Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant!

When the owner of an award-winning Fish and Chip shop

says that he wants a Gluten Free sausage which tastes like a sausage

should you have to sit up and take notice?

Scott Drew of David’s Fish and Chips in Brixham in Devon met Ivan Bond, Sales and Marketing Manager of McWhinneys Sausages at a trade show in Exeter in the early part of 2020. He explained that he was a fan of McWhinneys Premium sausages, but he had been diagnosed as being Coeliac some five years before and had to face regular torture of frying the sausages he once loved, but was now unable to eat them.

He was delighted to discover that McWhinneys were now producing a Gluten Free sausage and he was keen to sample the sausage as soon as possible.

Unfortunately, a few weeks later the Covid 19 pandemic struck and that changed how business would be done for the remainder of the year.

McWhinneys had to shelve the production of Gluten Free sausages for a time, but in the late summer they were able to resume production of Gluten Free sausages. Scott contacted Ivan again and was delighted when he was finally able to supply him with a sample box of McWhinneys Gluten Free sausages. When he sampled the sausages, he was amazed by the high quality of the sausages. It was just like the McWhinneys Premium sausages which he had enjoyed so much in the past. He was so impressed with the sausage that he felt he had to send an email to Ivan telling him how good the sausages tasted, he opened that email with the words “Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant’.

Scott has now added McWhinneys Gluten Free sausages to the regular Gluten Free menu that his customers love.

He told us that Gluten Free is a vitally important part of his shop’s offering as they are able to supply meals for every member of a family even if one or more family members are gluten intolerant.

Scott is someone who speaks with authority of the subject of gluten intolerance. Not only is he a sufferer himself, but his shop has specialised in supplying gluten free products for the past eight years. They have been so successful that in they won a Gold awards in 2016, 2017 and 2018 as well as Crème de la Creme awards in 2017 and 2018 from FreeFrom Eating Out Awards for companies which specialise in providing food for customers with special dietary needs. The awards, which are run by FoodsMatter, recognise excellence in allergen aware, ‘free from’ catering in the food service sector, from beach hut cafés to five-star restaurants, from independent businesses to nationwide chains.

‘FreeFrom’ food - food free of gluten, wheat, dairy, soya, nuts and other allergens - has become seriously big business. In December 2014, new regulations came into force requiring all food industry outlets not only to have information about any of the major allergens in their food, but to be able to convey that information to their customers