With international travel off the cards for the foreseeable future, one catering company has come up with the perfect way to help the people of Suffolk enjoy a taste of Texas from the comfort of their homes.

Husband-and-wife duo Francesca and Tim Cresswell, along with business partner Steve Culham, established The Suffolk Smoke Company earlier this year, with the aim of showing people the joys of authentically smoked food.

“Our Suffolk smoked box came about thanks to the third lockdown, and we’ve been working on it for a couple of months now, with the launch night on Saturday February 13,” explains Francesca.

“My husband Tim is a massive food smoker – he’s been doing it for years now and absolutely adores it. We love everything American, especially anything Texas-style, so we just want to share our love of all things smoked with the public. We hope they enjoy it as much as we do.”

East Anglian Daily Times: Hadleigh butchers The Jolly Meat Company has come up with an exclusive, bourbon-infused sausage especially for the boxHadleigh butchers The Jolly Meat Company has come up with an exclusive, bourbon-infused sausage especially for the box (Image: The Suffolk Smoke Company)

Steve has been in the catering industry for over two decades, while Tim has been perfecting the art of smoking for around 10 years. He relies on charcoal and a variety of woods to help give his meats that full, robust flavour. The entire process takes around 10 hours per batch.

“At the moment, he’s using applewood – but using different woods will give whatever you’re smoking a slightly different flavour.”

So what comes in the Suffolk smoke box?

“At the moment, it’s got our Suffolk Smoked Company sausage in it, which is made by the Jolly Meat Company in Hadleigh. We’ve worked closely with the butchers there to produce a sausage which is exclusive to us, which has bourbon in it. It’s got a kick to it, and is lovely and fruity. The box also comes with a half chicken which comes coated in our secret spice rub, and BBQ pulled pork.”

A number of sides also available, including bread rolls, coleslaw, cowboy beans, macaroni and cheese, and a dessert of the month which is currently brownies.

East Anglian Daily Times: Freshly-baked brownies are included in the boxFreshly-baked brownies are included in the box (Image: The Suffolk Smoke Company)

“Everything is made from scratch, and is as local and fresh as we can get it,” Francesca adds.

“Once it’s been delivered, simply pop it in the oven and it’s good to go. The chicken takes around 45 minutes, and everything else about half an hour.”

The trio, who are based on the Suffolk-Essex border, hope to soon expand their offering by selling smoked butters and ribs – and are looking into investing in a food truck.

“Smoked food isn’t something that everyone’s had before – there's BBQ food and there’s smoked food, and they’re quite different. Before I got with my husband, I’d never really had it before.”

The Suffolk smoke box costs £35, and orders should be placed by Wednesday for delivery that following weekend.

Delivery is available to a number of Suffolk towns and villages including Sproughton, Bramford, Claydon, Needham Market, and Stafford St Mary. Orders can also be delivered across north Essex as far afield as Wivenhoe, Manningtree, Ardleigh and Eight Ash Green.

Orders can be placed via the Facebook page or by emailing thesuffolksmokeco@gmail.com