The Cure 2019-20

GUIDE TO BRITISH & CONTINENTAL CHARCUTERIE 2019-20

Choice cuts From Somerset Charcuterie culatello to Severn Spots beer sticks, top chefs and buyers reveal their British favourites IN ASSOCIATION WITH

a supplement to

INSIDE: • Your A-Z guide to charcuterie makers • Importers & distributors • Emerging producers • National award winners round-up

A family owned West Dorset charcuterie producer working with chefs since 2009

Award winning product range now available for retail sales.

Taste of the West Champion Cured Meat 5 times in the last 7 years, Supreme Champion in 2013.

2 & 3 Star winners at the Great Taste Awards.

SALSA accredited.

Call David and Karen for details of our range.

Capreolus Fine Foods Ltd. Uphall Farmhouse, Rampisham, Dorset, DT2 0PP Telephone: 01935 83883 email: sales@capreolusfinefoods.co.uk

www.capreolusfinefoods.co.uk

LARDO

SMOKED MUTTON

GUANCIALE

WELCOME A supplement to

An improved skillset is freeing creative charcutiers to take products to a new level

By MICK WHITWORTH

CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

THE FIRST ROUND of judging for this year’s British Cured Meat Awards (BCMAs) delivered a decent snapshot of this sector in 2019 – and gave me flashbacks to a rather different experience the year before.

Entries were up on 2018, but so, very noticeably, was the quality. Last year, one judge refused point-blank to let some products pass his lips. He was an experienced pig man and butcher but sufficiently well versed in microbiology that he wasn’t going to put his gastric health on the line.

This year, few of us had any such qualms. Not everyone enjoyed every product, but the competence of the producers was rarely in doubt. If I have a criticism, it’s only that an utterly delicious fresh-blood black pudding with hearty chunks of lardo didn’t make it through to take a category award at the 1st June finals. Fellow judges, what were you thinking?

There does seem to have been a shift since 2018. The initial boom in new producers is slowing and we have seen some casualties, closures and consolidation. Gloucestershire air-dried ham specialist Alex Oxspring has thrown in the towel, while Graham and Ruth Waddington have sold their long-established Native Breeds operation to national pork producer Helen Browning’s Organic (although, thankfully, production remains firmly in Graham’s hands at their original base).

But those producers who are emerging – like 2019 newcomer Westcombe Dairy (p7) – are coming at charcuterie far more prepared than some of the first generation of farm diversification businesses. To begin with, there is so much more technical knowledge of charcuterie than five years ago. I’d like to think our own Code of Practice for Artisan Charcuterie Production has helped, with many environmental health officers, as well as producers, using its guidance. Whatever the full reasons, as British Charcuterie Awards founder Henrietta Green tells us (p39), the bar has definitely been raised.

And far from being a straitjacket, that improved skillset is freeing up creative charcutiers like Westcombe’s Paul Burton to take their products to a whole new level.

Inside EXPERTS’ CHOICE Chefs and retailers pick they favourite British charcuterie 4

EMERGING PRODUCERS Westcombe Dairy 7 Block & Bottle 11 A-Z GUIDE TO CHARCUTIERS

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IMPORTERS & DISTRIBUTORS

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EDITORIAL editorial@gff.co.uk Contributing editor: Mick Whitworth Editor: Michael Lane Assistant editor: Lauren Phillips Contributors: Lucas Holweg, AJ Sharp, Bill Bruce Art Director: Mark Windsor Cover image: Somerset Charcuterie ADVERTISING advertise@gff.co.uk Sales director: Sally Coley Sales manager: Ruth Debnam Sales executive: Becky Stacey GENERAL ENQUIRIES Tel: +44 (0)1747 825200 Fax: +44 (0)1747 824065 info@gff.co.uk www.gff.co.uk ADDRESS Guild of Fine Food, Guild House, 23b Kingsmead Business Park, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 5FB UK PUBLISHED BY The Guild of Fine Food Ltd © The Guild of Fine Food Ltd 2019. Reproduction of whole or part of this magazine without the publisher’s prior permission is prohibited. The opinions expressed in articles and advertisements are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher.

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A Pinch of Salt 13 Alternative Meats/Blighty Biltong 13 Beal’s Farm 13 Black Hand Food 13 Black Mountain Smokery 13 Botha Biltong 13 Broughgammon 14 Capreolus Fine Foods 14 Charles Macleod 14 Chiltern Charcuterie 14 Cobble Lane Cured 14 Corndale Farm 14 Cornish Charcuterie 14 Crown & Queue 14 Curious Foods 17 Cwm Farm 17 Deersbrook Farm 17 Deli Farm Charcuterie 17 Denhay Farms 17

Donaldson’s of Orkney Duchy Charcuterie Dukeshill Ham East Coast Cured Everfield Organic/Roam & Relish Good Game Grants Oak Smoked Great Glen Charcuterie Hammond Charcuterie Hay Charcuterie Helen Browning’s Organic Hider Foods/ Butlers’ Grove Ispini Charcuterie JW Fine Foods Killenure Castle Ke Nako Biltong Lishman’s of Ilkley London Smoke & Cure

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18 18 18 18 18 18 21 21 21 21 21 21 23 23 23 23 23 23

Macneil’s Smokehouse 23 Macsween of Edinburgh 24 Made for Drink 24 Manchester Smokehouse 24 Marsh Pig 24 Moons Green 24 Negroni 24 Owen Taylor 24 Patchwork Paté 24 Raging Bull 24 Redhill Farm 27 Serious Pig 27 Simply African Meat Snacks 27 Smokin’ Butcher/Hugh Maguire 27 Somerset Charcuterie 27 Southover Foods 27 Staal Smokehouse 27 Stonehouse Smokery 27 Suffolk Salami 27

Sussex Gourmand 28 Tempus Foods 28 The Biltong Company 28 The Biltong Factory 28 The Cambridge BIltong Co 28 The Can-D Food Company 28 The New England Boar Co 28 The Nithsdale Smokehouse 28 The Real Boar Co 31 The Real Cure 31 The Saltpig Curing Co 31 The Somerset Smokehouse 31 The Weald Smokery 31 Trailhead Foods 31 Trealy Farm Charcuterie 32 Wenlock Edge Farm 32 Westcombe Dairy 32 Wildman Charcuterie 32 Woodcock Smokery 32 Woodall’s Charcuterie 32

IMPORTERS & DISTRIBUTORS Aubrey Allen 35 Brindisa 35 Cannon & Cannon 35 Curd & Cure 35 Delicioso 35 Harvey & Brockless 36 Mediterranean Direct 36 Mevalco 36 Tenuta Marmorelle 36 The Cure Charcuterie 36 The Fine Cheese Co 36 Vallebona 36

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Class of 2019 To kick off this year’s edition of The Cure, we asked chefs and retailers around the UK to name their current British charcuterie favourites Interviews by LUCAS HOLWEG

Silvana de Soissons Retail manager The Newt in Somerset farm shop The remit for the farm shop at the recently opened The Newt in Somerset estate near Bruton was to champion the best local producers – so when it came to cured meat, Somerset Charcuterie was an obvious choice. “They tick all the right boxes,” says Silvana de Soissons, The Newt in Somerset’s retail manager. “It’s very slow charcuterie. When you visit their farm, you look out on free-range pigs raised the old-fashioned way.

They have such passion for what they do.”

The company’s pre-sliced culatello, winner of the best muscle meats category at this year’s British Cured Meats Awards, is proving a particular hit in The Newt in Somerset’s deli fridge.

“The flavour is brilliantly balanced and although it’s presliced, there’s plenty of moisture, so it doesn’t dry out,” says de Soissons.

“Culatello isn’t something most people have on their charcuterie board, so it’s a real conversation piece. It’s locally made, but when you eat it, you could be sitting under the sun in Tuscany. It also goes really well with our craft cyder we make here.”

Jonny Davison Chef and farmer Northern Ireland Chef Jonny Davison and charcutier Jonny Cuddy of Ispini have collaborated on a new product that takes an underused piece of offal in a unique new direction. Inspired by katsuobushi, a Japanese seasoning made with fermented and dried tuna, their koji-cultured beef heart originally created for a tartare dish of Davison’s – is designed to be shaved over dishes at the end, providing a hit of umami intensity. Such is the interest from other chefs that it is about to go into production.

Cured with spice and salt, then dusted with koji powder (rice inoculated with koji spores), the pieces of heart are hung and fermented for 48 hours, before being dried until they have lost half their original weight, a process that takes 8 weeks.

“It’s a brilliant seasoning,” says Davison. “It’s an intense umami bomb, like a supercharged

bresaola.” As well as using it for his tartare, he mixes it through compound butters and worked it into a dish devised for the Comber Potato Festival: fondant and hasselback potatoes teamed with pickled shitake and consommé, with shavings of cured heart on top.

Matthew Handley Head chef Mark Hix Chef-restaurateur Hix Restaurants Mark Hix has been sourcing cured meats from Trealy Farm Charcuterie since the Monmouthshire company started in 2005. “I think I was one of their first clients,” he says. “For me, they’re still one of the most consistent producers.”

The chef uses different Trealy products throughout the year, including their coppa (“It’s got real sweetness and the texture is great”), which forms seasonal pairings with Wye Valley white asparagus or pickled pears. But it’s Trealy’s cooking chorizo that features most regularly on Hix’s menus.

“We serve it with our oysters, chop it up to go with razor clams, put it with broad beans and cuttlefish,” he says. “It’s got that nice sweetness, just the right amount of 4

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spice and no bitterness like some chorizos. It stands up really well against any imported stuff. You could easily bluff a Spaniard.”

The Stagg Inn, Titley, Herefordshire For Matthew Handley of the Stagg Inn, Hay Charcuterie’s air-dried Herefordshire ham gives its Italian cousins a run for their money.

“It’s extremely good ham,” he says, “similar to parma, but washed with Herefordshire cider so it has a nice appley sweetness that gives it that bit extra.

“They get the salt just right and they do a great job selecting good quality pigs.”

Currently on The Stagg’s menu is a dish that teams Hay’s ham with locally grown snails. “We warm the ham to bring out the flavour,” says Handley, “then toss it with snails, garlic croutons and mushrooms sautéed in garlic butter, with a parsley purée to sit it on. The sweetness of the ham with the snails works really well.”

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WELCOME

Dan Birch Founder and director Sodo Pizza, London Sodo, a small chain of sourdough pizza restaurants based in East London, looks for sustainability, seasonality and traceability in everything it puts on its menu.

“When I first heard about Cobble Lane Cured, I thought ‘this is right up our street’,” says Dan Birch.

“They know the name of the farm their meat comes from, they know the animals are well looked after and they’re also very good at what they do. They get the fermentation right, they get the moisture right. What they do just tastes great.”

