Pâté maker wins regional funding for expansion

30-Oct-2017 - Last updated on 31-Oct-2017 at 12:29 GMT

Original Recipes’ pâtés and terrines are based on traditional family recipes

Chesterfield-based food specialist Original Recipes, which makes a range of pâtés and terrines, is aiming to treble its production capacity after securing a £25,000 investment from the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF) to fund its expansion.

After securing a number of large orders for its new products from the professional catering sector, Original Recipes approached Finance For Enterprise (FFE), to help purchase additional new equipment. FFE acts as a joint fund manager with The Business Enterprise Fund (BEF) for the NPIF.

Since securing a NPIF loan, the business has invested in new kitchen equipment, enabling production capacity to increase from just over 1,000 terrines a week to more than 3,300.

The funding has also been used to safeguard two jobs within the business, and two new jobs are due to be added to the company’s workforce over the next six months.

Father and son team

Father and son team Alistair and Will Sutherland founded Original Recipes in 2012, drawing upon secret formulas first produced by Alistair’s grandmother in the 1920s. Over the past five years, the pair decided to call upon their long family association with the foodservice sector, pioneering a new range of terrines aimed specifically at the professional catering sector.

At the same time, Original Recipes has also invested in developing a number of new recipes that have been added to its range, including Pulled Pork with Honey and Spices, Confit of Duck and Fig as well as a vegetarian range featuring Mushroom, Port and Stilton and Spicy Pimento Cheese – all of which are made by hand using traditional production methods.

The funds, provided by NPIF – Business Enterprise Fund (BEF) and FFE Microfinance, have enabled the company to fulfil orders with a growing number of sports stadia and event management businesses including the Royal Armouries, Hull Kingston Rovers and Derby County FC, as well as securing regular orders from pubs and restaurants across the UK.

“Since launching the business in 2012, we explored a number of different routes to market, and realised that while pâtés and terrines are always a popular choice whenever they appear on the menu, they can be complicated and costly for professional chefs to produce,” said Alistair Sutherland, Original Recipes’ md.

“Terrines take specialist knowledge and lots of time to perfect, which can often be incompatible with the demands of catering for large events.

‘Made the traditional way’

“All of our products are made the traditional way, by hand, and the additional facilities have meant we’ve not only been able to meet demand, but it has also allowed us invest in additional new products which are also proving to be extremely popular with our client base.”

David Lee, investment manager at FFE, added: “As a not-for-profit organisation, FFE works closely with business owners to help them choose the right form of funding to meet their needs. We worked with Original Recipes to help them access the NPIF, which was created with businesses like Original Recipes in mind, who require short-term investment to unlock the true potential of their business.”

The NPIF project is supported financially by the EU using funding from the European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014–2020 and the European Investment Bank.

As part of the BEF scheme, loans worth up to £150,000 are available and can be accessed by businesses from all sectors.