Notes From the Cellar Door: A Big Win!
The Rutland Charcuterie Company is bringing the art of charcuterie to our doorsteps. Creating everything from spiced biltong to duck bacon, Notes From the Cellar Door is Rutland Charcuterie Company owner Nick Brake’s monthly blog about making the best quality British charcuterie.
What a month!
Well I thought it was exciting to learn that we had been short listed to send samples to the judging panel for the BBC Good Food Show Bursary Awards Competition last month. I wasn’t sure how strong my application was as, to be honest, there wasn’t really very much to include on the application form. We’re a new company with little trading history, and questions like annual turnover, number of employees, awards achieved to date all produced a blank! However, I felt that nothing ventured, nothing gained. I guess it was my answer to the question “Why do you think you deserve this award?” that swung it. Maybe we don’t have the history but what we do have is passion and a love of good food.
We chose our products to send. It had to be our Duck Prosciutto and the Rutland Smokie, no question! We also sent the Hot Smoked Spiced Shoulder Ham and our Noix de Jambon. A nice combination of cooked and cured products that would give a good idea of what we are about. There was nothing else we could do but wait with fingers crossed!
However nothing had prepared me for how I was going to feel when Katy Truss (Fine food finder for BBC Good Food Shows) phoned to say that we had won! We had a won a bursary for the BBC Good Food Show in Harrogate next year. I came off the phone literally unable to speak!
This is so big for us. We are a fledgling company but we now have the opportunity to showcase The Rutland Charcuterie Company and our range of products at such a high level. Something that would most likely have been unattainable for us just at the moment. It is truly an incredible opportunity to have exposure to such a wide audience of food lovers, both consumers and the trade.
I managed to tell Nicky the wonderful news but I think it was about ten minutes before I was able to tell Rich – I needed that time to compose myself! I am really so happy. Not only for The Rutland Charcuterie Company and everyone involved in creating such a fantastic company but especially for Rich. He is an incredibly hard worker, always striving to improve the quality of our products. His passion for good, honest British produce has enabled us to develop product with our three core principles of provenance, welfare and at the end of the day, great taste.
We are absolutely delighted that this has been recognised, it’s lovely to know that others think that our products are as good as we do!
A big thanks to Katy and all the other judges – we can’t wait til the spring!
And if all that didn’t keep us busy enough, we are delighted to announce that our full website is now up and running. Check it out at www.rutlandcharcuterie.co.uk At last you can buy some seriously delicious British Charcuterie via our online shop. And don’t forget that as a member of The Great Food Club you are entitled to a 10% discount. Just enter coupon code GFC10 at the Checkout.
You’ll find us at:
Oakham Farmers Market in Gaol Street on Saturday 18th October 8:30am – 2pm
The Park Market, Newcastle Circus, The Park, Nottingham on Sunday 26th October 11am – 3pm.
And of course at the BBC Good Food Show in Harrogate April 10th – 12th 2015 http://www.bbcgoodfoodshowspring.com/
Or why not come and see us and pick up some goodies direct from the cellar door (Fridays til 5pm, or by appointment at any other time. Please phone beforehand if you are looking for something specifically).
Thanks for reading!
Cheers for now, Nick
