Murray Now

Have you ever tried Haggis? At Pacdon Park, located little more than 7km out of Echuca, you can purchase these award winning artisan delicacies. James Arrowsmith, and his business partner Peter, have turned a traditional Scottish dish into an award winning culinary delight. Building on their repertoire of unique British food produce, these Lancashire lads have taken out the award for the Artisan Category in the ABC delicious Produce Awards 2011. Murray Now has followed this small, yet amazingly, award winning operation out into Echuca to find out more.

James Arrowsmith from Pacdon Park and Scott Dunlop of Murray Now talk pork

Most recently Pacdon Park have set up a shopfront where they make, bake and perfect their range of epicurean British foods; and more recently organic coffee! From the staple favourites of Pork Sausages, Pork Pies and Black Pudding to the less recognised White Pudding and Haggis. Although these staple Scottish and British foods are a delight with ex pats and backpackers; they are gradually becoming more recognised as a hidden gourmet gem to Australians as well.

James tells us “The Brits have had a bit of a bad rep with food, with post war and rationing all those years ago. This created a culture of eating to survive, whereas in other cultures like the Mediterranean’s, they eat for pleasure. We have some of the best chefs in the world in the UK and times are changing in the British Food Industry.”

“We believe in a nose to tail philosophy. By using every piece of the animal including the pluck (heart, liver and lungs) and of course the sheep’s stomach to create a world class product. Pacdon Park use only the best quality ingredients and they are all quality controlled to make a consistent product. For example we need really sharp mincing blades to cut the mince rather than crush it and the water must be a certain temperature while cooking or you will affect the final product.”

Growing the business from a small two person operation in Bunaloo; to now five staff, including two apprentices is an amazing feat. “The single most difficult task we have come across in order to establish the business has been start up capital. We were just a couple of lads that didn’t know their arm from their elbow, set up in the middle of nowhere! We could have established ourselves in a major capital city but out here we are an interesting story; an oddity and this enhances our appeal” James added.

Pacdon Park products are not commercially available at your local supermarket but are readily available at farmers markets across Melbourne. So lookout for the Pacdon Park boys this weekend or if you would like to order some of their fantastic products visit the Pacdon Park website to make a purchase.