After initially using the London company’s charcuterie on its meat plates, Sodo started adding it to its pizzas as well. At last year’s Street Feast National Pizza Day party, it launched the Wicker Man, a chilli-

hot pizza topped with a double whammy of Cobble Lane ’nduja and pepperoni.

“It’s very meaty with a bit of spice,” says Birch. “We add some scotch bonnet chilli honey, then a big dollop of mascarpone in the middle to give it some creaminess.

It’s a real dirty indulgence.”

Alexander Evans Farm shop buyer Gloucester and Tebay Services Serving the travelling public, the farm shops at Gloucester and Tebay Services aim their charcuterie selection predominantly at graband-go customers.

Help-yourself selections of biltong (from Gloucester Biltong and Shaw’s Meat in Cumbria) have proved popular with those in search of a snack, but this summer the shops are taking a new range of salami sticks from Worcester producer Severn Spots.

“I’m very excited about them,” says Alexander Evans. “We sell Severn Spots products already, but it’s great to be able to offer them to customers as a snacking salami.”

Evans will be stocking three flavour varieties – Tuscan (red wine, fennel & garlic), sopressata (white wine, chilli & garlic) and truffle – sold in 120g pairs. “They will appeal to people who are used to Pepperami

and want a sealed pack,” says Evans, “but the flavours and texture are brilliant, with a really great balance between the pork and the other additions.

“British charcuterie, for the price, has to deliver on taste and Severn Spots products really do.”

Leon Higham Head chef Star & Garter, Leamington Spa “Everything he does has a unique flavour,” says Leon Higham of David Richards from Dorset-based Capreolus Fine Foods.

“From the start, the quality of the meat is good and the curing is perfect. His smoked mutton’s amazing and not something you see that often. And his air-dried Dorset beef has a really explosive flavour, with hints of rosemary and juniper.”

One of Higham’s current favourites is Capreolus’ truffled lardo, which he first discovered

when Richards came to talk to a group of his fellow chefs from the Peach Pubs group.

“Truffles can be a bit in your face,” he says, “but this isn’t at all heavy. It has a balance of light fatty flavour with just enough truffle infused in it.”

Higham cuts the lardo into blocks and freezes it, then grates it finely over risotto, asparagus, or poached egg with hollandaise.

“It takes on the heat of whatever you’re serving,” he says, “so it melts gently over the top.”

Chris Rowley Chef-owner Ballintaggart Farm and Grandtully Hotel, Perthshire Scottish produce is at the heart of Chris Rowley’s cooking and Great Glen Charcuterie is never off the menu – in particular the producer’s venison salami.

“We always feature it with Great Glen’s bresaola on the sharing board we give people with drinks before dinner,” says Rowley. Guests, he says, love the depth of flavour as well as the texture, which is slightly drier than some salamis.

In the kitchen, he uses it

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as a chorizo substitute. “It’s so versatile,” he says, “we use it across the day – breakfast, lunch and dinner – as well as in our cook school.”

One recent dish used the salami as a foil to Scottish handdived scallops. “We render it down so it has a chorizo-like texture,” he explains, “then use it with its juices to finish the scallops, together with wild garlic butter. It’s about using three very Scottish ingredients.”

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EMERGING PRODUCERS WELCOME

Cultural exchange It’s one of our best-known farmhouse cheddar makers, with a low-profile sideline selling starter cultures to other producers. Now Westcombe Dairy is putting all that experience into a new charcuterie venture.

Interview by MICK WHITWORTH

IT’S EARLY JUNE in Somerset and I’m at the Bath & West Show, helping judge the British Cheese Awards. I’m also hoping to pin down Tom Calver of Westcombe Dairy, who always has a market stall here selling traditional Somerset cheddar and, my favourite, his legendary Duckett’s Caerphilly.

On this occasion it’s not cheese I want to talk about, but charcuterie. I knew Calver was toying with cured meats, but now I’ve heard he’s not just up and running, but doing some pretty impressive stuff.

And the source of this intelligence? Dhruv Baker and Tom Whitaker of multi-awardwinning charcuterie newcomer Tempus Foods.

The two rising stars of artisan meats had just paid their new competitor a visit, and came back impressed, not just by its products but about the professionalism with which it is approaching this new venture. Like Tempus, Whitaker tells me, A SUPPLEMENT TO FINE FOOD DIGEST

Westcombe is doing this “properly”.

That’s all confirmed when I finally find Calver, speed-wrapping £5 wedges of cheddar for cash in the food hall marquee. Yes, he’s up and running, and yes, why not come and have a chat with him and, more importantly, with Paul Burton, the former chef-butcher who’s handling day-to-day production.

Burton has worked with meat since his first Saturday job in a butcher’s, and held numerous jobs in retail and restaurants. But crucially, he learned about serious Italian- and French-style charcuterie-making during a stint with Vincent Castellano, one of the South West’s original and best artisan producers.

When I visit Westcombe’s rural base near Evercreech a few weeks later, I find Burton in mid-presentation to a group of colleagues from Landrace artisan bakery in Bath - another Tom Calver business offshoot. They’re already using

Westcombe charcuterie on their café menu and are fully engaged with Burton’s explanation of the salami-making process. After all, like bakery, this is all about fermentation.

As Calver explains to me, it was Burton’s arrival at Westcombe Dairy in 2017, to manage the shop, that helped kick-start the new cured meats enterprise. That and the dairy’s existing links with the world of food cultures and molds.

Westcombe is a UK agent for starter cultures from global bioscience company Chr Hansen, and as well as selling to other dairies, it has been picking up business from charcutiers – but without the same intimate product knowledge that it has in cheese.

“I felt awkward about not having the knowledge base about flavour profiles and what different cultures would do to salami,” admits Calver. “Paul has this amazing background in butchery and charcuterie production, so he brought in a little mincer and we made four batches of salami with four different cultures, to start to understand the differences.”

With their initial efforts going down well in taste-tests with friends and family, it seems a plan was starting to develop. It occured to Calver that, back in the day, Westcombe had its own piggery – like many farmhouse cheesemakers using the whey from cheesemaking to fatten the animals. So charcuterie could be a natural fit.

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STRAPLINE finding a commericial outlet for veal-calves – another of the dairy industry’s byproducts.

Could the animals be given a respectable end in a premium veal salami, rather than being dumped into the commodity meat market?

For Calver, this was all fitting into his vision of Westcombe Dairy as a diversified artisan food centre, finding new ways to make more of everything it produces.

“The main cool thing,” he tells me, “is that Paul has this incredible talent for producing charcuterie, and it all fits with the business plan and where we’re going.”

He and Burton visited Chr Hansen in Germany to learn more about the science of charcuterie making, then began talking to farmer Fred Price in Bridgwater, Somerset, about supplying them with Tamworth pigs for the new venture.

Price is “such an inspirational guy”, Burton tells me, when he joins us after his bakery team talk. “He’s a really dynamic farmer. He inherited a family farm that was all about high input, high output, and has been gradually weaning the farm off that system.”

Although it is currently taking a modest two pigs, twice a month, from Price, Westcombe is working closely with the farmer to achieve carcases of around 100kg deadweight - not as big as the Large Blacks used by Tempus, but twice the size of most commercial animals - with the fat-to-lean ratio to suit its product mix.

The key product so far has been a saucisson, inspired by Burton’s family connections in

Paul has this incredible talent for producing charcuterie, and it all fits with the business plan

Westcombe’s chief charcuteriemaker Paul Burton is a chef and butcher who honed his skills with Bristol’s Vincent Castellano

south-west France and flavoured “very simply” with garlic, pepper and a touch of nutmeg. “The flavour profile is very much led by the process, not the spice,” says Burton.

There’s a spicier, peperoncino salami, made with different textures of meat, including some pre-cured loin and diced backfat, flavoured with chilli, fennel and wild oregano. And then pancetta, culatello, and a lardo spiced with garlic, rosemary, black pepper, coarse Sel de Girond and a hint of cinnamon.

As part of their nose-to-tail philosophy, Burton and Calver have also looked at making their own lard for the traditional coating on Westcombe’s cheddars. And in an interesting twist, they are maturing cheeses and meats in the same cabinet, allowing molds from both to interact.

The result: stunning products from a new start-up, with a real and unique ‘exchange of cultures’ between charcutier and cheesemaker. westcombedairy.com 8

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WELCOME

Suffolk Salami Farmhouse Charcuterie Award-winning salami and charcuterie produced on our family farm in Suffolk using our own and other locally sourced outdoor bred pork.

Ian & Sue Whitehead 01379 384593 • ian@lanefarm.co.uk IP13 8BW

Retail Packs and Wholesale

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WELCOME

Hog on the Tyne Beer, butchery and nose-to-tail charcuterie combine at Tyneside retailer Block & Bottle, which has just unveiled its new consumer brand: Meat, Salt, Smoke Interview by NICK BAINES

TUCKED INTO A VICTORIAN RAILWAY arch near Gateshead’s High Level Bridge, retailer Block & Bottle has been racking up national awards, despite being barely two years old.

A unique mix of craft beer, butchery and charcuterie, it added to the trophy cabinet this year with the Best Specialist Food Shop title in the Guild of Fine Food’s Shop of the Year scheme. And now this on-trend operation plans to grow its charcuterie arm further under a new brand: Meat, Salt, Smoke.

Block & Bottle is the brainchild of husband and wife team Steven Warren and Katie Cullen.

Steven had run Hook & Cleaver’s high-end butchers in West London’s Pitshanger Lane, where he began experimenting with charcuterie, but the costs of setting up his own place in the capital were prohibitive. The answer was a move back to the North East, and with partner Katie bringing her interest in craft beer to the party, Block & Bottle opened it’s doors in April 2017.

With all the reach of a traditional butchers, selling to both consumers and restaurants, the business also benefits from extended opening hours, closing at 8pm. “We do a lot of retail after 5pm,” says Joel Darby, who joined the team in 2017 and has a big hand in the charcuterie.

“Customers come in to get a beer after work, and often pick up some meat at the same time.”

There’s a lot of crossover, says Darby, between charcuterie lovers and the discerning

beer crowd. Customers interested in hop varieties and styles of beer are usually fired up by the flavours developed by maturing charcuterie.

In the short time Block & Bottle has been operating, it has already been invited into the Butchers Manifesto, a Danish-based international NGO that aims to collect, preserve

With its low-waste, nose-totail product line-up, Block & Bottle has found an offering that complements both palate and balance sheet and pass on traditional butchery methods.

Keeping waste to a minimum is always important, but the way Block & Bottle organises its offering suggests Germanic levels of hyperefficiency. Between its carefully scheduled charcuterie-making, retail and catering butchery sales and evening trade from the beer crowd, there’s practically no wastage.

