Michael and Kate Oliver live and work in Ilkley. In 2017, they started their healthy paleo sausage business - Primal Cut. We caught up with Kate to find out a bit more about keeping food real in West Yorkshire. You can find them at Farmers Markets across Yorkshire, and can find out more about them, their philosophy and browse their online low carb food shop at www.primalcut.co.uk.
Our family has a mix of dietary requirements. We had been looking
for an ‘all-natural, free-from’ sausage product on the market for some time
so that we could sit down together and share a meal that suited all of us. We wanted something that was naturally tasty, that could meet simple standards for a healthy lifestyle and that was suited to our dietary requirements. When we couldn’t find the right thing, we decided to find a solution.
Our search for the perfect product led Michael to research the art of sausage making. That way, we could be sure it was just right. With the guidance of a fantastic mentor, Alex Chambers, we learnt our trade and began to produce a wheat-free, sugar free, low carb sausage that was free from artificial preservatives. In 2017, we launched Primal Cut and started
to sell our sausages at markets around Yorkshire, hoping that people would appreciate the same things that we did in our product – simple and naturally tasty sausages.
What makes your sausages different?
The American healthy eating
programme, WHOLE30, has approved
the ingredients in our sausages. Just last May our produce was approved by Coeliac UK as suitable for people with a gluten intolerance, and we can now have a licence to use the cross grain symbol on all of our products. Since we started back in 2017, our range has grown to include bacon and cured meats, also nitrate and sugar free. Simple, honest real food made from free-range pork and locally sourced ingredients.
Our customers value and appreciate what we are making. We’re proud that our customers (inc. coeliacs, diabetics, and those on whole food, low carb, weight training or weight loss diets) can sit down and share a meal - now that has to be worth something!
How important is sourcing local ingredients for you?
Being connected to our local landscape is important for our business. Local sourcing is important to us as we align to slow food principles for our core raw ingredients. We only use certified free-range pigs, free range chicken, grass fed beef and lamb. Although genuine 100% free range Yorkshire pork is scarce, particularly around Ilkley, sadly only a small number of farms are rearing to these standards. There’s a growing consumer awareness about the food chain, that will foster a move away from supermarkets and towards local suppliers and producers we can get to know, like and trust. This connection to our landscape and our food is important for the future of our produce and farming landscape.
Farmers Markets are a great place to start connecting with food suppliers based in the countryside around you. For producers, farmers markets provide the opportunity to get direct feedback from their customers, and find out what they are looking for, whereas food festivals can often be prohibitively expensive.
What does the future hold for you?
We have had a lot of interest from specialist outlets who support local producers and hope that our deli meats will soon be available in restaurants and hotels across Yorkshire – although we deliver all over the UK – from Truro to Aberdeen. We are looking forward to meeting new people at Real Food Rocks in Ambleside in the Lake District on the 20th July.
We believe that a sustainable future is about getting a good balance and better understanding of our food. We need to eat meat less often so that we can afford to eat better quality, free-range meat. We hope that our business can be part of the solution, and keeping connected to our local countryside is an important part of that.
What is your favourite place in West Yorkshire?
Our favourite place in West Yorkshire is Ilkley. It has a fantastic Roman heritage and those Romans taught our ancient ancestors how to make sausage. We named our delicious Prosciutto d’ Olicana after the Roman name for Ilkley! We also say our sausages are: Britalian sausages - as our ethos aligns to the Italian way with food.
