Brand Spotlight: Chunk of Devon

Here at Devon Hampers, we like to celebrate our local producers and brands.  We believe that the West Country has the natural conditions and rural heritage to create the finest ingredients for chefs to craft delicacies both old and new.

In our brand spotlights we like to go into a little more detail about our suppliers, so that you may know them a little better, and more importantly, find out why we have chosen them to go into our Devon Hampers and why you should be enthused to try their wares.

This time in the Brand Spotlight, we’d like to take a look at Chunk of Devon, who produce the tasty pies and pasties that grace our hampers.

Chunk started from humble beginnings, growing out of the back of a butchers shop in a small village.  The now-owner Simon (who boasts a good grounding in catering and a clutch of awards of his own) spent a whole year working in the background and learning what made Chunk tick, preferring to find out for himself what they were good at and what was required to push the business forward.  His passion for good honest food and his hunger for a new challenge were not disappointed by the fledgling business.

Sadly, the credit crisis hit soon after, and the funding that was in place was pulled.  This meant that Simon had to go to extraordinary measures to continue with his vision for Chunk, promoting the business on television via Channel 4's 'Gerry’s Big Decision'.  Continuing on, they entered their first national awards and started honing their good honest food to do well with the critics, and everyone else as well.

In 2012, Chunk hit the headlines for winning the title of Britain’s Best Pasty, irking the Cornish by beating their competitors, despite being from Devon.  They were banned from competing the following year!  Awards and accolade continued to flow, and Chunk now have the honour of scooping more awards across the pie, pork pie and pasty business that any other operation in England.

The secret to the success of Chunk is keeping it simple.  This is a motto they proudly display across all of their marketing.  Their raison d'être is to make good, honest food with proper, natural ingredients.  All of the components for their rustic gourmet products are sourced locally, right here in Devon.  That means free-range meats, fresh local veg and cheeses made from dairy herds that have grazed just a few miles down the road, and combined with the skill and artistry of their 30 staff in buttery pastry, to make the hearty snacks and meals that they are now famous for.  Chunk now make around 30,000 pies and pasties per week at their premises in Ottery St Mary.

From their simple, tasty and natural selection, we have selected four of their best-loved products to sell online from our Devon Produce shop; the Steak Pasty that caused our Cornish brothers and sisters such anguish at the awards, the Steak and Ale Pie that contains free-range steak marinated in Devon’s own Otter Ale, the Homity Pie from Celtic roots but made with the finest Devonshire cheese and the new Scrumpy and Pork pie filled with the delicious taste of authentic scrumpy from the region’s orchards.

You can also find these hearty snacks in our specially designed Devon Hampers, combined with products selected to make for a real treat.  These hampers are perfect as a gift for someone you know that appreciates real produce and hearty food done well, and present the Chunk pasties and pies as a real luxury item, without any of the airs and graces or pomposity that might normally be associated with such indulgence.

Just awesome food, made well.

You can find out more about Chunk of Devon by visiting their website here.