Sausages are a real staple of Britain’s culinary identity, appearing on menus across schools and the NHS to gastro pubs and fine dining outlets. No other food elicits quite as much affection as the humble sausage, which is why they remain one of the most popular dishes listed on menus today.
Sausage Guide for Caterers
As British Sausage Week draws closer (4-10 November), BPEX has produced a sensational sausage guide for caterers, which highlights simple ways to maximise their use on menus and ultimately, returns back to the kitchen.
‘The Sausage Supplement’ contains extensive information: from recipes, facts and advice, to interviews with some of the leading sausage suppliers as well as popular chef Simon Rimmer – the face of this year’s British Sausage Week.
BPEX foodservice trade manager, Tony Goodger, said: “There are considerable opportunities to profit from serving Red Tractor and quality assured pork sausages, not just during British Sausage Week but throughout the year.
“The Week provides the ideal platform for caterers to get started and our handy guide will help you along the way. This includes tips such as incorporating seasonal sausage dishes, as well as traditional favourites, as well as best practise for sourcing and supply.”
Working with manufacturers
For example, communication throughout the supply chain is paramount when delivering quality sausage meals and chefs will benefit from building a close relationship with manufacturers who can understand and adapt to their needs accordingly. For supplier Charles Baughan this means he can provide the right varieties for his chefs’ dishes.
Charles said: “Chefs are great innovators and I’m never surprised at the ways they cook and serve sausages. By meeting them I am able to tap into this creativity and understand how they use sausages and what I can do to make my products even better.”
Quality and local sourcing
Highlighting quality and local sourcing is of paramount importance for chef Simon Rimmer. He added: “Sausages are a great comfort food and where pubs and restaurants do well is to promote an element of locality to their customers.
“If you can source good quality sausages from a local supplier, which has been produced using local ingredients, then that will be attractive to customers. After all, we have some of the best produce in the world and it is important that we continue to support our producers.”
Sizzling sausage tips from the experts
- Build a close relationship with your sausage supplier to ensure they understand your sausage requirements
- Visit your sausage supplier to see the production methods behind the product – and promote it on menus!
- Speak with your supplier on a regular basis to notify them of menu changes and how varieties can be adapted or introduced accordingly
- Ask for a full list of sausage ingredients; remember to check for a minimum meat content of 75%.
- Make sure you are buying the best quality sausages; source sausages which are produced using local ingredients.
- State on the menu if your sausages are produced locally – this is extremely attractive to customers and will increase sales of sausage-based dishes considerably
The rise of the catering sausage
- Traditional Pork is the most popular variety seen on menus but innovation is growing
- In a survey of 115 menus, sausages feature in 1,145 dishes
- The average price for ‘Sausage and Mash’ in a pub is £7.47, in the fast casual and leisure sector it is £8.06 and in the hotel sector, £11.51
- Fast casual outlets are leading innovation when it comes to sausage-based meals, featuring them in pasta, risotto and cassoulet-style dishes
- Increasing numbers of menus are referencing sausages made using pork from named butchers and farms
‘The Sausage Supplement’ is available as a flipbook at http://porkforcaterers.bpex.org.uk/ or by emailing info@bpexfoodservice.com