Devon-based Rare & Pasture has developed two new pâtés and a pastrami, introducing its first new lines since merging with Sussex-based Tempus.
In an interview with FFD, Tempus co-founder Dhruv Baker said the deal was what had created capacity to develop new smoked and cooked products, adding that he was open to the idea of finding more “like-minded businesses that would fit within the group”.
The new pâtés, with Green Peppercorn & Mace and another with Mixed Wild Mushrooms & Cognac join Rare & Pasture’s classic, coarse French pâté made with pork liver and white wine. Meanwhile the pastrami which is made with regenerative beef and won the ‘Not Yet on the Shelf’ award at the Speciality & Fine Food Fair, is set to launch soon.
Another planned range will use free-range British Ibérico Pork reared by celebrated chef Brett Graham of the Ledbury, fed on soya-free feed supplemented with rapeseed pressings.
Rare & Pasture is even working with Tesco on a range of charcuterie, with a new brand called The Curing Barn.
In a move towards higher welfare standards across both brands, the aim is to soon sell only 100% regenerative, organic beef, and free-range pork – because organic pork is hard to come by in the UK.
All of this – the NPD, the focus on standards and the possibility of taking on small, large and “not niche but very specific” projects – Baker said, is possible thanks to the ongoing commercial viability of brands like Tempus and Rare & Pasture.
Ultimately, he hopes that taking on these projects will lead to an increase of choice for consumers, “and what will come out of this is something resembling an identity for British charcuterie,” he said.
Comparing charcuterie production to that of traditional method wine, or cheese – which require investment and cashflow – he said charcuterie producers in the UK need a financially robust model. “And actually consolidation is a lot quicker and less risky than organic growth, so I think what you’ll end up seeing, as opposed to lots and lots of very small producers in a very fragmented market, is more consolidation.”
At least in Tempus’ case, he said, the merger with Rare & Pasture – which saw him take the reins of sales and distribution across both brands, but kept production separate – has felt justified. “There will always be businesses which aren’t doing as well as they can be but should be – and do – with the right support.”
“We’re always saying that if there are like-minded businesses that would fit within the group, and that we can help accelerate their growth and help develop this industry, we will.”
This article first appeared in the December edition of Fine Food Digest
