Getting a taste for Shropshire's finest

From fruit sauce and bresaola to deli's and smokeries, our resident foodie Andy Richardson finds out what puts Shropshire at the top of the premier league for food producers.

Tracey Colley knows all about making local businesses tick. For many years, she worked as an adviser at Business Link Shropshire, providing information on marketing and design to a wide range of clients.

She also managed her design and manufacturing business and worked for private concerns, including Hammond Design.

But in 2002, she teamed up with her friend, Maggie Wright, to launch the ultra-successful Deli On The Square. Mrs Wright, who also worked as a business adviser, and Mrs Colley, formed a formidable partnership.

They put into practice the many lessons learned during their years as business advisers to make their deli a runaway success.

And now they are at the fulcrum of Shropshire's burgeoning artisan food industry, speaking daily to producers of fine food and drink from across the county.

Mrs Colley says: "It's such a great industry to work in. The people who work in artisan food are great characters. They are often very different, but they tend to get on. Everyone is in it together, we all pull together as a team. Sometimes, it feels like us against the world. There's a great sense of camaraderie."

Mrs Colley and Mrs Wright opened Deli On The Square in 2002. They were inspired by Ludlow's reputation as a centre for gastronomic excellence, which owed much to Michelin-starred chefs like Shaun Hill, Chris Bradley and Claude Bosi.

The shop they bought, on Castle Square, had formerly been run as a deli, though with far less success. Mrs Colley adds: "We thought the time was right to put real energy and effort into the business to make it more of a focal point in the town."

Getting the right personnel was key. The staff who work at Deli On The Square are all food and drink enthusiasts who are able to offer knowledgeable recommendations to customers. In 2007, the business expanded and opened a branch in Shrewsbury's Fish Street, though it was later sold.

Mrs Colley adds: "The people who work at the Deli are lovely. When we closed the Fish Street branch, the biggest wrench was letting staff go."

Deli On The Square has won a raft of awards. It's policy of sourcing high quality food from local producers was recognised nationally when it was named the UK's Cheese Retailer Of The Year.

Bings Heath Smokery was launched by husband-and-wife team Alan and Shirley Ball. Alan started the business from scratch, having enjoyed a successful career in agricultural sales.

He built a smokery in his own back yard and now sells through local delis, farm shops and at festivals, shows and other social events.

His range of foods for smoking includes lamb, chicken, duck, salmon, trout and even garlic - with each product first steeped in brine and then smoked in a kiln heated by different woods such as oak, beech or apple.

The different woods change the flavour of the food. Mr Ball is alive to the opportunities presented by customers.

"I'll happily take a side of salmon from someone, if they want me to smoke it for them," he says.

"We smoke many of our own products, which are sold through delis or directly by ourselves. But we also smoke for other clients, from local companies to individuals."

Mr Ball is constantly experimenting with new products, a research and development exercise that brings innovation to local dinner tables.

"We've looked at developing a smoky bacon-flavoured chicken."

The Best Of Taste Company is one of Shropshire's most popular artisan producers. The fruit sauce company was started by the late Anne Lipson and is now run by her husband, Nick.

It is based in a former snooker room at Mr Lipson's spacious home in Treflach, near Oswestry.

"One of the key components of our business is the logistic support we get from local companies," says Mr Lipson.

"We have great local staff, storage and transport links. Everything a small business like ours needs is right on our doorstep. People perhaps don't realise how much support they can tap into in rural towns. I'd recommend Oswestry to anyone."

The Best of Taste Company has earned its reputation for excellence by sourcing only the best products. Some sauces are made with local fruits, such as bilberries, while others are made with more exotic varieties that are shipped in from around the world.

Mr Lipson says: "I'm a stickler for quality. If I want to use a particular variety of cherries, because they have great taste, I'll settle for nothing less. So, if a buyer offers me cherries from, say, Greece. I'll say no, I want them from a particular region of Germany.

"If the buyer offers me a good price on the Greek cherries, I'll keep saying no. Sometimes, they think I'm being a bit funny, but I have to insist on the best quality."

Wenlock Edge Farms is one of the county's most successful artisan producers. The shelves of its Longville-in-the-Dale farmshop are crowded with more than a dozen awards.

Earlier this year, it won the prestigious Heart of England Fine Foods Diamond Award, after being named the best meat producer in the West Midlands.

The award followed the development of a homemade bresaola by Marcus Themans.

Mr Themans says: "We'd been well known for many years for our bacons, hams and sausages. We'd always developed new recipes and flavours.

"But about 18 months ago I decided to expand our range. Diversification is everything these days. We have a strong Swiss ancestry and I used to eat good quality charcuterie as a boy.

"So we developed air-dried hams, salamis and bresaola. There was a lot of trial and error but we're proud of the products we've created.

"To win a HEFF Diamond Award is everything. That says our meat is better than any other meat produced in the West Midlands - and there are some excellent farmers in the region."

The lessons of some of Shropshire's finest artisan food businesses - good marketing, diversification, being alive to new opportunities and working as a team - will no doubt help to boost the county's reputation as a centre of gastronomic excellence in years to come.

By Andy Richardson