One of the region’s longest-established butchers, Alderson’s, of Cockerton, Darlington, launched a competition to find a new flavour as part of UK Sausage Week. The contest attracted more than 80 entries, with Nigel Alderson, the third generation of his family to run the business, choosing a Margherita Pizza Sausage as the winner to go into production. The flavour, thought to be a world-first, was suggested by Gemma Hayward, from the award-winning Stable Hearth restaurant, in Darlington town centre.
Stable Hearth, in Duke Street, was recently named Best Pizzeria in England for the fifth time in a row at the Italian Awards in Leeds, and Nigel was inspired by the success of a fellow Darlington food business. “We had a phenomenal response to the competition, but I really liked the idea of a Margherita Pizza Sausage, because it was something different, the flavours worked, and it was a chance to recognise the national success of a local restaurant,” he said. The new pork sausage was created by replacing its water content with Passata to give it a tomato flavour, with basil and mozzarella added.
It has already proved to be a big hit with customers, and the Mayor and Mayoress of Darlington, Councillor Bob and Margaret Donoghue, were among the first to give it a try. The Mayor of Darlington, Councillor Bob Donoghue, tastes the winning sausage (Image: Chris Barron) “In my book, local butchers provide better service and produce than supermarkets, and the competition was a gr.