IT was the star dish at a pop-up Greek restaurant in a Welsh Marches castle this winter and surprisingly it was goat.

The chef had ordered a whole goat from Golden Valley Goats in Madley, Herefordshire, and roasted it with specially imported Mediterranean lemons before serving it up on a salt block at Hay Castle.

Meltingly tender and salty, the dish was unforgettable and opened the eyes of diners.

Rob Roberts who reared the goat with his wife Miriam, is equally ecstatic about the meat that is being newly discovered in the UK.

He sells it to a Herefordshire pub, The Kilpeck at Kilpeck a few miles away, where it is served as butterfly chops.

At home the couple make goat curry which they share with appreciative friends.

It’s also going down well at Presteigne Farmers’ Market, where Rob and Miriam sell goat sausages, burgers and packs of meat to a growing following on the first Saturday of the month as well as goat’s cheese and home pasteurised goat’s milk.

Goat farming is a growing market in the UK, although goat meat is the most widely eaten meat across the world, and Rob and Miriam are investing in their business as it gathers strength.

Miriam had coveted the idea of raising goats about 15 years ago when the couple got married.

But, with two small children and not much room, the dream was shelved.

They have now moved on to the farm in Madley where Rob grew up and, with some barns and some land at their disposal, they got their first goats four years ago.

“That opened a door here to having a couple of pets and I realised there wasn’t a lot of goat’s milk available.

“There were goat farmers around but no one was pasteurising, bottling and putting milk into shops, which is what we do now,” said Rob.

They now have about 120 goats, Anglo Nubian, Toggenburg and Saanen breeds, chosen for the varying fat content in the milk and yield quantity, with new arrivals expected between mid February and May when the nannys are kidded in stages.

About 160 kids will be bottle-fed this year while their mothers are milked, producing on average 2.8 litres of milk a day each.

The flourishing business, not subjected to the vagaries of other farming enterprises, has given the couple the confidence to build a milking parlour which Rob built mostly by himself over a year with the advice of a local dairy farmer.

It was finished last autumn and the goats are milked there twice a day at 5am and 4.30pm before the milk is pasteurised and bottled in a converted garage where it is also made into soft rounds of white cheese, described by Rob as being a bit like haloumi.

It doesn’t melt and it’s great grilled on a cracker.

The delivery of the milk, about 180 litres a week, is carried out themselves and anything left over and not made into cheese goes to Abergavenny Fine Foods for cheese making.

Goat meat sales are also expanding, providing a valuable use for the male kid goats.

Those who haven’t eaten it before and are brave enough to try find they are very happy.

It’s a healthy and economic choice too, said Rob. “The meat doesn’t differ that much from lamb and it doesn’t have the fat. Goat milk and meat are good for a low cholesterol diet.

“We often put goat joints in the slow cooker. Not being very fatty the meat benefits from slow cooking.

“We eat a lot of sausages and our goat curries are very popular when we go to friends.”

He added: “We can see that goat meat is rising in popularity. People are keen to try new things and are looking for food that’s healthier and a bit different.

“The world is getting smaller at the end of the day, and dishes like goat curry are interesting and are getting increasingly popular,” said Rob.