Most salamis are on a six week turnaround, while ’nduja – one of Block & Bottle’s most popular items, and a British Charcuterie Awards silver medallist – can be ready in as little as

(L-R) Block & Bottle founders Steven Warren and Katie Cullen, with Joel Darby

three weeks. Almost 70% fat, ’nduja makes use of the abundant fatty layer found on the slower growing pig breeds. Block & Bottle also supplies it to restaurants and pizza operations..

With the current site no more than 1,000 sq ft in size, the business has now acquired new premises on Denmark Street. This will be dedicated to charcuterie, making it easier to produce trade volumes of the new Meat, Salt, Smoke brand. Being customer facing is great, says Darby, but it can sometimes get in the way of production. “This new site will allow us to get our heads down a bit more.”

Entering food retail requires an innovative approach these days. With its low-waste. noseto-tail line-up of products, Block & Bottle has managed to find an offering that complements both palate and balance sheet.

Charcuterie creates a seamless link between craft beer and butchery, reducing waste on fresh meat while providing upselling opportunities to inquisitive craft beer fanatics.

It’s a symbiotic relationship that’s developed to be more than just the sum of its salted and air-dried parts. blocknbottle.com TOP 5 ON TYNESIDE 1. Soppresata 2. ’Nduja 3. Culatello 4. Guanciale 5. Pastrami

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We have a simple philosophy: In order to make great charcuterie, you need two things; great animals and time.

When we started Tempus we made a conscious choice to be responsible for every part of what we create; from ethical sourcing of animals, to their age, to a commitment to whole-animal butchery. Our ideology guides everything we do and we believe it is borne-out in the quality of our charcuterie.

Tempus charcuterie won Overall Champion Producer at the inaugural British Charcuterie Awards 2018 claiming 3 gold medals, 2 silver and a bronze.

Grand Master Charcutier of Great Britain 2019 Our products are available at some of Britain’s most prestigious restaurants, food-halls and delicatessens.

“

We are proud to be a stockist of Tempus Charcuterie, who combine quality with integrity which align with our brand ethos. The passion and dedication shown by producers Dhruv & Tom, to deliver a range of British Charcuterie which, in my humble opinion, can rival continental classics, makes this brand one to watch for 2019 and beyond.

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“

Adrian Boswell, Selfridges.

For further information on Tempus or our stockists, please go to our website www.tempusfoods.com.

If you are interested in stocking Tempus products, please email Dhruv@tempusfoods.com for further information +44 (0) 203 778 0630

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WELCOME A PINCH OF SALT apinchofsaltcuring.co.uk Hampshire-based A Pinch of Salt uses free-range and pannage pork from smallholders in the New Forest and Hampshire borders.

Produced by butcher Alan Bartlett with recipes developed by The Pig Hotel group’s James Golding, the award-winning range includes coppa, lomo, red wine salami, chorizo, bresaola and its Parma-style Karma hams (whole airdried pork legs).

“We most recently started to cure a new range of New Forest Wild boar, which has a fantastic colour and an incredible depth of flavour,” says Golding.

ALTERNATIVE MEATS (BLIGHTY BILTONG) alternativemeats.co.uk As sole UK distributor for Welsh waygu beef, Alternative Meats is able to use this premium ingredient for its Blighty Biltong brand.

All four flavours of Blighty Biltong - chimichurri, ras el hanout, chipotle and ‘untouched’ – have won Great Taste awards, and they are now available to the trade after launching directto-consumer online.

A minimum £4.00/pack delivers a 30% margin on a trade price of £2.85/ pack biltong, says director Jeannie Tomlin, whose son David developed the range.

BEAL’S FARM bealsfarmcharcuterie.com Winner of the Champion Product title at the 2018 British Charcuterie Awards, East Sussex-based Beal’s Farm (BCAs) specialises in charcuterie made from Mangalitza pigs, a Hungarian rare breed famed for its thick, woolly, sheeplike coat.

The animals are reared on a mix of woodland and pasture to ensure the highest quality pork. All Mangalitza pigs deliver meat high in Omega 3 oils and monounsaturated fats.

Beal’s Farm products include coppa, spalla (pork shoulder) and lomo, as well as the BCA winning special reserve air-dried ham.

BLACK HAND FOOD blackhandfood.com Established five years ago in East London, Black Hand Food has now scaled up production with a dedicated site in North London.

It supplies catering, hospitality and deli customers nationwide with products made using only rare breed meat from across the UK. Recently added to the range is a line of fresh sausages and dry-cured and matured bacon, as well as the salamis and prime cut charcuterie which made Black Hand’s reputation.

BLACK MOUNTAIN SMOKERY smoked-foods.co.uk A family business based in the Brecon Beacons, Black Mountain uses ingredients chosen for their “quality, provenance and sustainability”, which are traditionally cured then gently smoked over Welsh oak.

Developed over more than two decades in business, the range includes smoked fish, meats and cheese, available for retailers and caterers as well as in luxury hampers and gourmet gifts.

Its “very juicy and moist” oak smoked chicken breast won 2 stars at Great Taste 2018.

BOTHA BILTONG bothabiltongboxes.com Grass-fed meat from a local Essex farmer is combined with spices imported from South Africa in Botha Biltong’s range, made to authentic South African family recipes.

As well as biltong, Botha makes Droewors, a dried sausage stick, and Boerewors, a large round sausage “perfect to put on the BBQ”.

The Colchester-based business sells online and direct to consumer as well as to “retailers looking to sell true quality artisan British produce”.

A-Z of charcuterie suppliers Our 2019 guide includes nearly 90 suppliers, including a clutch of specialist importers and wholesalers listed on pages 35-36. Whether you’re looking for Continental-style salamis, South African biltong or British classics like black pudding and Lincolnshire haslet, you’ll find it here.

Compiled by MICK WHITWORTH and AJ SHARP

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CAPREOLUS FINE FOODS capreolusfinefoods.co.uk Retail sales are the new focus for Capreolus this year, as the family company invests in new slicing and modified-atmosphere packaging at its base in Beaminster, Dorset.

David and Karen Richards have built their multi-award winning business primarily on sales into foodservice, but have created a new retail brand, Capreolus English Charcuterie, for launch in the second half of 2019.

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and bay leaf & thyme) and one loin, with mustard & paprika.

In addition to these, there is spicy, spreadable ’nduja as well as a chilli salami for those who crave something a bit fiery.

“Other big hits over the last couple of years have been our Chomper sticks,” says owner John Miller.

“They sell really well in pubs and bars.”

The sticks combine Old Spots pork with local, pasture-fed Ruby Red Devon beef.

CHARLES MACLEOD charlesmacleod.co.uk A traditional butchers located in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, Charles Macleod has been in business for over 70 years and is now run by the third generation of family owners.

It specialises in the production of the internationally recognised Stornoway Black Pudding, made to its original family recipe.

The Charles Macleod Stornoway Black Pudding has achieved PGI status and numerous food awards.

COBBLE LANE CURED cobblelanecured.com London’s Cobble Lane Cured started life making fermented and air-dried products from British meat, drawing on the butchery experience and skills of its founders, Adam Brudnowski and husband and wife team Matt and Lucy Hill.

The initial small range of salami was inspired by Italian production methods Brudnowski had learnt from salumiere throughout Sardinia and Sicily.

Now the company offers meats using techniques from various European butchery traditions.

CORNDALE FARM corndalefarm.com Northern Ireland’s Corndale Farm produces charcuterie with pork from its own freerange Saddleback pigs.

The award-winning line-up includes chorizo, salamis and whole muscle air-dried products, and new lines focused on local ingredients like venison salami using wild sika deer from Baronscourt Estate and air-dried lomo flavoured with “Irish Black Butter”.

The company supplies retail, restaurants and hotels and collaborates with top chefs, including JeanChristophe Novelli.

CORNISH CHARCUTERIE cornishcharcuterie.co.uk Cornish Charcuterie is celebrating the winning of Best Cured Sausage in the 2019 British Cured Meat Awards for its signature seaweed & cider salami.

The product incorporates two elements of the company’s North Cornish home, with both the seaweed and cider being sourced locally to the farm.

As well as salamis and chorizos, Cornish Charcuterie makes a range of cured muscle meats including a coppa and a bresaola, as well as patés and rillettes.

The family company’s own hand-reared British Lop pigs are used for many of its products.

CROWN & QUEUE curedmeats.london Set up by Adrienne Eiser Treeby in 2014, London’s Crown & Queue makes dry-cured sausages and prepared meats designed to showcase ingredients grown, reared or even brewed in England.

It uses only heritagebreed pork from small farms and locally grown herbs in products such as Hoghton Loin, a whole cured, wellmarbled loin with Lancashire flavours of rosemary, fennel and horseradish.

Cured sausages include Lincoln Imp, named after a statue in Lincoln cathedral.

Described as “garlic-heavy, with hints of dried fruit and sage”, it’s finished with Kernel Brewery’s Export Stout.

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CHILTERN CHARCUTERIE chiltern-charcuterie.co.uk Seaweed & pink peppercorn salami and a simple ‘Classic’ salami – made in response to requests from salami “newbies” for something plain – are among the latest lines from Chiltern Charcuterie.

The company’s range – made from locally reared, free range Gloucester Old Spots meat – has been streamlined, and now includes just two flavours of coppa (juniper & fennel,

A multiple winner at the Taste of the West awards – it took Champion Product trophies in 2015, 2018 and 2019 – Capreolus again won gold for 2019 with its Dorset coppa and a gold at the British Cured Meat Awards for its duck confit.

New products include Dorset Red Post salami, named after the red road signs around the region where a hangman’s gallows were said ro have been located. A new truffle salami is also on its way.

BROUGHGAMMON broughgammon.com Sustainability and taste are both high on the agenda at Broughgammon, the Cole family farm near Ballycastle, in Co Antrim.

The Coles rear surplus kid goats and and freerange rose veal bull calves – a by-product of the dairy industry – to make products like goat bacon and rose veal salami, as well as using seasonal wild game.

The goat bacon is a Great Taste 2-star winner, and Broughgammon has been named a Slow Food Hero for Northern Ireland.

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WELCOME CURIOUS FOODS curiousfoods.co.uk Curious Foods says it blends traditonal skills with a creative approach to flavour in crafting its salamis and air-dried meats, all made with British free-range pork.

The specialist salamis range from fennel, cumin & garlic and spicy Harizo to the more unusual Umami Salami and a beetroot, quinoa & caraway variety.

New limited-edition flavours appear regularly and special commissions are undertaken too.

