Farmers Markets

[Lance Yeoh]

Hi WW,
I prepack my spaghetti and the sauce separately in plastic containers (they're already cooked). I plan to keep them in a cooler box to help them remain warm but I'll put a couple on the table for display purposes.

I change a few of the sausages every week but I'll have a couple that remains on the permanent menu. Those are usually the best sellers.
I can see that my customer base is growing bigger every week and those that tried would usually come back for more.

I have a sample tray for the crowd and find that it works in pulling in the crowd. When they sample the sausages, they usually end up buying some as well.

Thanks for the idea of putting out a christmas order form. I'll better start doing the same as well next month.
Cheers

[welsh wizard]

Hi Lance

Thanks for the reply and the info.

Now the weather is about to get colder I am going to start selling home made hot soup like Cullen Skink, Tomato and Smoked Bacon, Stilton and Apple etc. I am also going to try experimenting with meals in a tray to take home and cook, like sausage and mash (thanks Ken Boy), pheasant in red wine, beef in guiness with pickled walnuts etc etc.

I think the key is in change whilst sticking with the favourites.

Sounds like things are going really well for you - brilliant

Cheers WW

[saucisson]

Not sure how you could present it but how about toad-in-the-hole as a meal in a tray?

[welsh wizard]

Just an update

I had been asked for a sausage different to pork so I made a chicken and smoked bacon sausage for last week and it flew off the stand.
I used the tail end of the smoked bacon which I cure and that had a good proportion of fat, which left me with a eye of loin for bacon which people prefer (no one likes fat these days). I mixed this with 7% rusk and 5% water (chicken was very moist) salt and pepper and some garden herbs. Stuffed into sheep casings and WOW fantastic.

I wish there were more chicken recipies on the site.

New products for next month are going to be - home made ready meals and home produced soup with homemade bread served hot now the cold weather is coming.........

Chreers WW

[aris]

Sounds good, but hardly a pork free sausage

[Ken Boy]

HI WW
Matter of interest how are the ready meals going now the weather is on the change

[welsh wizard]

HI KB

Only started last week and did venision and cassis caserole meal for two at �6 - sold out by lunch time - starting to look good...............

Cheers WW

[Lance Yeoh]

Hi WW,
How's your sales coming along? With Christmas approaching, are you stocking up? Doing anything special?

I'm gonna be testing out bangers and mash at my stall next week, hope it goes well. I'm also starting to keep some extra stock for the coming few weeks as I'm expecting it be to kinda busy with the year end BBQ and Christmas roud the corner.

I remember you mentioned that you made a sausage that incorporated bacon into the recipe some time ago. Mind sharing that recipe? I have quite a few cuts of bacon that's too small to be sold in my freezer. Cheers

Regards
Lance

[welsh wizard]

Hi Lance

Chicken and hickory bacon sausage:

I am sorry but i cant remember exact quantities but I used the following:

Chicken thigh - approx 20% by weight minced pork (chicken was very lean) - 10% hickory bacon - salt @ 10g per Kg - pepper @ 2g per kg - some mixed herbs from the garden - rusk @ 7% and water @ 5% (chicken was quite moins). This was a very nice sausage but with the price of corn and wheat rocketing chicken meat is now very expensive over here at the moment.

Ref Christmas I am now in full swing making game pies such as Pheasant and apricot, venison and port soaked sultana, mixed game again with port and wild duck and cranberry. I also am stocking up on smoked salmon at a fair rate of knots but I have decided to slow down on the sausages at the moment purely because of the tme / profit consideration. I now sell home made soups at the markets which go extreemly well. Soups like Pea and Partridge, Tomato and smoked bacon, Cullen Skink etc etc. also I make about 20 salmopn sandwiches on a market day and they fly. My ready meals do sell, but again the time / profit thing comes into play.

I now do three markets a week, Monday - Wednesday and Saturday and as I prep the days before markets, I am now working roughly 6 days a week + I do a little outside catering. I am seriously thinking about taking on another person to help me because sleep has become a bit of an expensive luxury.

Anyway your sausage and mash sounds really good. Will you sell that hot or cold?

I am really glad things are going well for you - can you give up the day job yet?

cheers WW

[Lance Yeoh]

Hi WW,
I'm still thinking on how to keep the mash potatoes warm, I'm thinking of cooking the sausages there and then.

Wow! I'm amazed that you're doing 3 markets a week, I understand how busy your schedule must be, I'm starting to feel a bit of the rush to get things prepared on time myself and I only do 1 market a week. But I do have orders coming in from direct consumers and I'm doing the deliveries to them as well. I made and sold about 50kg this week. I'm doing the business on a full time basis starting from last month and it feels really good to be working on my own.

I believe it's time for you to hire somebody to help since you're doing quite a few products. If budget permitts, why not hire right? I intend to do so once my business really picks up and maybe rent a shop so I can move all the production there and not 'mess up my house'. My wife's not gonna be too pleased if I turn my house into a sausage kitchen. Hey we're doing this business coz we enjoy it right? Lets not make it into a burden and loose all the fun.
cheers
Lance

[welsh wizard]

Hi Lance

Ref turning your kitchen into a food production centre is where I am at the moment, and yep you are correct I do need to get out and into a special unit for production, like you will at some juncture.

50kg a week is impressive! Ref keeping things warm, I purchased a slow cooker for my soup to keep it wrm on market days and I also purchased a table top hostess at the same time. The hostess allows me to keep sausages warm for a hour or so without them drying out too much when I am doing some outside catering.

Homemade soup is a reall winner for me. I charge �2.20 a cup with a freshly baked sun dried tomato roll, and I usually sell out on most days.

Anyway well done you for taking the plunge and I hope you have a good build up to your Christmas - Cheers WW

[Fallow Buck]

HI guys,

It's great the way this thread has evolved from the starting out apprehensive phase to you now looking at taking on staff etc. Congratulations and long may it last!!

On the Mash potato question, I often use a 6litre slow cooker on a shoot day for making mashed or creamy garlic potatoes. Providing you don't put cheese in the mash as it seperates and burns around the edge, you should be able to keep it warm. I only get about 25 portions out of one 6l bowl though so I'm not sure if it will be practical for you. It's a thought though and a bain marie may be a viable alternative.

Good luck and keep up the good work:

Rgds,
FB

[welsh wizard]

Thanks FB.

The most frustrating things are / have been:

1) set up costs are double what I expected to pay

2) printing charges are very expensive

3) distribuition is a nightmare (got an order for 120 game pies a week from London but cant get them there and still remain compedative)

4) people want top quality for no money

5) outside catering customers expect to pay no more than what it costs them to cook at home

6) sell by dates on fresh foods are always too short for the deli's

7) The only trading day I took off since March was the best day the market had!

I need help!

On the up side:

1) Its a rat race - but its my rat race

2) I enjoy what I do even though I work twice as hard for half as much

3) the people I deal with in the main are good eggs

4) I decide what I do and what I dont (not that I refuse much)

5) I can start and finish when I choose.

I am totally surprised by the amount of work that is out there and how generous people have been. I cant say I wish I had done it years ago because I had to get the mortgage paid off but I am pleased I didnt leave it any longer due to the nature of the job i'm knackered!

cheers WW

[Lance Yeoh]

WW,
Feels great being your own boss huh? I'm enjoying every moment of it.

Here's some pics of some sausages I made last week.

Cajun Style Andouille (pork)


bratwurst (pork)


Christmas sausages (Poultry)

[lemonD]

Lance,
When your doing 50KG do you still mix by hand?