I'm Dave
Who are we?
I'm Dave, owner of The Charcuterie at Parsonage Farm. I'm not just a big foody, food is my passion. It's my life, my hobby and my career.
I am an experienced chef, having trained at Le Manoir au Quat Saisons in Oxfordshire under Raymond Blanc for eight years, and now have the privilege to serve my own food at my restaurant The Crown Inn in Upton, Hampshire.
I am always looking for different ways to share my passion and demonstrate how great British food really is. So when the opportunity came along to continue the fantastic charcuterie business that our neighbours Sarah and John had set up at Parsonage Farm, I couldn't have been more excited.
Where would we be without...
Values
Creating great products means sourcing and using the best quality ingredients we can find. We believe that animal welfare comes first and there is no doubt in our minds that well cared for and organically reared animals make all the difference.
We go out of our way to find the best suppliers, and have been known to drive for miles to get the perfect produce, but we source locally where we can.
With the very best of ingredients sourced, we begin production. We use the same artisanal methods as have been used for centuries in Northern Italy, where previous owners John and Sarah originally learned their craft directly from 'maestri'. The same skills, techniques, recipes and passion remain at the forefront of our production today.
If that wasn't enough we have the unique ability to run a 'zero waste' operation. All parts of the animal that in a larger operation would be discarded are used in our restaurant at The Crown Inn to create everything from stocks to scratchings.
Friends mean everything to us
Even though, for now, we don't farm our own pigs, we buy animals that we know have been reared with the passion, care and welfare that one would expect from a traditional small holding - such as from our friends at Yellowdoor Cottage, Shurton and at Oaktrack Farm, Charlton Down.
Lots of our other great producer friends help with some of the additional flavours that go into our cured meats.
We're always interested in sourcing quality local produce, so if you're local and think you have something that might excite us, drop us a line.
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our way
without giving away our secrets...
Like all good producers we have our secret recipes and whilst we stick to the staples, our flavours and range are evolving.
We do as much as we can by hand as this allows us to monitor every stage of the process and ensures that we get the best flavours every time.
