A good spread of tapas just isn’t complete without good salami and air dried ham. This style of continental eating has really taken off in the UK over the past few years and should be enjoyed at any time of the year, regardless of the weather as it such a lovely and sociable thing to do, especially if it’s being washed down with a good Rioja. Well that brings me to, in my opinion, one of Cornwall’s finest food producers, Deli Farm Charcuterie based in Delabole near Padstow.
This is an interesting story for the budding entrepreneurs out there. Before becoming big wheels in the charcuterie world, the founders Jean and Martin Edwards made a living out of running training courses amongst other things. Having decided that it was time for a change, sort of around the mid life time, they approached Business Link with a view to getting a few quid to start making preserves. Apparently the advisor was not overly sold on that idea and muttered something along the lines of ‘I wish someone would try something a bit different, like salami’
You can guess the next part I’m sure, but the lovely part of this story was that they went to Northampton and bought a burger van of all things to do the curing in. Their first venture was to attend a Taste of the West exhibition, taking a little stand on the periphery, just to see if anyone would like their produce. They won best product in show!
Deli Farm Charcuterie today is an absolute success story winning multitudes of accolades and awards. They’ve even had Harrods knocking on their door. And what’s even better than having Harrods knocking on your door? Telling them ‘no thanks’. Absolutely brilliant and whether it was a deliberate move or not, these guys were immediately inundated with stock requests from hundreds of small specialists, a bit like us in fact, who just loved the idea of a lovely Cornish lady sticking her principles.
The salamis and air dried hams are absolutely amazing and what’s really impressive to me is that they haven’t tried to copy the continental textures and flavours but instead have gone off in a direction wholly of their own choice with stunning results. The flavours are really bold and fruity, a bit like a really good Australian Shiraz compared to a thinner French red. Both very good in their own way, but only one says’ party time’ to me.
Possibly in time success might go their heads, but not so far and I somehow doubt it ever will. The new production unit is very modern with gleaming state of the art equipment and then just outside Jean will proudly show you the burger van where they first started curing hams, very impressive. The quality of their produce stems from their absolute dedication to good local ingredients and never rushing things through just to make a quick buck.
If you get a chance to see them at a food show I would thoroughly recommend that you go and have a chat, or go and have a look on their website on www.delifarmcharcuterie.co.uk
Iain Thompson is a trained chef and runs a fine meat and cheese business from the PannierMarket in Tiverton where he sells some of the finest produce the regionhas to offer as well as regaling their customers with fabulous oldWestcountry stories and entertaining with simple, innovative cookerytheatre.
To find out more have a look at The Deli Shack or visit The Deli Shack FaceBook page
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