“Nothing much has changed, we have always had a steady flow of loyal customers because we have such a good product,” Mr Allen said. “It’s a family business and has a family atmosphere and a business I have always liked working in. Supermarkets were never my scene.” And judging by the sales figures that the Farmhouse still record, there is one market in Gloucester that is beyond winning over by the big boys. As well as the million sausages per year, Farmhouse Deli produces astonishing sales figures for their sausage rolls, scotch eggs, pies and freshly-made sandwiches. "We're selling 2-300 Scotch eggs, between 1,000 and 1,200 sausage rolls and 600 trays of faggots each week," Rob Clingan added. “There isn’t much of a drop off over the year either, but cold and crisp winter days are probably our best days for business.
“If it’s dry and cold with a chill in the air, we need to eat good hot food to give us energy, so people want their faggots, pies and sausages. “That drops off in the summer, but then we sell a lot more of the cold cooked meats and cheeses. “The sausages don’t drop off at all, with the barbecue trade added to it. But people like to eat sausages whatever time of year. “Both John and Martin are both real experts. I have to step in when they are on holiday or away for a day and I get all sorts of stick because my links aren’t as good and the width isn’t as consistent. “They do it perfectly each and every day, they are
whom can probably link the perfect-length banger in their sleep. “The secret of the perfect sausage is the people who make them, there’s no doubt about that,” joked Mr Armstrong, who joined the Farmhouse family in the early 1990s. “We have a tried and trusted method of making them, using fresh ingredients and a blend of herbs and seasoning that we have honed over the years. “We have 12 different varieties. The Gloucester chipolatas are in three sizes, the plain ones are two sizes and the rest are all one size. “I start around 6.30am each morning and by 10am we will have done four or five mixes. There’s 60lbs to a mix and around eight sausages per pound. It’s an awful lot of sausages.” Mr Allen has been the Farmhouse’s sausage maker for a decade longer than his accomplice, having been with the Clingan family since 1982.
two masters of their trade” l For more information about the
Farmhouse Deli visit FarmhouseDeli on Facebook or @farmhouse_cooked_meats on Instagram, call 01452 521784 or e-mail info@farmhousedeli.co.uk
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