DENHAY FARMS direct.denhay.co.uk Twelve golds in the 2019 Taste of the West awards are among scores of awards collected by Denhay Farms during 25 years of bacon production.

Based in Honiton, Devon, Denhay dry-cures its bacon in the traditional way, using high-welfare pork.

DEERSBROOK FARM deersbrookfarm.com Native Sussex cattle – raised on Pasture For Life certified meadows in North Essex – give a “unique complex flavour” and sense of terroir to Deersbrook Farm’s two varieties of bresaola, each made from of 100% grass fed beef.

Its cracked pepper bresaola is marinated simply with salts, then coated in cracked pepper and airdried for up to 10 weeks, while its herb-infused breasola is marinated with a blend of juniper, rosemary, thyme, garlic and bay.

CWM FARM cwmfarm.co.uk South Wales producer Cwm Farm says the time has come to leave its “humble little production unit” in the Swansea valley, after a busy year that has seen it top the Best Meat Snack category at the British Cured Meat Awards.

“We’ve come on leaps and bounds since opening

‘salami HQ’ in Pontardawe in 2015,” says director Ruth Davies.

“We’ve developed our new biltong coated in laverbread and are now in the process of working with the fantastic Aber Falls distillery on a rhubarb & ginger gin-laced salami.

“This year we successfully gained a new contract in Hong Kong and are also launching in the Rhug Estate

DELI FARM CHARCUTERIE delifarmcharcuterie. co.uk Long-time Guild of Fine Food charcuterie campaign supporter Deli Farm Charcuterie is always looking to add new products to its established, awardwinning range.

In 2018 it launched Cornishman’s Relish – a

gluten-free anchovy spread made with a complex blend of spices – just in time to achieve a 3-star Great Taste award.

“We were absolutely over the moon” says partner Jean Edwards, adding that a little Cornishman’s Relish goes a long way. “My favourite is a little bit on top of a steak or with scrambled egg on toast.”

The success of Deli

farm shop in Corwen.”

All this positivity has given the family firm “the vision and confidence to reach to the next level”, acccording to Davies.

“We’ve been busy looking for a new bigger unit that will house a shop and a Welsh salt block cave,” she says, “and we’ve also been in talks with the very best of the best sea salt producers: Halen Môn.”

Farm’s smoked culatello and fiocco, launched last year, pressed home the need for a new smoking room. Edwards says this is nearing compltion, and will include a cooking facility for another new launch: smoked gammon with a honey & mustard glaze.

Further additions to Deli Farm’s cooked range are in the pipeline.

According to marketing manager Ellen Streatfeild, the business is now looking to grow sales in the premium catering and hospitality markets.

It has developed a new website and sales support team specifically aimed at supplying bacon direct to higher-end hotels, restaurants, B&Bs and cafés.

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STRAPLINE DONALDSONS OF ORKNEY donaldsonsoforkney.co.uk One of the UK’s most northerly producers, Donaldsons’ specialities include the award-winning Orkney smoked beef, created with fillets of beef cured and marinated in red wine, spices and herbs and then cold smoked.

The range also comprises traditionally drycured sliced bacons, hams, haggis and it prepares hot and cold-smoked salmon on the premises.

Its hot-smoked salmon won the Great Taste Golden Fork for Scotland back in the 2012.

EAST COAST CURED eastcoastcured.com Launched by husband and wife team Susie & Steven Anderson in 2017, East Coast Cured specialises in production of “slow cured Scottish meats”.

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DUCHY CHARCUTERIE duchycharcuterie.co.uk Located in the heart of Cornwall, Duchy Charcuterie produces award winning cured meats from what it describes as “the best produce available”.

New product development is a strong point, with Duchy saying its team is ‘“always thinking outside the box”’ to create unusual flavours including orange & fennel salami, beef ’nduja and lap cheong, a Chinese cured sausage.

tradition, it cuts, smokes, cures and slow-matures all its products by hand in the couple’s Edinburgh workshop.

Salami, chorizo, ’nduja, coppa, lonza, ham, belly, guanciale and bresaola are among the products made using meat sourced direct from Scottish farms.

DUKESHILL HAM dukeshillham.co.uk Holder of a Royal Warrant to supply the Queen, Dukeshill is a family-owned company based in Shropshire, producing traditionally cured hams, bacon, sausages and charcuterie using high-welfare British pork.

Hams are cured over several months – and with no added water – to develop maximum flavour.

The family firm’s bestselling porcini & truffle salami won the meat category at the Scotland Food & Drink Excellence Awards 2018 and the artisanal category in the 2019 Awards.

East Coast also topped the meat category at this year’s awards with its popular whisky oak smoked ’nduja.

EVERSFIELD ORGANIC (ROAM & RELISH) eversfieldorganic.co.uk Roe venison bresaola, shredded lamb and thyme salami are among the more unusual products available in retail packs under the Roam & Relish brand from Devon producer Eversfield Organic.

The Bury family, who founded the business, have put organic production, high welfare standards and pasture-fed animals at the heart of what they do, saying

that quality native breeds and organic pasture result in exceptional charcuterie.

Other products from the farm, located just off the north-west edge of Dartmoor, include salt beef, pastrami, cooking chorizo, rosemary salami and rosemary beef bresaola.

Traditional and honeyroast ham is also available in a number of formats, together with streaky and back bacon.

GOOD GAME good-game.co.uk The use of nitrates and nitrites in cured meats can divide opinion among trade and consumers alike.

Devon’s Good Game has long taken a stance in favour of farmhouse-style nitritefree methods but offers its customers a choice.

“We have a range that we cure using only salt and natural Exe and Clyst Valley air,” says Good Game’s Steve Williams, “and in these we use no nitrates or nitrites.

“We also have a range made in the traditional fashion with a minimal amount of nitrite. We do it the traditional old fashioned way – like artisans in the correct sense of the word.”

Familiar salamis, chorizo and air dried hams feature in Good Game’s product list, but Williams adds: “Our speciality is using game in production, so we love to work with local wild venison, rabbit and boar.”

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WELCOME GRANTS OAK SMOKED grantsoaksmoked.com For 35 years, Grants has been has been supplying traditionally-smoked salmon across the globe.

It smokes over oak for taste and texture and uses no chemicals or flavour enhancers.

The family business’s flagship product, the Rope Hung, is described as “a true labour of love”. Each side is individually hand cured, trimmed, then rope hung in a brick kiln, where it is smoked over oak chips from Scottish whisky barrels.

It then rests in Grants’ conditioning room before being hand-sliced.

GREAT GLEN CHARCUTERIE greatglencharcuterie.com Based in the Scottish Highlands, Great Glen uses local, sustainably sourced wild venison for its range of charcuterie.

Most of its products – sold in retail packs for independent shops and whole for foodservice – are 100% venison, making them a good option for customers who do not eat pork.

But the the multi-award winning family business recently launched a pure pork salami too, hitting a lower price point than the venison but with the same Scottish-sourced credentials.

HAMMOND CHARCUTERIE hammondcharcuterie. co.uk Rachel Hammond has grown the size of her Northumberland “manufactury” by a factor of four this year, creating more space for air-drying hams for up to three years.

Expansion means Hammond is now actively pursuing trade sales of her wide range of charcuterie, all made with outdoor, rarebreed, conservation-grazed and wild meats.

They include whole muscle charcuterie such as coppa, lomo and air-dried ham, deboned for slicing at the deli counter, as well as pancetta, guanciale and year-aged lardo.

Her wild venison biltong is a popular bar snack, and it partners well with craft beer as well as “keto-kind” spirits such as gin.

Salamis include wild venison chorizo, Mangalitza with fennel orange & garlic, and an unusual onion-rich pork blood salami inspired by a rare Spanish embutido.

HAY CHARCUTERIE haycharcuterie.co.uk A recent start-up operating from tiny but immaculate premises in rural Herefordshire, Hay Charcuterie this year found itself among the finalists for Grand Master Charcutier

HELEN BROWNING ORGANICS helenbrowningsorganic. co.uk Native Breeds founder Graham Waddington looks set to find a wider audience for his long-established British charcuterie – and to go fully organic – after his Gloucestershire business was taken over by national organic brand Helen Browning’s.

Operating from his original premises near the River Severn, Waddington is working with organic cattle from Highgrove to make air-dried beef and organic corned beef. Pork comes from Browning’s Eastbrook Farm in Wiltshire, including the Saddleback meat used for his thyme- and rosemaryinfused salamis and coppa.

title at the 2019 British Cured Meat Awards.

Owned by consultant chef Rod Lewis and his wife Rachel, Hay offers a range of subtly flavoured airdried muscle meats, cured sausages, patés and rillettes that have found favour in

gastro-pubs and restaurants across the region.

Retail sliced packs of some of the key lines are available, along with a new range of paper-wrapped whole salamis, ideal for shops wanting to offer a grab-and-go option.

HIDER FOODS/BUTLERS GROVE hiderfoods.co.uk Hider Foods has launched a new range of French patés, terrines and roasting fats under its recently acquired premium brand Butler’s Grove.

The 20-product range, in traditional French-style paté and clip-top jars, caters for many tastes, with the robust wild boar, venison and farmhouse country patés and the more subtle flavours of salmon terrine with dill.

The range also includes three vegetable patés along with goose and duck roasting fats.

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THE CURE 2019-20

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STRAPLINE Award-winning

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WELCOME ISPINI CHARCUTERIE ispinicharcuterie.com Ispini – the Irish word for sausages – was founded in 2016 by brother and sister Jonny and Janice Cuddy.

It produces a range of Continental and Northern Irish inspired meats at its farm in Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland, all hand-made in small batches.

The business has already won many accolades, and was runner-up for best product in two out of four categories at the 2019 British Cured Meat Awards, for its mace & allspice coppa and garlic & black pepper salami.

Whiskey & seaweed salami and ‘nduja are new to its range this year.

JW FINE FOODS jwfinefoods.com A small smokery and shop in Wiltshire’s Pewsey Vale is home to gourmet salmon smoker JW Fine Foods.

Owner James Hayward prepares Scottish salmon and sea trout with his own “Stonehenge cure” before smoking them over whiskybarrel oak and hand-carving them.

Other options include a special beetroot & liquorice blend, with a light oak smoke, and Hayward’s smoked salmon & ricotta paté.

LONDON SMOKE & CURE londonsmokeandcure. com Describing itself as the Capital’s “freshest producer of authentic smoked and cured food”, London Smoke & Cure specialises in craft bacon, charcuterie and coldsmoked Scottish salmon.

“Our sashimi-grade cold-smoked Scottish salmon is literally the

freshest around, undercured and under-smoked and exceptionally buttery,” says director Ross Mitchel.

Its bacon, he says, is aged for longer so it’s drier, with a “deeper, funkier flavour”.

