but it also sends a clear message to the restaurant trade that customers want the option to eat better meat.”