My food & drink job: Sam Ward, head of production, Northern Pasta Co

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Sam Ward Northern Pasta Co

Name: Sam Ward

Age: 29

Job title: Head of production

Company & location: Northern Pasta Co, Kendal Cumbria

Education: Photography at University of Cumbria

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? As a boy, like most others I wanted to become a footballer or a Formula 1 driver, but realistically I always wanted to follow in the footsteps of my dad who was a police officer for 30-plus years.

Why did you decide to go for a career in food & drink? Having worked high-stress office based roles for a number of years, I wanted, and needed, to do something different and definitely get away from staring at a screen for eight hours a day.

I’ve always been a foodie and a big champion of local food, having ran an Instagram account as a hobby exploring places to eat around the Lakes. I never really thought about a career in the industry until hearing about an opening at Northern Pasta Co. I’d followed [founders] Matt and Imy’s previous venture Dine In The Lakes so was very aware of the exciting rise of a small business making regenerative spelt pasta using traditional methods, just five minutes from where I lived!

I knew as soon as I met Imy and Matt that this was something I just had to be a part of.

“My mum and dad ask for bags of pasta to pass on to friends, proudly saying it’s made by me”

Explain your job to us in a sentence (or two): In a nutshell, my job is to make pasta. Italians would call me a pastaio. A lot of the work at the moment is quite manual so I have to make sure the spelt mix is perfect and each pasta shape is extruding correctly. I also make sure that the team is working to the highest standards and that each bag we stitch shut is the absolute best.

What does a typical day look like for you? My days starts at around 7.30. And in order to make the current maximum amount of around 1000 bags of pasta in a day, there’s no messing around – mix number one starts in the extruder. Each batch of spelt has different qualities, the moisture and protein content dictate how much water I need to add and how long to mix for.

As the pasta is extruded, we layer it on to wooden looms and load the stacks of these looms into the dryer. Once each dryer is filled, they run for around 16 hours, slow drying overnight – the authentic Italian way. We’ll get them out in the morning.

Come mid-afternoon, we start prepping for tomorrow’s production. This involves cleaning down the extruder ready for another 1,000 bags. Today’s pasta will dry through the night and will be bagged and stitched tomorrow.

Northern Pasta Co. (2)

Tell us how you went about applying for your job: I actually spotted the job vacancy on Instagram and reached out straight away. I met Matt and Imy at the production unit a week later for a chat and a bit of a tour. It didn’t feel like a typical interview and realised at that moment that Matt and Imy didn’t want to follow the patterns of big business and I felt at ease straight away. I later came back for a trial shift, helping Matt make a batch of pasta.

I can’t think of any particularly tough questions. I suppose as I was technically employee no1, it was a vibe check as much as an interview. Like many small startups, there is a lot of learning as we go for both myself and Matt and Imy, but I know I’m in the right place and I think we are a great growing team.

What’s the best part about working for a food & drink company? I would say the unlimited pasta. But honestly, it’s a very satisfactory job producing a product that is made with such care and quality, and all in my hometown. When my mum and dad ask for bags of pasta to pass on to friends, proudly saying it’s made by me, the early mornings and long hours suddenly feel like a fair trade.

And what’s the biggest misconception people have about working in food & drink? I think a lot people may picture huge clinical factories with workers in a line sticking Jammie Dodgers together. But it’s not at all like that. Don’t get me wrong, there is a huge variety of food producers in the country, working at different scales. But in my experience, it’s an extremely exciting industry to be a part of right now.

People are changing the way they eat and what they put in their bodies. The demand for high-quality ingredients with a clear path from farm to table is evident right now. Businesses like Northern Pasta Co is where the food production industry is headed.

What advice would you give to other young people looking to get into the food & drink industry? It’s so rewarding to create a great product, so if you’re passionate about that, jump in. This job has allowed me to go to places I’ve never been and do things I never would have had the chance to. My background isn’t in the industry but my skills have transferred and I’ve picked up so many more.

What’s your ultimate career dream? I’m not particularly a long-term thinker or planner. Right now there’s an extremely exciting path ahead with Northern Pasta Co with a lot of big changes coming. If my career dream is to be happy where I am and proud of what I do, I’ve achieved it already.