New Zealand’s finest lamb has primarily been focused on the tables of the world. Marc and Jess Hamilton of Leelands Lamb are changing that. From their Southland base, the couple hand-cut, age and dispatch the export-grade lamb straight to Kiwi home kitchens.

Words Sarah Perriam-Lampp

Tonight, in a lodge somewhere under the Southern Alps, an international guest is enjoying a succulent rack of Southland lamb and is commenting how it is the best they have eaten.  

The best lamb our farmers produce has never really been for us here in New Zealand. For generations it has been carefully carved and flown out to restaurants in London, New York and Shanghai. Marc and Jess Hamilton have spent years watching that happen. In December 2025 they decided to do something about it, purchasing Leelands Gourmet Meats from Bill and Sue French, who for nearly two decades have been providing export-grade lamb delivered to Kiwis at home. A legacy they are excited to build on.

‘Our best cuts are going overseas,’ Marc says. ‘The local market is probably getting a wee bit of second-tier product, but that’s common across all the prime industries – cherries, fruit, everywhere you look. We just wanted a premium product that New Zealanders can enjoy.’

‘Our best cuts are going overseas. We just wanted a premium product that New Zealanders can enjoy.’

Marc has been a stock agent with Southland meat company, Blue Sky Meats, since 2015, but was itching to get his teeth into the marketing side of meat. He’d known Leelands founders Bill and Sue, for years from lamb sales, so he asked the direct question: what was their succession plan?

There wasn’t one. After roughly 12 months of back-and-forth, Marc and Jess made the leap into business ownership.

What they bought was a loyal client base and a quiet reputation among New Zealand’s best chefs who appreciate the fully traceable Leelands lamb on their menus. ‘We’re small and nimble and can change on a dime which I think is what our chefs love,’ Marc says. ‘We can do cuts to suit, where the bigger players can’t always.’

Leelands lamb is export grade, processed in an export plant in Invercargill, then finished by a professional butcher entirely by hand with Marc’s eye over the end quality before it’s boxed. ‘Everything is literally cut with a knife and tidied up with a knife – it’s a traditional butcher quality. Even the Lady Butcher in Christchurch uses the product and raves about it,’ Jess says.

What the lambs eat is also important to the eating experience. They graze on chicory which is a herb then aged on the bone for five days, which Marc says adds tenderness and a better taste. 

That consistency matters more than it sounds. ‘Chefs are paying per kilo, but they’re selling on a per portion basis,’ Marc says. Uniform French racks and legs mean a kitchen knows exactly what it is getting, every single time.

It’s an approach that has won serious culinary praise with Leelands lamb on the menu at some of our country’s most luxurious accommodation destinations, including Huka Lodge and Kauri Cliffs. Their cuts have also come out on top in blind taste tests at least three years running. 

‘People now more than ever want to know where their food’s coming from,’ Marc concludes. ‘Lamb can be expensive, but enjoyed as a special occasion you may as well eat the very best!’

• Leelands lamb is available exclusively to New Zealand home kitchens by ordering individual cuts or a whole carcass shipped overnight, anywhere in the country.