All London Smoke & Cure’s pork charcuterie is produced from ethically reared, mature Gloucester Old Spots pigs, with its gently smoked and aged culatello described as the standout product.

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KILLENURE CASTLE killenure.com Painstaking research by charismatic Irishwoman Eavaun Carmody, owner of Killenure Castle in Co Tipperary, has revealed her adoped county to be the origin of the hardy but diminutive Dexter cow.

Carmody has worked with other Irish farmers to steadily build up the biggest herd of purebred Dexters in the world. To help create a sustainable market she is also developing a noseto-tail business supplying everything from fresh Dexter meat – dubbed “Irish wagyu”, due to its high fat marbling – to luxury leatherware made from the cattle’s tanned hides.

Now she has launched her first Dexter charcuterie, produced in collaboration with Olivier Beaujouan at On The Wild Side in Dingle. Salami and chorizo are the first two products, and Carmody is also experimenting with a biltong-style air-dried Dexter beef.

KE NAKO BILTONG kenakobiltong.co.uk Beef from organically reared dairy cull cows provides a local, ethical and sustainable and sustainable raw ingredient for Ke Nako Biltong, made at Ballylagan Organic Farm in Northern Ireland.

Ke Nako was founded in 2012 by Alanagh and Ilse van Staden to make the South African-style dry cured beef. Now they also make droewors, a dried beef sausage, and have branched out into bresaola, made from the “stunning fillets” from the same dairy cull cattle.

LISHMAN’S OF ILKLEY lishmansbutchers.co.uk Named Producer of the Year at the inaugural British Cured Meat Awards (BCMAs) in 2018, Yorkshire family butcher Lishman’s of Ilkley began investing heavily in charcuterie after scoring highly in the Great Taste awards two years ago.

It collected two 2-star awards, for its ’nduja and beef & red wine pepperoni, and a scarce 3-star for its chorizo.

Last year’s BCMAs also saw owner David Lishman pick up the Best/Cooked/ Smoked Product trophy for the firm’s big-selling Yorkshire frankfurter.

MACNEIL’S SMOKEHOUSE macneilssmokehouse. co.uk 2018 saw Macneil’s Smokehouse win the Great Taste Golden Fork for the Midlands for the second year running – this time for its smoked salmon.

With nationwide delivery and a raft of Great Taste awards across its range – including smoked fish, meat and garlic – this artisan smokehouse is growing sales among both retail and restaurant customers.

Recent contractsmoking work has seen Droitwich smoked salt and Apley Estate smoked pheasant become part of its repertoire.

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STRAPLINE MACSWEEN OF EDINBURGH macsween.co.uk Family-run Macsween of Edinburgh has been making haggis and black pudding since 1953, beginning in its own butcher’s shop.

Macsween commissioned the world’s first haggis factory which was expanded in 2003 to accommodate the growing business.

It has won numerous Great Taste awards and its haggis has been voted Scotland’s favourite, with different portion sizes now available to accommodate single servings, family meals or large events.

NEGRONI negroni.com/en The best-known brand of charcuterie in Italy and its market leader in premium deli meats, Negroni has been established for over a century.

Its philosophy centres on control of the entire production cycle from animal feeding to distribution, and its commitment to regional traditions is witnessed by links with several PDO and PGI consortia, including Prosciutto di Parma PDO, Culatello di Zibello PDO and Salame Cremona IGP.

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MADE FOR DRINK madefordrink.com Owner Dan Featherstone describes Made For Drink as “a small family business with a humble ambition to make the world’s best bar snacks”.

Its award-winning products, all designed for pairing with drinks, include chorizo thins, Mangalitza salami chips and, most recently, duck fritons: crispy snacks made from freerange Creedy Carver duck skin and natural sea salt.

All are produced at Made For Drink’s kitchens In Berkshire.

OWEN TAYLOR owentaylor.co.uk Traditional British products such as haslet and savoury duck compete strongly for sales alongside prime cuts at East Midlands catering and retail butcher Owen Taylor.

All its charcuterie lines are cured and cooked on site, using farm-assured meat from livestock producers mainly in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and the neighbouring counties.

The company says supporting the local community, paying farmers fairly and a having a forward-thinking education and environmental agenda are all priorities.

MANCHESTER SMOKEHOUSE manchestersmokehouse. co.uk Not many business people can claim a direct link to one of the world’s worst nautical disasters. But Richard Hyman, owner of Manchester Smokehouse is the great-grandson of a Titanic survivor.

Joseph Hyman was rescued from the 1912 sinking, and made it to New York, where he learned the skills of salmon curing and smoking before returning to set up in Manchester.

Today the firm produces 100g, 200g and 1kg packs of tradionally oak-smoked salmon – all boasting the company’s unique “Titanic cure”.

PATCHWORK PATÉ patchworkfoods.com Nearly four decades after it was established in the North Wales town of Ruthin, Patchwork continues to hand-make its patés to original recipes, without artificial colours, additives or preservatives.

It has amassed over 80 Great Taste for a range of 30-plus patés that includes chicken liver, fish, game and cheese varieties, as well as vegetarian and vegan patés.

As well as supplying retailers with branded packs, Patchwork offers foodservice options, including premium ‘posh patés’, and provides portion-controlled paté pucks to help chefs manage their margins.

MARSH PIG marshpig.co.uk Established in 2012, Marsh Pig sources only free-range pork and rare breed British beef to produce a range including six different types of salami, two chorizo, four air-dried meats and three different beef jerkies.

Unusually, it uses lean leg meat to make its salamis and chorizo, adding just 15% fat.

This makes for products that are lower in fat as well as gluten-, wheat- and lactosefree.

MOONS GREEN moonsgreen.co.uk Products like air-dried pork buttock, cobnut & red wine saucisson and buffalo bresaola point to the quirky approach taken by Moons Green founder John Doig, a one-time ad man who also made wine and wrote cookery books before settling into charcuterie.

But cured meats are also serious business for Doig and his business partner, chef José Azevedo, whose Kent operation is now seen as one of Britain’s best.

Last year saw them partner with award-winning English winemaker Chapel Down to open a charcuterie deli within its Tenterden winery shop.

RAGING BULL ragingbullbiltong.com For Dean van Niekerk, born and raised in Zimbabwe, biltong is deeply rooted in his family’s culture.

Now, after 25 years making biltong commercially – much of that in the UK – he is the creative force behind the new Raging Bull brand.

“The adventure began in the UK in 2002 when we opened our first South African shop in London,” van Niekerk says. “Initially we only made biltong for ourselves but soon we were supplying a multitude of shops and opened two of our own. ”

Overcoming the UK’s special challenges of climate and humidity enabled van Niekerk and his colleagues to develop biltong for other brands, working from a new manufacturing plant in Barking. And now they have launched their own consumer brand with Raging Bull.

There are four initial flavours – original, chilli, teriyaki and honey chipotle – in 35g packs, available in clip strips or shelf-ready units, with an RRP of £1.99.

A new range of beef jerky will be launching soon.

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WELCOME REDHILL FARM redhillfarm.com Celebrating 20 years of Redhill Farm free range pork this year, Lincolnshire farmers Jane and Terry Tomlinson are expanding their range of charcuterie.

A Continental-style airdried pancetta is produced by son George using their own free-range pork, while ham hock black pudding is a boudin noir style, made in small batches using ham hock, grains and fresh herbs.

Lincolnshire haslet – featured on the cover of FFD’s first charcuterie guide five years ago – is a local speciality made from hand-slapped ovals of sausagemeat, baked until golden brown and caramelised.

SERIOUS PIG seriouspig.london Based in Peckham, Serious Pig was established in 2009 as one of the first crop of businesses producing British charcuterie.

Its Snacking Salami and Snackingham are both Great Taste award winners and designed to offer customers a convenient, premium snack option while on the move.

All pork used is outdoorbred and RSPCA Freedom Food certified, and packaged with an ambient six-month shelf life.

SIMPLY AFRICAN MEAT SNACKS simplyafricanfood.co.uk Family-owned biltong brand Simply African Meat uses grass-fed British and Irish beef silverside in recipes that have down through generations of South African heritage, giving its “authenticity and great taste”.

The range, produced in Hampshire, includes chilli, peppered, peri peri, garlic and traditional biltong options, as well as droewors, boerewors and other South African meat specialities.

SOMERSET CHARCUTERIE somersetcharcuterie.com Somerset Charcuterie was established in 2014 by Andy Venn and James Simpson, inspired by the creativity of the British food industry and the street food movement.

The business, based at Venn’s’s childhood home, Lowerstock Farm, focuses on air-dried fermented sausages (salami& chorizo) and cured and air-dried meats (eg. culatello and airdried duck breast).

The duo say their mission is to become the British chef’s favourite charcutiers, and their multi-award winning culatello was awarded Champion Cured Meat (whole muscle) at the British Cured Meat Awards 2019.

SOUTHOVER FOODS southoversussexcured. co.uk Family-run Southover Foods celebrates its 30th anniversary this year with the launch of Sussex Cured, a premium range of cured meats aimed at the deli and specialist retail market.

Southover’s Steve Pearce says: “We saw a gap to provide retailers with a premium, delicious range of quality meats, all cured in Sussex using our family recipes and butchered using traditional methods.”

The new range, all in 200g packs, includes New York-style pastrami, honeyroast farmhouse ham, plain farmhouse ham, cooked topside of beef and cooked back bacon.

STAAL SMOKEHOUSE staalsmokehouse.co.uk A small, craft smokehouse, located in east Yorkshire, Staal offers a range of premium fish and poultry products, cured and then traditionally smoked over oak and apple wood. The level of smoke is chosen to complement the product rather than mask it.

The range includes the award-winning twicesmoked duck and chicken, along with smoked salmon, beetroot cured salmon, gravadlax, hot and cold smoked rainbow trout, mackerel, haddock and kipper.

A SUPPLEMENT TO FINE FOOD DIGEST

SMOKIN BUTCHER/HUGH MAGUIRE thesmokinbutcher.com With over 30 years’ experience in the meat Industry, Hugh Maguire – the “Smokin’ Butcher” – has established his family business as a leading Irish artisan producer.

In 2017, his smoked black pudding was named Great Taste Supreme Champion.

Maguire has travelled much of Europe to learn different production methods, from the French Boudin Noir to the Spanish Morcilla.

At the end of 2016 he

bought an industrial unit in Navan, Co. Meath, with a plan to manufacture all of his award-winning sausages and puddings on site as well as smoke and dry-cure his bacon.

He also came up with the plan of smoking black and white puddings made to the same traditional recipe he used for many years, and after successfully trialling the products in his retail shop in Ashbourne entered them in Great Taste 2017, where the black pudding eventually triumphed over around 13,000 entries.

