Clitheroe business cooks up a smoking new product

A business that specialises in outdoor catering has created a fresh brand of meat products, including the revival of a historical Lancashire recipe which is being used by several restaurants in the county.

Paul Yates, director of Que Fresco, saw an opportunity to grow his BBQ business by developing a range of fresh products to sell wholesale to distributors. These include a revival of a traditional ‘Lancashire Sausage’ recipe, which uses local pork and a special seasoning that makes it distinct from other regional sausages.

Paul contacted Regenerate Pennine Lancashire for free advice and support to help him protect his new range and company branding. This included access to experts who helped Paul secure the company brand and ran tests on the shelf life of the products for use on labels. Paul also received partial funding from Regenerate for the development of a new logo used on packaging and promotional materials.

The ‘Lancashire Sausage’ is already being used by several gastro pubs across the county, while a pulled pork recipe is on the menu of many Lancashire sandwich bars and delis. It is expected that Que Fresco will grow and create up to four new jobs in the next two years.

Paul said: “Regenerate’s support has been excellent - helping to source funding, advice on protecting my intellectual property and most importantly just listening. When you run your own business, no matter how passionate you are about it, being able to pick up the phone to speak to someone is a tremendous help.” Paul was helped via Regenerate’s Lancashire Innovation Network programme, which is supported by the European Regional Development Fund.