Charcuterie Môn
With funding from Project Helix, Mark visited the centre to gain practical and technical experience in salami and chorizo production
Background
From their farm in Anglesey, husband and wife Kayleigh and Mark Parry sell outdoor-reared pork boxes directly from farm gate to consumer. With the box scheme proving a big success, the couple have been looking at ways to expand their current business and make it more sustainable. In order to add value to their range, they are now venturing into selling a range of charcuterie products, operating under the name Charcuterie Môn.
Support received from Food Technology Centre
With funding from Project HELIX, Mark visited the centre to gain practical and technical experience in salami and chorizo production from Food Technologist Karl. Mark received bespoke one-on-one training with Karl, which included knowledge on meat selection & preparation, carcase breakdown, packaging and labelling. With Karl’s butchery expertise, they trialled different recipes to determine the best flavours to use for the final products. Also, as part of the chorizo production, microbiological testing was also carried out, as well as support with a HACCP plan. With this support, Mark will be able to extend his current product range whilst reducing food waste.
Benefits of Support
Mark said ‘We wanted to launch a range of charcuterie products that would enable our business to be sustainable at the low stock density by adding maximum additional value to our outdoor reared pork. Karl has been exceptional. His industry knowledge and real world experience of operating his own business have been evident throughout. Working with Karl has given us the confidence to develop our business, knowing we are in compliance with the relevant legislation and food safety standards. Without this support we would not have had the confidence to begin producing charcuterie with consistent, safe results. The support we have received will enable us to launch a product range and in turn enable us to confidently approach sales outlets, safe in the knowledge we have a quality product we can reproduce consistently’.
