Speciality Food Magazine - May 2025

lazily over ripe juicy slivers of melon is simplicity itself. Or you could (as many are) go to town, creating a dizzyingly complex display of salami roses, and fruit rainbows to wow guests. There is a clincher, though. If you want to make an impression, those curedmeats – the centrepieces, if you will – need to be of the best quality. And this is where speciality retail comes in. What’s trending on the grazing board? The art of salting and curing is centuries old but continually innovating as consumer tastes change. An important, and underestimated part, of the recent British charcuterie boom is snacking salamis, which fit in perfectly with growing consumer preference for high- protein, meaty treats. James Smart, founder of The Real Cure, produces Venison Beer Sticks and Beef Snacking Salami alongside his range of British charcuterie – all made with sustainable, ethically sourcedmeat. These products are taking off ‘big time’, he says. “We tested the water a number of years ago with our Wild Venison Beer Sticks smoked over oak. They were incredibly popular, so we decided to do a 100% beef version, and we’ve just brought in a new black truffle pork snacking salami. They’re all ambient, and we’re finding they’re some of the most popular things we make now.” There’s a big consumer base for these products, James adds. “They sell really well and re-order rates are really high. When you think that they’re only £5 for a pack of five, that’s an easy sell to the consumer.” Could 2025 also be the year of terrines and rillettes? Dylan Fourie, deli manager at Macknade, certainly thinks so. Considered a bit of an underdog inmost counters, these French style offerings seem to be experiencing a renaissance, particularly amongst younger shoppers keen to widen their palates and experiment further on their charcuterie boards. “Customers are trying these things on holiday and coming in to buy them fromus,” Dylan says, adding that they have a small line of products including pork rillettes, duck rillettes and a couple of pâtés, selling an incredible 4-6kg of rillettes every couple of days. “The key thing with pâtés is to get people to taste themwith the things they go best with – don’t just give them a bit on a spoon. Show them options! “Put pâtés or rillettes with a bit of crusty bread, or a cornichon to show how to eat the product. That tasting element is what really sells these things.” Sticking to a few staples in this category will stand you in good stead, Dylan says. “We like to push the boundaries on the deli and to explore new things, but traditional recipes and styles have their place because they work.” The Italian essentials Every counter should include a flavour of Italy, because it’s what customers know and expect, Dylan continues. “The Italians have a very authentic and simple way of curing meat. You knowwhat you’re getting, and it’s preservative-free to a great extent,” Dylan says. “That’s why we like it so much.” With such a wide range of producers to choose from, how do you knowwhat you’re buying is the good stuff? There are a few things to consider. Parma ham, Dylan says, for example, must be San Daniele, and his preference is 18 to 24-months. “We find that’s an exceptional product with a good balance of flavours. It’s not overly salty or sweet and displays beautifully as well.” @specialityfood 18 W hen it comes to solving the age-old question, ‘what’s for dinner?’, the deli counter can, with certainty, come to the rescue. In fact, fromhunky chunks of artisan cheese, to freshly prepared salad pots and golden sausage rolls, there’s no occasion the deli can’t cater to. Picnics in a hurry, say. Or sides for the barbecue. Where the deli really comes into its own is in the warmer months, when everyone’s bursting to get outside for a spot of al fresco eating. And it’s the grazing board or charcuterie platter that continues to capture the imagination of food lovers across the world. A spread of charcuterie can be as easy or ostentatious as you like. A few slices of silky Parma hamdraped The quintessential, must-have Italian salamis, he continues, are Napoli andMilano – ideally in natural casings. You could have 40 salamis in the counter, Dylan adds, but these two are the ones customers are naturally drawn to. “Another great one is finocchiona with fennel. It looks beautiful on the counter and time and time again people come back to try ‘the fennel one’ – it’s not an easy one to say. Then you’ve got Milano (which is quite simple), Napoli (with hints of pepper) and a fennel salami – three great all- rounders.” A taste of France We’ve already established that pâtés and rillettes (largely fromFrance) are striking a chord with customers, but what else does the French larder bring to the table? The answer is plenty, says a spokesperson for FICT (French Charcuterie and Deli Companies). “Preserving, fermenting and curing are such buzzwords,” says FICT. “We know from our research that lots of people are enjoying charcuterie boards and sharing boards over a glass of wine.” FICT’s raison d’etre is to put the best of the best French charcuterie front and centre of those moments. “A lot of skill and very traditional processes go into French charcuterie. Andmany products have PGI and PDO labelling – we know that’s important for traders and customers,” FICT continues. Excellent charcuterie is a must for any deli counter. But which varieties are striking a chord with consumers? We ask the experts THE SLICE IS RIGHT DYLAN FOURIE MACKNADE JAMES SMART THE REAL CURE JESUS LLAMAZARES LOS ORIGENES COMMENTATORS RETAILER TIPS ● Think volume, volume, volume. You want the counter to look abundant without being too messy. If you can get in three legs of ham at a time, do it. A full counter looks phenomenal ● Keep the front end of each product neat and tidy throughout the day. Take each ham out and slice from the front if you start to see a dull colour ● Display your ham fat side down – when its trimmed sometimes it doesn’t look so nice. And stagger them in the counter, using wooden supports to raise them up to create nice tiers ● Slicing in advance, we find, doesn’t work at all. Slicing to order means the meat is kept in its best condition up to the last minute Dylan Fourie, deli manager at Macknade, shares his advice for displaying and serving charcuterie ● Remove the outer casing when slicing salami – nobody wants that stuck in their teeth! ● Use sheet layering to separate sliced meats. At the moment we’re trialling paper to see how it works and it’s going well ● Hang your salamis if you can. They all come with a string and you simply need to use banana hooks to display them. Visually it’s very impactful ● Don’t throw away the bones. When we get close to the knuckle or when we have uneven pieces, we cut them up into small portions and put them on the counter at 50% off. People use them to make stocks and stews. We do the same for the ends of salamis. It ensures everything gets used French delicacies FICT thinks British speciality shops should be stocking include dry-cured ham and salamis, sausages (including andouille, andouillette, boudin blanc and boudin noir), rillettes and pâtés. Saucisson is a key anchor point in any deli stocking French charcuterie, FICT says. “It’s the product people know and feel comfortable with. Buying an excellent saucisson will give them confidence to try other things.” Consumers here are ready though, they add, for something new to the market. “To sell these products, retailers need to lean into the traditions behind them. Tradition is what customers value and alongside labels such as PGI or Label Rouge, is an important factor in their purchasing decisions.” More than chorizo Just as Spanish cheese is often shoehorned to meanManchego, few consumers knowmore about Spanish charcuterie than the Serrano ham or chorizo they find in their local supermarket. And they’re missing a trick, says Jesus Llamazares, founder of specialist Spanish deli, Los OrigenES. The king of Spanish charcuterie has to be Jamon Iberico – a very special product indeed. The process to make Iberico hamhas been trialled in the UK, but it’s not just the acorns or the grazing land or the climate that makes this charcuterie so revered around the world – it’s the place