The story behind Norfolk and Suffolk Speciality Foods' outstandingly delicious condiments
Norfolk and Suffolk Speciality Foods' origins lie in the fact that the parents of one of the partners (Francis) lived and worked (as the manager of tea and rubber estates) in South Asia from 1923 until 1947, and inevitably absorbed a great deal of the local culture and traditions, especially culinary, and this influenced the way the children of the family grew up.
In the 1980s Francis was working in Nepal for the European Commission, and rediscovered the origins of his family's style of food; he travelled extensively in the region, and was able to observe many different traditions of food preparation among the local people.
He left his employment at the University of East Anglia at the end of 2005, and this seemed to be the ideal opportunity to put into practice the constant entreaties of his numerous friends who received gifts of chutney (and other things) to set up a business to produce the same and similar products.
The other partner, Richard, is a farmer who is in the process of diversifying away from basic commodity farming; moreover his wife was the Head of the Foodskills Department of Otley College, near Ipswich, and as a consultant to the company, she provides the necessary guidance in matters of food hygiene and methodology.
ChutneysNorfolk and Suffolk Speciality Foods started producing chutneys in June 2006. Production currently takes place at the Foodskills Process Hall of Otley College; this allows the company to have access to a fully equipped production unit that satisfies all the requirements of the local Environmental Health Department (ask to see the Food Hygiene Inspection Report of 27th September 2006).
The recipes for all the chutneys specify only "proper" whole ingredients, to the exclusion of the semi-processed pastes and extracts used by some other producers. Thus we buy only whole fresh apples and onions from local producers in Norfolk and Suffolk, and prepare them ourselves as the first stage in the production process. The dry ingredients that are not produced in the UK are purchased from local 'ethical' wholesalers, principally Rainbow Wholefoods in Norwich.
The products contain no salt, no wheat, no nuts, no fats or oils, no colourings, no thickeners, no artificial preservatives, and no bulking agents such as the low-grade ingredients in some other products. As well as the standard "mild" versions, we are now producing "hot" chutneys for those who like heat as well as spice; and, in response to recent requests from Coeliac UK and Diabetes UK, we are currently producing and selling the whole range in "gluten-free" versions, and all except apricot in "diabetic" (no added sugar) versions, all at the same prices as the "classic" chutneys. From our own experience, we know that chutney becomes even more delicious if it is allowed to mature for an extended period, so we have also laid a good quantity aside for this purpose to sell later.
Harissa and HorseradishThe recipes for these products were developed in January 2007, and the first jars were sold in the same month. Since then we have had to double and redouble production, so strong has been the demand for such outstanding condiments. All customers express surprise and great satisfaction at their strong fresh flavours, achieved by our complete in-house processing from the raw ingredients to the final products.
Prepared Horseradish keeps its pungency only if it is made from fresh, not dried root, and is sold and used without delay. The horseradish root that we use is grown near Norwich and is generally available for the eight months from November to June; during this period, we prepare fresh product every week. By contrast, Harissa ingredients are available all year, and we usually prepare it on a fortnightly cycle.
