Producer of the month: Smoke & Pickle Food Company of Shropshire

Smoke & Pickle “London Particular” soup

In between other projects, one by one, I’m profiling our suppliers, so our customers can know more about their food & its origins / provenance. This week, I’ve chosen Smoke & Pickle, just because I love their soups for lunch in the colder months !

At Apley Farm Shop, we sell our own Apley soups whenever we can, but for the time being, it’s just when our chef’s time & supplies allow. In the winter months we also sell delicious soups from the Smoke & Pickle Food Company of Shropshire.

I just caught up Sarah Curtis who told me they have 10 soups in their range – spiced parsnip* (my old favourite), fish soup (premium), French onion, minestrone, mulligatawny, cauliflower & Roquefort, cream of tomato, onion & cheddar, London particular (I have just tried that one !) – it’s made from split pea & ham hock & is named after the London smog (in years gone by, of course !) & mushroom & sherry soup.

It’s a family firm, sourcing their beef from the Albrighton Estate, using extra virgin Shropshire rapeseed oil from Great Ness, Shropshire chicken & locally sourced ingredients whenever possible.

“We’ve been trying out our recipes on family & friends for the past 20 years…we’ve dreamed of making our food available to everyone for years… so we decided it was about time that we stopped dreaming & did something about it!’ Smoke & Pickle

Their website & labels have great cartoons – like this one here !

“London Particular soup is named after the London “pea souper” fogs of the distant past. This traditional recipe is otherwise known as Pea & Ham Hock Soup. It contains green split peas, Shropshire ham hocks, vegetables & herbs. Serve hot, sprinkle over some freshly chopped mint to garnish. Accompany with warm crusty bread.”