DEARHAM sausage maker Tom Hodgson has been shortlisted in a competition to find the county’s best Cumberland sausage.
Mr Hodgson, who has run Cottage Pie in Dearham for 25 years, said he was delighted to have made it to the final of the competition, which is being run by Made in Cumbria as part of the Fell Gather event in Cockermouth tomorrow.
Ten Cumbrian food producers have been selected for the cook-off final.
Made in Cumbria is running the Traditional Cumberland Sausage competition for the second year as part of a campaign to give the sausage the same protection as products such as Champagne, Parma ham and Greek Feta cheese.
The 10 finalists were chosen by a panel of hotel chefs.
Mr Hodgson said he got his recipe from a farmer in Moota and had used it for over 25 years.
He said: “Everyone has their own recipe but the main thing is fresh local pork, herbs and seasoning. We also use natural casings.”
Mr Hodgson said he entered the competition because it was important to register his Cumberland sausage if it was to be protected.
The cook-off will be held at Mitchell’s Auction Mart in Cockermouth. The sausages will be judged by TV celebrity cook Annette Gibbons, of Mawbray, English Lakes Hotels operations director Douglas Dale and Cumbrian broadcaster Eric Robson.
Fell Gather, organised by the Cumbria Farmer Network, will consist of stalls marketing Cumbrian food and produce along with a photographic exhibition and demonstrations of cooking, arts and crafts.
Full story and picture from Times and Star