Out on the Lashfords

"Never meet your heroes," my brother says to me as we rendezvous in the Kings Norton car park of Lashford & Son, ready to meet sausage company owner, Darren Lashford. If it sounds tongue-in-cheek, that's because you haven't met my brother. This is the second interview he's tagged along for, the first being 24 years ago when we sat down with the manager of our beloved Nottingham Forest. I guarantee he's more excited about this.

Darren, 28, is the fifth generation heir to the sausage and faggot institution, A.W.Lashford & Sons, and he might be the nicest man that's ever graced the pages of ICB. Humble, kind; he seems to cut his answers short at times, as if concerned he's boring us. God, no. We're 100% in. The Brummie banger makers have operated through two world wars, 30 prime ministers and five monarchs, so when they talk, we listen.

The history of Lashfords is housed in one of those clear-sleeve folders with black and white photographs, newspaper clippings, awards and certificates spanning almost a century and a half. "That's the first 140 years," says Darren, handing it to us, the inference that there will be another 140 years lingering deliciously about his understated office. My brother looks at it like it's the Sports Almanac from Back To The Future and I can see the appeal. It's a jumbled compendium of the company's past, brilliantly Brummie in its execution. A letter from Clarence House, from the Queen Mother no less, thanking Darren's Dad (above) for the sausages he provided in 1981, sits opposite a mid-90s Birmingham Mail clipping of Zoe Ball posing awkwardly with a snag. There are letters from Downing Street and Buckingham Palace thanking the Lashfords for the sausages. This company has also, on and off, provided the Houses of Parliament with faggots throughout the years, but they see themselves, and always have, as Brummies.

"I couldn't be prouder to be a Birmingham brand," says Darren, the accent firming up his statement. "This is where we belong. It's our home." Having been farmers in the local area, the Lashfords set up their first butchery in 1889 when Albert and William Lashford (William being Darren's Great Great Grandfather) set up in Kings Heath (above), where Poplar Road meets the High Street. Back then it had its own slaughterhouse out the back, but these days it's an estate agents. So not dissimilar.

Albert and William knew exactly how good the local meat was and they wanted to share their skills and knowledge with the growing urban population. In 1916, Alfred Lashford (pictured, above right), Darren's Great Grandfather, joined the company to assist with increasing demand during the First World War. At this time, a pound of their finest only cost four pence. They even delivered food to your door (below); the original Ocado.

It was during the interwar years that AW Lashford ventured into making faggots. In 1939 John Lashford, Darren's Grandad, (the littlest on the horse — below) at only eight years of age worked with his mom, Grace, to create the secret family recipe still in operation today. "The recipe is locked in a briefcase, with a load of other recipes, somewhere at my Dad's place," says Darren, with a wry smile. I don't think he's joking.

In the post war years, John began to explore the sausage market, producing a wider and more experimental type of sausage, and moved from the birthplace of the business in Kings Heath to Knowle, in 1965. ​ Darren's Dad, Stephen Lashford, the fourth generation of the family to join, started to push for awards. "In 1980 we entered our first competition," says Darren. "We finished first, second and fourth." You wonder if third place was awarded as a sympathy vote. Not long after, the company moved back to Brum, this time Kings Norton...

... Where Darren's sat in his office, surrounded by computers, printers and framed certificates. But he's in his butchers whites. Talking to us means his team, who hand make 80% of their sausages, are a man down — Darren insisting he remains part of the production line —  but, at 10am, it's okay because most of them are almost done for the day. The first team member opens the shutters at 1am and starts making. The rest drift in at steady intervals, Darren himself coming in at 3am. Why? "We need to make sure the end user gets the maximum shelf life from the product. They go out as fresh as is humanly possible." It's the start of the day for most of Brum, but 28,000 sausages have already left Kings Norton and, brilliantly, plenty of them have already been served for breakfast at hotels across Warwickshire.

I ask Darren how he feels about mass produced supermarket sausages selling at blindingly cheap prices, expecting him to give them both barrels, but he's typically cordial. "That sort of sausage has its place, I'm sure, but what we do can't be compared. They are completely different products. For some, a Lashford sausage is a special treat — it's a little more expensive, it's a little more exclusive — and we want it that way. We care passionately about the product. I mean, everyone says that, don't they? But there's no cutting corners here. We use the right offcuts for quality, and we limit what we produce to ensure what goes out is top grade." Darren insists he doesn't want his products in Tesco, he doesn't want them in ASDA. "We're not set up to be a supermarket product. We don't sell enough to be able to be screwed down on price. We're not big enough to go toe-to-toe with them and dictate the terms. We're happy supplying locally, not outgrowing what we can do at our best. We won't cut back on quality and we would have to do that to get into supermarkets. There is such thing as earning enough. We're happy with farm shops, little cafes, local shops and butchers in the Midlands. We know our limits and if we spread ourselves thin, we'll regret it."

Image: Butcher's Block Bromsgrove

It works at a sustainability level, too. Lashfords try to use local farms as much as possible, producing only within their means and, of course, using offcuts. No waste. If you're a meateater they definitely fall into the more responsible bracket of that trade. Plus, they're made to order — another reason for the 1am start — so there's almost never a surplus. "In the last four years," says Darren, "as consumers have become more aware of what they're eating, our sales have shot up." Spend a bit more. Care a bit more. Do a bit more.

The traditional breakfast sausage is their biggest seller and a good place to start if you're going to give Lashfords a go, while Darren suggests the 'spring onion and ginger' or 'honey and mustard' are the unsung heroes of their short product list. As the Jubilee approaches, Darren says demand is steadily increasing for their 9inch Royal, produced for the wedding of Charles and Di in 1981, and accepted as a Wedding Gift by the Royals. It has a high meat content, of which 30% is smoked bacon. It's the only sausage used by street food hot dog gods Fat Snags (above) who you'll find at Himley Hall this Saturday and at Digbeth Dining Club's Sunday pop-up in Stafford.

It's interesting, I think, that there are Birmingham names that are tattooed to our psyches, synonymous with our city, that have either come and gone or have drifted from their roots: cars, condiments, custard, cocoa. And yet here's a company that's outlived them all as a true Birmingham product — stuck closer, more loyal, to their home city — flying quietly, under the radar. And in the most Brummie of ways, truly happy at that altitude.

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You can find your nearest Lashford retailer here.