There are lots of UK producers of chutneys and cheeses and sausages, but very few who produce air-dried salamis and hams. We eat them when we go abroad, but struggle to get proper ones that aren't factory-processed in this country. Yet the taste is as different as a good piece of cooked ham is from a vacuum-packed product. After researching air-drying techniques and making a few batches, we started trading at the end of February last year. Modern technology means it is no longer necessary to have a Mediterranean climate for outside drying. Using lean leg of pork from a farm 25 miles away, we add back fat or olives, freshly ground herbs and spices to the salamis and leave them for a month to dry in a special unit. We make three different sizes of salami under the Deli Farm brand. They are used for canapés, cut into chunks for cooking, put on pizzas or in casseroles or served with pasta. Our Coppa air-dried ham has just won champion product in the Taste of the West awards, having won best new product last year just five months after we started. This year we won three golds, four silvers and a bronze, and Italians who have tried our products refuse to believe how we make them. At the start, our biggest outlet was Truro farmers' market every Saturday, but as people found out about us we had approaches from farm shops and delis. By the end of the first summer we were too busy to go to the market. Now, we process about 140kg of meat a week and hope to convert a farmhouse here to provide enough air-drying space to double production. We don't want to go into big supermarkets or offer own label because that could take away the uniqueness of the product, but we would like to expand the range and I would love to sell to Harrods or Fortnum & Mason. We are still small, having started up with the help of grant funding from Business Link in the South West, but we still only employ one full-time and one part-time member of staff. Turnover in the first 12 months was just over £20,000 from nothing, and we are on target for £60,000 this year. NPD is one of the most exciting parts of the job, and we are considering doing something quite different, such as pheasant salami and air-dried lamb. Maybe one day we will be selling to the Italians.

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