Island Life Magazine Ltd December 2011/January 2012 | Page 120
FOOD
Stephen's recipe for
success at Medina
John Peck, Caroline & Stephen Ross
Stephen Ross is Isle of Wight born and bred, and very
proud of it. Stephen is the son of Colin Ross, and now
the managing director of Medina Foodservice, the Island’s
friendly, family-run catering wholesaler.
Stephen, born in July 1972, had two older brothers,
David and Andrew, and while at Ryde School helped out
at his father’s butchery shop in Ryde whenever he could.
In 1983 the family business moved to bigger premises in
Newport and his father joined forces with another well
known Island butcher, David Bishop, to concentrate on
the catering side of the business, whilst still running the
retail side from Ryde.
Stephen said: “In 1988 when I joined Medina Meats
I was taught the basics of butchery by my father.
It’s something that you never forget and even now
on a typical busy day, I will still be in the butchery
department, helping out. I then started delivery driving
and visiting customers to try and grow the business. Even
nowadays with four full time sales reps, I still go out
seeing customers, and it is still the side that I most enjoy.
“When I was 19 and ambitious, an opportunity arose
for me to go to Hilsea Meat Market to bring back
products for several other butchers on the Island. I
did this for two or three years until I returned full
Medina Foods
State of the art butchery room
120
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TEL: 01983 529840 www.medinafoodservice.co.uk