Croots Farm Shop's sausages hailed as "a stunning array of sausage perfection" by the Sausage King
Published On Saturday 21 Feb 2015 by Sticky Beak
See Recent News Articles
Expert sausage taster the Sausage King has described the bangers produced at Croots Farm Shop in Derbyshire as “a stunning array of sausage perfection”.
Stephen Plume, who runs a website dedicated to sausages, is one of the UK’s leading sausage experts and has been dubbed the Sausage King for his efforts to promote tasty British bangers.
He visited Croots Farm Shop near Duffield in Derbyshire as part of an on-going pledge to visit some of the nation’s finest sausage producers.
A teacher by profession, Stephen has undertaken the challenge of dropping in on as many of the high-quality butchers listed on his sausagefans.co.uk website as he can.
During his visit to Croots at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, he had a go at making sausages, learnt more about how the butchers develop and create the range of award-winning bangers, and gave his verdict after the all-important taste test.
“You have an eclectic mix that’s really well made and tastes great,” he told owner Steve Croot.
During his visit he tried a number of different sausages, including the Ecclesbourne County Classic, designed by year 10 students at Ecclesbourne School as part of the food technology course, which he described as ‘really good. A lovely balance of flavours’; the wild mushroom sausage, which he hailed as ‘awesome’; the lamb and mint sausage, which he said was ‘absolutely superb’ and the chorizo sausage, which he loved.
“It’s hard to come up with a winner,” said Stephen, who is based in East Anglia. “It’s a stunning array of sausage perfection.”
Steve Croot, who opened the shop in 2008, said: “Stephen is a real expert on sausages, so we were delighted to host a visit from him and even more chuffed when we heard how much he rated our sausages. As a big fan of sausages myself, it was great to talk over ideas for new sausage flavours and between us we hit on one which we’ll have a look at developing and will send to the Sausage King to try.”
Croots Farm Shop, based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, has won scores of awards for its home-produced sausages, including Great Taste Awards, which are the ‘oscars’ of the fine food industry. The farm shop is renowned for creating unusual and original flavours, as well as more traditional bangers. Croots’ butchers enjoy creating new sausages to mark occasions, such as the Olympics or the World Cup, with a percentage of sales going to charity.
The pork used in Croots sausages comes from Packington Free Range Pork, in Staffordshire, while the beef hails from R & M Heath (Richard & Margaret) at Hazelwood Hall Farm, Hazelwood, Derbyshire.
The shop employs three full-time butchers and two assistant part-time butchers, as part of a 28-strong workforce employed in the shop and the restaurant, Shires Eatery.
Launched in 2008, Croots Farm Shop is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm) and on Sundays from 10am to 4pm. Croots runs Fresh Fish Thursdays between 10am and 4pm on Thursdays.
For more information visit www.croots.co.uk
| BEAR's Festive Menu Has Landed With All the Best Bits of Christmas Dinner, with a Twist BEAR is flipping the traditional Christmas dinner on its head with a brand-new festive Small Plates menu that lets you ditch the boring bits Read The Article | |
| Triple Win For Longbow Venues At The 2025 Westside Bar And Restaurant Awards Independent Peak District hospitality group Longbow Venues has celebrated a remarkable night of success at the 2025 Westside & Southside Read The Article | |
| Harts Hotel & Kitchen in Nottingham Wins Prestigious Good Hotel Guide Cesar Award 2026 Harts Hotel & Kitchen is thrilled to announce that it has been awarded a Csar Award 2026 by the Good Hotel Guide, often described Read The Article | |
| Cubana celebrates 25 years at the heart of Sheffield nightlife One of regions best-loved independent venues is celebrating a remarkable milestone this autumn. Life could have been different for Leopold Squares Cubana which celebrates Read The Article | |
| Sheffields newest concept bar set to blend Barbados sun with industrial cool A lush slice of the Caribbean is arriving in Kelham Island at the end of this month as the citys first ever Caribbean Garden Bar opens its doors. With a £500,000 investment, Read The Article | |
| Meet The Derby Restaurant Playing Cupid This November Romance is on the menu at one of Derbys most stylish restaurants, where a Breeze partnership is transforming weekends into First Dates moments. Nicco Restaurant Read The Article | |
| Luke Evans Bakery Unveils Fresh New Look One of the oldest family bakers in the East Midlands has unveiled new updated branding and livery to reflect its heritage and quality. Derbyshire-based Luke Evans Bakery has also Read The Article | |
| Derbys Cathedral Quarter Hotel opens its doors this Christmas to help tackle loneliness in the city A Derby hotel is staying open this Christmas so people feeling lonely over the festive season can book a break and find new friends. Read The Article | |
| The Bakewell Tart Shop celebrates third consecutive Tripadvisor Travellers Choice Award The Bakewell Tart Shop has once again been recognised among the top 10% of restaurants worldwide, after being awarded Tripadvisors Travellers Read The Article | |
| The Ashford Arms Named In The Top 1% Of Restaurants Worldwide By Tripadvisor The Ashford Arms - a historic 17th-century country inn with rooms in Ashford-in-the-Water, near Bakewell in the Peak District - has been Read The Article | |