LIKE proud parents, Dacre-based Saddleback Foods & Smokerie partners Jane Farkins and Mark Atkinson have been delighted to see their baby' grow.

In fact, it's positively bouncing, so much so that Jane and Mark have already set their sights on expansion.

Foodies among them an extremely strong following in the south of the county - can tuck into a exciting range of products including beef, lamb and venison pastrami, for example, hot and cold smoked salmon and trout, delicious duck and Saddleback's special sweet cured goose breast, all prepared in a converted farmstead in the shadow of Blencathra (hence Saddleback', as it's known among the locals).

But from June this year, a move to purpose-built premises on the Atkinson family farm at Scratchmere Scar, at Plumpton, near Penrith, will open up a whole new world of culinary possibilities for this enterprising twosome.

Thirty-two years old Jane and 34 years old Mark have been together for 14 years. They met "over a pint or two" and decided fairly early on in their relationship that they wanted to work together and they wanted to "do something different".

Mark's background was farming, Jane's catering - she moved to Tirril from Garstang at the age of 11 when dad Alan became restaurant manager at Sharrow Bay on the shores of Ullswater.

Mark was having doubts about going into farming; Jane, meanwhile, began training for occupational therapy but realised part way through her studies that the job wasn't for her.

Then the couple heard that Jennings brewery was on the lookout for tenants for some of its hostelries.

In their new roles as licensees, Jane and Mark "saw the world" well, Lancashire and Cumbria at least. But their hearts were really set on staying nearer home. The Vaux brewery's Queen's Head, at Askham, was their last port of call, Jane ultimately gravitating towards the kitchen, Mark more front of house.

But when Pubmaster bought out Vaux and with the prospect of a rent review - the brewery wouldn't sell - Jane and Mark decided the time was right to set up on their own. Their problem was in what sort of business to establish.

"We weren't really sure what we wanted to do," said Jane.

However, she and Mark were impressed by the success of food smokers in Cumbria and felt they could really make a go of this particular line of work. Suitable premises were located at Aldby Farm, near Dacre, and in February 2000, Saddleback Foods & Smokerie was born.

However, as I have written so many times before in these columns, foot-and-mouth wreaked havoc far beyond the farming community.

"It hit us bad," said Jane, whose hotel and restaurant customers cut back on supplies of Saddleback foods as the tourists disappeared.

Matters were made all the worse because by this time Jane and Mark had also acquired a shop Wine and Dine, in the Devonshire Arcade, in Penrith selling locally-produced food as well as their own Saddleback range.

The good' that came out of foot-and-mouth and quite a bit did - was that it helped Jane and Mark "reassess" themselves. And, having taken a long, hard look at where the business was going, and with some especially welcome financial support from the Rural Recovery Fund, they decided to try to concentrate more on wholesale, to join Made in Cumbria Foods, to attend at least a couple of shows and trade fairs a year, and to increase floor space at the Penrith shop.

In June, the final piece of the jigsaw will be the move to Plumpton and the purpose-built licensed meat cutting premises and the new curing room.

"We feel we are going in the right direction now," said Jane. She and Mark hope to employ a couple of butchers in the cutting room, but they'll be learning the trade themselves too.

"We believe in being hands on."

Since Saddleback Foods was launched, Jane and Mark have spent exhaustive hours researching their products and fine-tuning the secret spice and herb-packed brine in which the food is marinated prior to smoking over a blend of oak, fruitwood and hops from the Tirril brewery.

Saddleback also smokes for several Cumbrian wholesalers not to mention the odd local fisherman who might call in with his catch.

"We are always ready to try something new so if it's not on our list people should just give us a ring," said Jane.

You can call Saddleback Foods & Smokerie on 017684-80100 or e-mail enquiries to enquiries@saddlebackfoods.co.uk

Saddleback Foods are available throughout the county including The Honeypot at Hawkshead; Lucy's and A Taste of Lakeland, both Ambleside; Plumgarths near Kendal; and at the new Westmorland Services farm shops on the M6 northbound and southbound.

April 10, 2003 11:00