STONEHOUSE SMOKERY stonehousesmokery.co.uk Focused on sustainability and ethical farming practices, Stonehouse Smokery’s owners say they are committed to only using locally sourced meat that has led a natural life.

The company uses pork from its herd of free-range Tamworth and Saddleback pigs, Herdwick and Swaledale lamb and mutton from the family’s Lake District hill farm, and hardy breeds of highland cattle in a range of smoked and cured artisan meats.

SUFFOLK SALAMI suffolksalami.co.uk Suffolk Salami owners Ian and Sue Whitehead say sales have continued to go from strength to strength since 2018, helped by a new fermenting facility.

The firm’s drying rooms, largely solar powered, use new technology to allow the salami to dry more naturally and improve maturation, benefitting the flavour.

The range comprises three salami – red wine, rosemary and fennel – together with a chorizo made with De La Vera paprika, and there’s a new diced cooking chorizo too, in 100g packs.

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STRAPLINE SUSSEX GOURMAND sussexgourmand.com Sussex Gourmand specialises in bresaola and canapé kits that it says “celebrate the Sussex landscape”.

Its lightly smoked Sussex beef bresaola combines grass-fed, naturally reared beef with a spice and herb cure that includes foraged berries, and won a Great Taste 1-star in 2017.

The firm’s 2-star Sussex wild veneson bresaola similarly combines homegrown and foraged herbs with spices and berries “inspired by forests and hedgerows” Launched in November 2016, Sussex Gourmand also appeared on BBC’s Top of the Shop with Tom Kerridge.

THE NITHSDALE SMOKEHOUSE nithsdale-smokehouse. co.uk Aberdeen Angus beef jerky is the number one product from artisan smoker The Nithsdale Smokehouse, established a little over a year ago in Dumfries and Galloway.

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TEMPUS FOODS tempusfoods.com Less than two years from launch, Tempus Foods is widely seen as setting new standards in British charcuterie, with a highly polished range of artisan meats based chiefly on pork from Large Black pigs.

Working with farmers to take these animals to a much larger size than typical commercial pigs gives Tempus the ideal fat-to-lean ratio for products like spiced coppa, jowl (guanciale) and King Peter ham.

Founders Dhruv Baker and Tom Whitaker collected the Grand Master Charcutier title at the 2019 British Cured Meat Awards.

Owner Stuart Hare says: “We use ethically farmed grass-fed silverside beef from Nether Dargavel farm less than 30 miles away, and no liquid smoke, MSGs, artificial preservatives or additives are used at any stage.

“We hand-slice the beef, marinate it for two days, air dry it for a further day, then

THE BILTONG COMPANY thebiltongcompany.co.uk Based in Buckinghamshire, The Biltong Co brings 10 years’ experience to a range that includes biltong sticks, sliced biltong, Chilli Bites, Original Bites, dry wors and beef jerky.

All the spices used are bought fresh and dried or roasted as required to optimise freshness and flavour.

slowly hot-smoke using lump wood charcoal and our own whisky cask oak chips.”

Five flavours are available: original, peppered, Tex-Mex, trail and whisky.

“We also cure and smoke food to order,” adds Hare, “including jerky, cured hams and venison, as well as fish and cheese.”

THE BILTONG FACTORY thebiltongfactory.co.uk Specialising in halal and kosher meat snacks, The Biltong Factory has introduced “an element of fun” in its direct online sales to consumers, allowing them to customise their order by choosing the moisture, cut thickness and flavour of their biltong.

But it also offers graband-go retail snack bags, with four flavours now sitting alongside its ‘original’ biltong, all made with 100% premium lean beef. They are sweet chilli, BBQ, sweet pepper and the fiery peri peri. RRP for a 40g snack bag is £3.49

THE CAMBRIDGE BILTONG CO cambridgebiltong company.com A herd of Red Poll cattle grazed in and around Cambridge provide the appropriately named Cambridge Biltong Co with its main ingredient for its premium artisan snacks.

Packed in 32g pouches and currently sold to delis, farm shops and butchers as well as online, the range includes spicy chilli, teriyaki & horseradish and the 2018 Great Taste award-winning classic black pepper. All are free of preservatives, MSG and other additives.

THE CAN-D FOOD COMPANY can-d.co.uk Definitely in a category of its own, The Can-D Food Co makes “Europe’s first and only commercially available premium candied smoked salmon”.

The product is inspired

by Native American and Canadian methods of preserving salmon for hunting trips – but in this case it’s produced in East London from sustainably sourced Scottish salmon.

Fish is smoked, sliced, then dry-cured and brined in a mix of salt, honey, Demerara sugar and pure maple syrup. It’s then airdried and smoked over whisky barrel oak to create a novel sweet-savoury snack.

THE NEW ENGLAND BOAR CO thenewenglandboar company.co.uk Situated on the EssexSuffolk Border, this producer breeds and raises its own free-range wild boar. In 18 months of life, the purebred animals forage in the company’s own woodland, giving the boar meat a rich nutty flavour.

The New England Boar Co range comprises a garlic & black pepper salami inspired by the abundance of wild garlic growing in the woodland; a beech-smoked chorizo; rich dark coppa and more delicately flavoured lomo.

A SUPPLEMENT TO FINE FOOD DIGEST

WELCOME X L D RY AG E I N G C A S E S

0113 2577 277

s a l e s @ x l re f r i g e r a t o r s . c o m

See more on our website www.xlrefrigerators.com

Fish4ever

“I try to eat well but it’s hard when you’re always on the go. I need quick solutions for my busy lifestyle.

Fish4Ever is super versatile and now I’ve got loads of ideas for healthy meals when I need them”.

www.fish4ever.eu A SUPPLEMENT TO FINE FOOD DIGEST

Manufacturers of depositors & filling machines for the food production industry Tel: 01282 440040 Email: info@riggsautopack.co.uk www.riggsautopack.co.uk Axicon were, we have to say, amazing. They delivered our labels on time and perfectly printed and took our last minute phone calls in their stride.

They understood the importance of the perfect label and gave us the product that (hopefully!) stands out from the crowd!

Axicon Labels Tel: 01869 350442 Email: labels@axicon.com Web: www.axiconlabels.co.uk THE CURE 2019-20

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STRAPLINE

finalist 2018

Working with independent retailers nationwide to bring a unique range of traditional British cooked and smoked products. award winning northern irish charcuterie www.ispinicharcuterie.com

Smoked Salmon as it should be!

07798989893

jonny@ispini.co.uk

Please contact us today for more information. sales@adlingtonltd.com 01676 532681 www.adlingtonltd.com

Four generations of excellence using the unique Titanic Cure that was invented by our ancestor who survived the Titanic and started our business!

Artisan quality cured meats

All wholesale enquiries welcome All wholesale enquiries welcome 07771 786301 | manchestersmokehouse@gmail.com 07771www.themanchestersmokehouse.co.uk 786301 | manchestersmokehouse@gmail.com www.themanchestersmokehouse.co.uk

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Producers of award winning hams, bacon, sausages, prosciutto, Coppa, Bresaola, Pancetta, Pork Garlic and Fennel Salami, Pork and Beef Hunters Salami & Chorizo.

www.wenlockedgefarm.co.uk

shop@wenlockedgefarm.co.uk ¡ 01694 771 893 A SUPPLEMENT TO FINE FOOD DIGEST

WELCOME THE REAL BOAR CO therealboar.co.uk The Real Boar Co has teamed up with The Cotswold Curer to produce what owner Simon Gaskell describes as “some sublime, full-flavoured charcuterie”.

Gaskell highlights their wild boar & black truffle salami and wild boar & sloe gin as the standout results of this Cotswolds collaboration, which has also yielded a game salami, with wild boar and venison, and a chorizo.

Using The Real Boar Co’s own wild meat means the salamis pack more punch than conventional charcuterie, Gaskell says.

Available in 100g and 250g gift packs as well as slicing formats.

TRAILHEAD FOODS trailheadfinefoods.co.uk Trailhead Beef Jerky is descibed as a “healthy, high protein snack”, handmade in the hills of Mid Wales using Welsh beef, with no artificial colours or flavours, no nitrates or nitrites, and no MSG. There are two collections of 50g packs: The Easy Going Ones (Original, BBQ and black pepper) and The Hot Ones (spicy chilli and hot smoked chipotle).

A Gourmet Collection is also on its way, with the first flavour – black garlic & ginger – already launched.

THE SOMERSET SMOKEHOUSE thesomersetsmokehouse @hotmail.com Set on a family farm in the Somerset Levels raising Large White and Oxford Sandy & Black pigs, The Somerset Smokehouse is an award-winning artisan producer of mini gala pies scotch eggs, smoked paté and smoked hams It uses local ingredients, its own farm grown herbs and plastic-free packaging and sells to high-end delicatessens and butchers.

THE WEALD SMOKERY wealdsmokery.co.uk An artisan smokehouse, using traditional brick kilns and smoking over local oak logs and chippings, The Weald Smokery is situated on the edge of Bedgebury Forest on the border of Kent and East Sussex.

The producer has won many Great Taste awards for products such as its smoked duck, chicken and venison, and also markets a range of salamis and Parma and Serrano hams to the wholesale trade as well as from its smokery shop.

A SUPPLEMENT TO FINE FOOD DIGEST

THE REAL CURE therealcure.co.uk New products this year from Dorset’s The Real Cure include Aberdeen Angus bresaola and pink peppercorn & Purbeck Cider salami.

They join a list of products, made on the family farm,

that are sold to pubs and restaurants across the country, as well as retailers including Fortnum & Mason.

The Real Cure use free-range Gloucester Old Spot pigs reared especially for the charcutier by local farmer Naomi Bugg, as well as wild Fallow and Sika deer,

and draws on other local ingredients such as Dorset Blue Vinny.

Its product line-up includes the Great Taste 3-star winning Hartgrove coppa and 2-star winning Dorset Blue Vinny and fig salami and sloe & garlic wild venison salami.

THE SALT PIG CURING CO saltpigcuring.co.uk A small scale, artisan business run by former chefs Ben Dulley and Andrej Kobzev, The Salt Pig Curing Co uses mature, locally reared rare-breed pigs to create a range of air-dried meats and salamis with flavour at the fore.

Whole animal butchery of these pigs – much larger than regular pork animals – is key to the business, says Dulley.

“We show respect to these lovely animals by using all parts to their full potential,” he says, “rather than buying in ready-tocure pieces that you have no connection to or real knowledge of.”

This also means he and Kobzev can use specific parts of the animal in their products. For example, its house garlic & pepper salami is flavoured with fresh garlic and tellicherry peppercorns and contains hand-diced back fat, lean muscle meat from the leg and shoulder meat to create “a beautifully balanced sausage with great texture and depth of flavour”.

