One of the Alliance aims is to support farming and food production that is great for nature and the local economy - here’s one! You can find more in our Buy Good Food page.
Rod Lewis originally trained as a Cordon Blue chef in London, but has fine tuned his skills as a charcutier in Italy. He uses a whole pig to create his wide range of products that include Nduja, a spreadable, Calabrian style spicey salami, various chorizos (a regional take on the traditional Spanish sausage}, to Lomo embuchado (cured loin).
He sources his pigs carefully, and as locally as possible. Older pigs that have built up muscle ie, being free range, are better suited to his products, and impart a better flavour and structure. The meat and fat of factory grown meat is soft and blended together, whereas the muscle on an older animal that has been foraging is firmer and the fat more defined. Free range pigs that are allowed to roam of course also require lower inputs too.
Rod has an online shop , and sells his products mainly at the weekly Hay markets, and monthly Malvern and Edgebaston artisan markets Edgebaston artisan markets Edgebaston artisan markets where he enjoys meeting and talking to his customers. Learn how to charcuter with Rod at his kitchen and butchery near Hay on Wye haycharcuterie.co.uk/courses
You can find more producers, organised by their produce and how they sell it, here.
If you're a producer in Herefordshire and want to share your details - of how you produce, what and where - please get in touch!