I HAVE lived and worked in and around Felixstowe all my life.

After 20 years of working as a butcher for other employers, the opportunity came along for me to set up my own business and The Real Sausage Company was born. We opened the doors for business to The Sausage Shop back on October 12, 2002. When I initially started out I only specialized in making and selling top quality sausages and burgers but with the increase in turnover and customer demand, we have now expanded our range to include a full butchery service.

Our aim has always been to provide the customer with the best quality meat and produce that is locally sourced yet continuing to offer excellent value for money, along with superb customer service. With regards our beef we use suppliers in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk and Norfolk. I look for the carcases to have been hung for at least three weeks, to have a nice firmness to the touch and a good rich colour. This improves the depth of flavour in the beef making it stand out from the cheaper generic “roasting joints” and “frying steaks” sold at the supermarkets.

The beef we sell has a better texture and flavour and this is reflected in the demand for our beef products which over the last 10 years has gone from strength to strength.

Recommendations and word of mouth are the best adverts that we can have because the quality of our beef speaks for itself. When making our burgers, minced steak or braising steak, we only use the top rump ends of the cow. The top rump is tenderer and has a naturally lower fat content but we also remove any excess fat. This has proved to be a very popular healthier product for customers who are more conscious of the benefits of a low fat diet. And despite the whole debate surrounding red meat and its associated health issues, this has not affected our sales of beef in fact they have increased.

I firmly believe that this is due to the quality of the beef that we sell and the fact that I have an excellent team of dedicated workers in place.

As the start of Great British Beef week draws near, we anticipate selling even more beef then ever. Especially with the recent good weather, burger season seems to have come early this year. We do make all our burgers on site and during the height of the BBQ season can sell in excess of 500 burgers a week.

Beef is such a versatile meat, whether you need strips of steak for a stir-fry or fajitas or minced steak for a chili or cottage pie or just a nice piece of topside, we will always prepare it just how the customer wants it and at no extra charge to them. This personal touch does go a long way and can save a lot of time for the busy lives that many of us lead today.

Looking ahead to our 10th anniversary later this year, my business partner, Dave, and I are hoping to extend the shop in the next few months to cope with the increased demand and to take us forward through the next 10 years