I love sausage rolls. They are great for entertaining the boys when there are a few beers flying around. Throw in a scotch egg, a pork pie and honey-roast sausage, and you have a square meal when the rugby is on. They are also great nibbles for drinks parties – just cut them into slices before you take them round!
Little Jack Horners
James Hughes-Davies, founded the business in 2010 in a pub kitchen in Putney. Tiring of the London life, and perhaps the cost of it, he moved the business to Mells, outside Frome. The business, which is SALSA accredited, has been liberally sweeping up Great Taste Awards and Taste of the West Awards since then. He has an unbelievable 13 in all including Champion in the 2017 Taste if the West Awards and two Great Taste 2* awards.
James' amazing sausage rolls (as pictured on his website)
Of James’s range, the Pork and Westcombe Cheddar one sounds particularly alluring, as does the more traditional Pork and Sage. They’ll be sent fresh overnight, and will survive in the fridge for a week. Apparently they also freeze well for up to a month, so another product that can be bought in bulk, or in advance of a drinks party. The pastry is rough shortcrust – in James’ words, “no nonsense, just flour, excellent local butter, salt and water”. Everything is made by hand.
The 140g/150g sausage rolls cost £22 for a box of 6 and £48 for a box of 16. You get a 10% discount if you pre-order and collect from the bakery – nice touch. They bake on Wednesday and the sausage rolls are shipped that afternoon for delivery the next day. Delivery is free.
Cinderhill Farm
On the edge of the Forest of Dean, in a fold in the hill, high above the River Wye and at the foot of an ancient castle, you will find Cinderhill Farm. Quite a long way west, but in Gloucestershire and therefore local to me, just!
Sausage rolls are made for rare native breed pigs, either from the farm itself or from other small local farms. The business seems to have a sense eco peace about it , if that makes any sense! They use the land carefully, give their animals a god life, and recycle what they can.
There are a number of different shapes and sizes of sausage roll that you can order:
Buffet rolls: 18 x 70g for £21. Versions include Original, Wild boar and Black pepper, garlic and chilli. Luxury rolls: 21 x 180g for £69. Again the three flavours, and I guess than unless you are particularly hungry, or you have a very large family, you’ll be taking advantage of the fact that they freeze well! Celebration log weighing 800g costs £22.50.
Their show-stopper is a Celebration Wreath, which weighs 1.6kg and costs £30. I had to include a photo from their website as it looks truly fantastic!
Delivery depends on the day of the week you order, but once despatched it turns up overnight via UPS or APC. For further details, give them a call or check the T&Cs on the website.
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