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STRAPLINE TREALY FARM CHARCUTERIE trealyfarm.com This year sees Trealy Farm Charcuterie celebrate 15 years at the top of the UK artisan sector.

Founder James Swift says his mission has been to create “new charcuterie traditions” by combining innovation and technology with traditional methods alongside the ethical sourcing of ingredients.

The Monmouthshire business has been recognised in the BBC Food and Farming Awards and The Observer Food Awards

WOODALL’S woodallscharcuterie.co.uk Drawing on eight generations of meat-curing by the Woodall family of Cumbrian butchers, today’s Woodalls range of airdried hams and salamis is described as “authentically British, not just a take on Continental charcuterie”.

Its Royale Ham, for example, is adapted from an old Suffolk recipe, documented in 1843 by Mrs French of Saxmundham. It is pickled in a rich blend of Timothy Taylor’s ‘Landlord’ Pale Ale, molasses, vinegar and brown sugar before being lightly smoked. The result is a novel air-dried ham with a complex, rich and sweet flavour.

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and notched up numerous Great Taste awards.

Its range of over 40 different charcuterie products includes salamis, chorizos and sobrasada/’nduja, bresaolas, air-dried venison and lamb ‘carpaccios’, air-dried hams and duck, pancetta, pastrami, boudin noir, bath chaps and more. It also offers bespoke product development.

It uses only free-range British pork, duck, wild venison and wild boar, as well as PGI Welsh Lamb and ethically sourced British rose veal. All products are nitratefree and allergen-free.

WOZA BILTONG eatwoza.com Woza Biltong & Charcuterie makes award-winning air-dried beef and venison biltong, inspired by the charcuterie of South Africa but made in the UK using premium British ingredients.

Options available in 100g packs include wild venison biltong, seasoned with toasted coriander, cracked black pepper and “a hint of juniper berry”, and a beef biltong flavoured with Woza’s own Cape Cinnamon spice blend.

WENLOCK EDGE FARM wenlockedgefarm.co.uk A runner-up for the Grand Master Charcutier title at the 2019 British Cured Meat Awards, Wenlock Edge Farm is based in Shropshire but makes many of its products in the Swiss tradition.

“Products from Switzerland tend to be dryer that Italian-inspired charcuterie,” says owner Peter Themans, whose grandmother was Swiss, adding: “In the case of bresaola and spek they’re also very lean.”

After diversifying from pig farming to charcuterie in the 1990s, Wenlock Edge now supplies a wide range, from fresh sausages and faggots to coppa, pancetta and prosciutto.

WOODCOCK SMOKERY woodcocksmokery.com Revered smoked salmon curer Sally Barnes, based in the Irish foodie heartland of West Cork, has been specialising in smoke-curing fish for 40 years.

Using traditional craft methods and working with only wild, natural fish, Barnes has won numerous awards over the years, most recently the Euro-Toques Ireland Craft

WESTCOMBE DAIRY westcombedairy.com There has long been a link between farmhouse cheesemaking and pork production, with the waste whey from the cheese providing an ideal food for fattening pigs.

Westcombe Dairy has combined this with its close links to starter culture supplier Chr Hansen (see p7) to create a new business on its Somerset farm, making a tight line-up of artisan charcuterie including saucisson, lardo and airdried ham.

WILDMAN CHARCUTERIE wildmanbritish charcuterie.co.uk Farming 450 acres in the Yorkshire Dales and running its own Town End Farm Shop in Malhamdale as a shopfront, Wildman Charcuterie draws on its own sheep, Craven Longhorn cattle and Oxford Sandy & Black pigs to create a wide range of cured meats for delis, farm shops and restaurants.

Owner Chris Wildman says new branding and a switch to eco-packaging are both on the cards for a range that includes Yorkshire chorizo, fennel salami, mortadella nostrale, Longhorn bresaola (from the farm’s own Pasture For Life cattle), spiced lonza and smoked pancetta.

Award for her dedication and mastery in preserving wild fish.

The ups and downs of wild salmon supplies have led Barnes to turn her hand to a variety of other fish, including ray, mackerel, tuna, haddock, hake and pollack amongst others.

But salmon remains her signature product, with variations like her current

hot-smoked wild salmon with organic ginger – to cut the high omega 3 rich oils – and a touch of honey to round off the salt (trade €96/kg) .

Summer 2019 sees Barnes kick off a series of courses at her West Cork smokery, where she will share ‘Sally Barnes Method’.

Full day courses are priced at €240.

A SUPPLEMENT TO FINE FOOD DIGEST

WELCOME

Patriana

High quality speciality food from France and Spain Hot Roast Smoked Salmon

Basque Kintoa Ham

Serrano Bodega Ham

Smoked Haddock Sliced

Smoked Venison

Bayonne Ham

Duck Saucisson

We offer award winning fine food directly from artisan and farm producers in southern France (Basque region/Haute Savoie) and Spain. This includes cured hams, saucissons, chorizos, pates and other specialist charcuterie products.

We also have a range of traditional cheeses such as Manchego and Ossau Iraty.

Please visit www.patriana.com Contact us for our trade product and price list at info@patriana.com

Multiple Award-winner

Traditionally smoked fish, meats and cheeses created with passion, pride and care.

For our wholesale price list contact Andrew Tel: 01580 879601 Email: info@wealdsmokery.co.uk wealdsmokery.co.uk Search Weald Smokery

@wealdsmokery

Patriana Ltd. The Goods Shed, Station Road West, Canterbury, Kent CT2 8AN

Try us and taste the difference!

Sliced Biltong – Biltong Sticks – Biltong Bites Dry Wors – Beef Jerky

Tel: 01753 424200 | Email: sales@thebiltongcompany.com

www.thebiltongcompany.co.uk

A SUPPLEMENT TO FINE FOOD DIGEST

01851 702 445 | sales@charlesmacleod.co.uk

www.charlesmacleod.co.uk THE CURE 2019-20

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STRAPLINE Maison Elhoria Pâté – a true taste of the French Basque Country The recipe based on inherited Savoir Faire creates a natural, delicious and memorable pâté Sustainable, it is 100% free from preservatives – packed with natural ingredients – using only the very best free-range pork raised at the foothills of the Pyrenees Long shelf life – ambient pantry product www.maisonelhoria.com | sophie@maisonelhoria.com 01258 446458 | 07833 663348

FARMHOUSE PLAIN

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PASTRAMI

AVAILABLE IN 200g RETAIL PACKS We’ve been making award-winning cooked meats in Sussex for thirty years. Our newest venture features a selection of our premium products in 200g retail size packs. Available in this range is our Sliced Roast Topside Beef and two of our Great Taste Award winners, Honey Roast Farmhouse Gammon and New York Style Pastrami.

Southover Food Company Limited, Unit 4, Grange Industrial Estate, Albion Street, Southwick, Brighton, BN42 4EN

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THE CURE 2018-19

Butchery and Farm Shop 01371 851271 www.deersbrookfarm.com A SUPPLEMENT TO FINE FOOD DIGEST

WELCOME

Niche suppliers and one-stop shops CANNON & CANNON cannonandcannon.com This is a year of change for British charcuterie’s biggest specialist wholesaler – and for the producers it represents.

2019 has seen Cannon & Cannon move into new premises in south-east London’s Spa Terminus part of a new artisan food village being created in former railway arches

by Neal’s Yard Dairy and Monmouth Coffee.

With a long lease and a generous rent, it’s an opportunity to build for the future, and founder Sean Cannon and his colleagues have also been searching out angel finance for a substantial investment in automated slicing and packing.

This will enable them to provide cost-effective sliced packs of salami or whole muscle meat from any of the dozen or so charcutiers they represent,

AUBREY ALLEN aubreyallenwholesale. co.uk High-end butcher and wholesaler Aubrey Allen became known to many speciality retailers after taking over Fromage to Age, the speciality cheese supplier founded – and still run for Aubrey Allen – by Simeon Hudson Evans.

Now, Fromage to Age also handles trade sales of several fine British and Continental charcuterie brands. It acts as distributor for Suffolk Salami, Spanish foods brand Brindisa and Italy’s Certosa salami & Zabo Form Prosciutto di Parma.

BRINDISA brindisa.com A leading Spanish food specialist for over 30 years, Brindisa now stocks Ibérico acorn-fed ham from each of the four DOP regions – Guijuelo, Extremadura, Jabugo and Los Pedroches – each with its own distinct style and flavour.

It offers carving training for Ibérico hams on the bone as well as the option of convenient pre-sliced packs.

A SUPPLEMENT TO FINE FOOD DIGEST

Recent additions include the new cured chorizo, lomo (cured pork loin), and Salchichon (similar to salami) by Senorio de Montanera, made from the meat of acorn-fed Ibérico pigs that have fattened up on the Extremaduran dehesa, in south west Spain.

Alongside these are specialities including sobrasadas, spreadable chorizo, and the Cecina range of air-dried meats such as beef and venison.

allowing some to offer ‘convenience’ as well as quality and provenance for the first time.

They’re also just about to launch the first tranche of products under a new Cannon & Cannon retail brand, created for the business by The Space Creative – the agency behind Pukka Teas’ current packaging.

All very grown-up for a business still known to consumers mainly as a stallholder on Borough Market. But as Sean Cannon tells The Cure, scale is going to be vital in helping British charcuterie hold its own.

“At the moment, it can cost 50p-70p to get charcuterie sliced and into a pack,” he says. “We think we can halve that cost – which is huge on a single pack – and that will enable us to give a better price to retailers, and for them to give a better price to their customers.”

The first four packs in the

new Cannon & Cannon range will feature Cornish coppa and seaweed & cider salami from Cornish Charcuterie, as well as two salamis from Kent’s Moons Green: mushroom & truffle and rosemary & garlic.

Both producers will be name-checked on the packs, which will be presented as “selected by Cannon & Cannon”. And Sean Cannon expects to see more of the products he sells move into this convenient format.

He says he looks for three key things from his producers: taste, an interesting back-story and the potential to grow and achieve economies of scale.

He’ll always find space for meats with a real point of difference, though, like Highland Charcuterie’s bog myrtle & elderberry salami, made solely for Cannon & Cannon’s market stall in tiny 15kg batches.

CURD & CURE curdandcure.co.uk Established 30 years ago, Kent artisan foods wholesaler Curd & Cure is now under new ownership.

MD Stuart Grant has restructured the team and moved the business to larger premises, allowing it to supply a wider selection of local and imported products.

Its charcuterie range includes Black Forest ham, bresaola, pancetta, Parma ham, chorizos and many different salamis.

