Zydrunas & Vilma, butchers from Lithuania receive their first consignment of slaughtered pigs at their newly opened shop in King's Lynn, Norfolk.

Butchery in Lithuania and Eastern Europe, like in the UK is shaped by a combination of historical, cultural, political, and economic factors. Traditionally, pork dominated the Lithuanian diet, stemming from the suitability of pigs resilience to cold winters and their ability to thrive on pannage – rummaging for food in the vast forests of that continent.

During the era of Soviet domination when scarcity was deliberately engineered, Lithuanians became experts in that the Waitrose classes discovered only a few years ago – nose to tail eating; maximizing the use of the animal.

ZP & VP Butchers cater to the local Lithuanian population with dishes such as Pusgalvos, a half-head of pig in gelatinous broth, and Nugarinė su Oda, pork loin, with its fat layer and skin left intact.

For older Lithuanians in the UK, the best pig-meat is still home-slaughtered, knife-exsanguinated, and scalded in hot water to remove hair. Such practises are outlawed by the EU but some meat still sneaks through in small quantities, usually for celebrations such as birthdays & Christmas.