DELICIOSO delicioso.co.uk Delicioso offers a wide range of charcuterie including acorn-fed Ibérico hams, smoked meats and other specialities from the various regions of Spain.

This extends from wild boar and venison charcuterie, made in the Picos de Europa mountains in the north of Spain, to spicy Sobrasada from Mallorca.

Its Serrano hams are pure-bred Duroc. The extra marbling in this meat allows for a cure using 25% less salt than regular Serrano, giving the meat a sweeter, more rounded flavour and better health profile.

Many of its latest products are additive- and preservative-free.

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STRAPLINE

THE FINE CHEESE CO finecheese.co.uk/ From salame and lardo to lean cured ham and bresaola, The Fine Cheese Co supplies meats from Italy, France, Spain and Britain.

Its line-up of producers includes Savigni, Capitelli and Bonfatti Negrini from Italy, Le Cayrolais from France, and Great Glen Charcuterie and newcomer

TENUTA MARMORELLE tenutamarmorelle.com Well known for seeking out premium quality products from often lesser-known Italian producers, importer Tenuta Marmorelle has added a new range to its catalogue from a 50-year36

THE CURE 2018-19

Westcombe from the UK. Standout products, according to The Fine Cheese Co’s John Siddall, include Giovanna smoked cooked pancetta, Culatello di Zibello DOP, Prosciutto Sambucano, Slow Food Presidium foods such as Capocollo di Martina Franca, Westcombe’s Saucisson and Great Glen venison: smoked bresaola, and salami with green peppercorns.

old family-owned producer: La Fattoria di Parma.

“What attracted us to La Fattoria was their Salame Felino IGP and Salame Strolghino,” says Tenuta Marmorelle co-director Vincent Carlucci. “They do a version of each salami

HARVEY & BROCKLESS harveyandbrockless.co.uk Seeking out cured meats everywhere from the Scottish Highlands to the Spanish dehasa, Harvey & Brockless has packaged a broad collection of British and Continental meats under the Salt and Cure brand.

Alongside British names such as Tempus Foods, Capreolus and Crown & Queue sit overseas producers like French master curer Pierre Sajous, whose meats include Jambon du Pays, a pure pork saucisson rosette, and Le Délice de Gaves, a gamey, air-dried meat that is “a bit like saucisson but with a flatter, squarer shape”.

packaged with its own cutting board, and we’re already taking orders for those for Christmas.”

Both products also have the advantage of a 90-day shelf life at ambient temperature, Carlucci points out.

MEDITERRANEAN DIRECT mediterraneandirect.co.uk Mediterranean Direct offers quality artisan meats from Italy and Spain, to UK trade customers.

Its range features multiaward-winning artisan producer Gelli Salumeria from Siena, including the Tuscan-cured pancetta, finocchiona IGP (fennel salami), wild boar bresaola and black truffle salami.

It also offers awardwinning lardo, guanciale and Buristo (black pudding).

A range of air-dried and slow-cured Spanish meats from Sierras Riojanas and the Catalan Pyrenees features Ibérico hams, chorizo and Spanish sausages.

MEVALCO mevalco.com A relatively new but fastgrowing importer of Spanish fine foods, Mevalco claims to offer an “inspirational” line-up of charcuterie which is sourced from artisan producers for flavour and texture.

At the top of the range is Gran Reserva Serrano, a 100% Ibérico Bellota Cinco Jotas from Huelva and a Teruel DOP from Rubielos de Mora.

Bristol-based Mevalco also sells a range of chorizo, including Chorizo Ibérico Bellota and salchichon.

THE CURE CHARCUTERIE thecurecharcuterie.co.uk A regional wholesaler specialising in “British craft snacking, artisan charcuterie and antipasti”, The Cure Charcuterie supplies bars, delis and food halls across the north of Enland, from Magic Rock Brewing, Friends of Ham and Fenwick.

It is based in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, and run by former brand & creative director Danny Bulmer.

VALLEBONA vallebona.co.uk The first Italian to trade in Borough Market, Stefano Vallebona has been importing high-quality, authentic Italian products from Italy to London for over 20 years.

His business now supplies Michelin-starred restaurants and five-star hotels across London such as the River Café, Bocca di Lupo and Le Gavroche.

Highlights of Vallebona’s charcuterie range include rosemary porchetta, Prosciutto san Daniele DOP salame finocchiona, mortadella, guanciale, lamb salame and salsiccia sarda, a rustic, horseshoe shaped salami.

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STRAPLINE

Reach for the prize

With so much British charcuterie competing for attention, food awards can provide a valuable filter. Here’s the current crop of champions from the top tastebased award schemes.

Great Taste 2018

British Cured Meat Awards 2019

GOLDEN FORK: CHARCUTERIE PRODUCT OF THE YEAR Ibérico Bellota ham Ibéricos Montellano WINNER OF THE TOP PRIZE for charcuterie in the UK’s premier food awards scheme in 2018, Ibéricos Montellano is a fourth-generation business specialising in Spain’s iconic Ibérico ham.

As current company boss Javier Hernandez says, winning a major award is extra special when your product has taken at least four years to mature – like this nutty, sweet, air-dried ham from the meat of acorn-fed pigs. ibericosmontellano.com 3

GRAND MASTER CHARCUTIER OF THE YEAR Tempus Foods tempusfoods.com

1

2

GREAT TASTE 3-STAR WINNERS 1. Organic Hot Dog – Helen Browing’s Organic 2. Lamb bacon – Hannan Meats

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3. Sweet dry-cured smoked collar bacon – The Smokin’ Butcher 4. Hartgrove Coppa – The Real Cure 5. Manx chorizo – Close Leece Farm 38

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STAGED FOR THE SECOND YEAR running by specialist wholesaler Cannon & Cannon, and with the Guild of Fine Food lending its judging expertise behind the scenes, the British Cured Meat Awards delivered a new award category in 2019: the Grand Master Charcutier.

The four best-performing producers in the first round of judging were visited by teams of judges including The Pig Hotels group chefdirector James Golding , Brindisa founder Monica Linton, food writer Jenny Linton and The Cure’s own Mick Whitworth to assess the whole business: products, processes and the people behind it.

All four finalists could have won, but the combination of artisan quality, technical skill, ambition and attitude at Tempus Foods, run by chefs Dhruv Baker and Tom Whitaker, made it the judges’ unanimouis choice. It’s also Baker and Whitaker’s second major title win, barely two years from start-up. tempusfoods.com A SUPPLEMENT TO FINE FOOD DIGEST

WELCOME 1

The bar has been raised

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With judging of the 2019 British Charcuterie Awards still at the mid-point as The Cure went to press, founder Henrietta Green says entries are well up on the inaugural 2018 awards, with 30 new producers coming forward and over 450 products being assessed.

The judging process has been strengthened too, allowing more time for the judges to try each product, and discuss the technical aspects amongst themselves.

Green says that there is growing investment among

producers to create technically proficient cured meats, using more specifically bred charcuterie pigs.

“There are definite signs that the bar for British charcuterie has been raised,” she says.

“Distribution is expanding gradually, and the number of producers overall is up.

“Some of the larger operators are buying up smaller businesses, giving them access

Pictured (second left) at the first round of 2019 judging, Henrietta Green has seen quality rising among many producers – but some are still making ‘basic errors’ of flavour, texture or trimming

to wider product ranges, better distribution and marketing and a stronger offering for retail and hospitality markets.”

Green and her team have introduced more stringent marking for 2019 on the back of the greater number of quality products coming forward. But she says: “There is some way to go for some makers who are not making the same progress when it comes to making and presenting charcuterie really well.

“We are still seeing some basic errors in texture, flavour and quality and even trimming,” she adds.

Head judge John Gower says: “In raising the marks required to gain our medals, we award less of them, but we want to establish our gold medals as a mark of a world-beating product, where technical failure is not only not allowed but marked down quite severely.” britishcharcuterie.live

British Charcuterie Awards 2018 3

MASTER CHARCUTIER RUNNERS-UP: 1. Hay Charcuterie 2. Wenlock Edge Farm 3. Cobble Lane Cured

BEST COOKED OR SMOKED

CHAMPION PRODUCER

CHAMPION PRODUCT

Tempus Foods

Mangalitsa air-dried ham Beal’s Farm

BEFORE TAKING THE GRAND Master Charcutier title at June’s British Cured Meat Awards (left), newcomers Dhruv Baker and Tom Whitaker had already claimed the Champion Producer title at the British Charcuterie Awards, staged by Henrietta Green at BBC Countryfile Live in August 2018.

Tempus had proved the highest-scoring producer in at least three award classes, with standout products being its subtle spiced loin, house salami and fragrant smoked jowl. tempusfoods.com

AWARDED TO THE SINGLE highest-scoring entry at the BCA’s, the Champion Product 2018 title went to an air-dried ham produced from home-reared Mangalitsa pigs at Beal’s Farm in North Chailey, East Sussex.

Here, owners Phil and Melissa combine a heritage breed with traditional farm values to create what the judges called a “complex and pungent ham, with a mild salt finish and lingering sweetness”. bealsfarmcharcuterie.com

Winner: Lardo-infused fresh blood black pudding – The Fruit Pig Runner-up: ’Nduja – Cobble Lane Cured

BEST MEAT SNACK Winner: Laverbread snack salami – Cwm Farm Charcuterie Runner-up: Bighorn honey & chilli biltong – Flyford Food Co

BEST SALAMI Winner: Seaweed & cider salami – Cornish Charcuterie Runner-up: Garlic & black pepper salami – Ispini Charcuterie

BEST MUSCLE MEAT Winner: Culatello – Somerset Charcuterie Runner-up: Mace & allspice coppa – Ispini Charcuterie A SUPPLEMENT TO FINE FOOD DIGEST

GOLD WINNERS

Rolled belly – SaltPig Curing Company

Mace and allspice coppa – Ispini Charcuterie

Mangalitsa air-dried ham – Beals Farm Charcuterie

Spiced Loin – Tempus Foods

Sugar pit ox cheeks – Hannan Meats

Monmouthshire air-dried ham – Trealy Farm Charcuterie

Little Oinkers – Suffolk Salami

Organic air-dried juniper smoked mutton – Peelham Farm Produce Yorkshire coppa – Lishman’s of Ilkley

Suffolk salami with rosemary – Suffolk Salami Hampshire black – The Hampshire Salami Co THE CURE 2019-20

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MULTI AWARD-WINNING ARTISAN CHARCUTERIE MADE WITH PASSION IN CORNWALL WHOLESALE **** RETAIL **** FOODSERVICE

Deli Farm Charcuterie Delabole, Cornwall PL33 9BZ 01840 214106 www.delifarmcharcuterie.co.uk dfc@delifarmcharcuterie.co.uk