Last night's visit to a Little Chef near Alfreton was most enlightening, and provided (as well as food) an update on the "Award Winning" status of its pork sausage. My post a couple of weeks ago raised a concern over the use of the phrase "Award Winning British Pork Sausage" on the Little Chef menu. Unlike the Holiday Inn (which was upon my request able to provide accurate information on its own clever sausage and a copy of a certificate from the British Pig Executive noting a BPEX Gold Award) the Little Chef near Edinburgh hadn't a clue, but did offer the vague news that the sausages came from a farm and tasted nice.
Last night I ordered a plate of food, building on a Gammon, Egg, Chips and Peas option by adding extras - these included beans, two hash browns and two Award Winning British Pork Sausages. I could not resist. The words were not so much dangling from the menu but hanging in the air, willing me to enquire of the waiter what he knew about his sausages. With some confidence, he imparted that they were free range and from Lincolnshire. We chewed the fat (not of course found in large quantities in the sausages) regarding the use of 'Award Winning' and he agreed with my view on the phrase, restating that the tasty sausages deserved their award. He explained that the pigs were free to run around, after my query delivered with mild sarcasm on how a pig can be anything other than free range. I was pleased to learn they were not battery pigs and kept in a wire cage, but were allowed to wander about in Lincolnshire while eating and getting fatter and fatter.
Some minutes later, the waiter sidled up to me, and loitered slightly, before casually mentioning his surprise and educational experience. He divulged that his curiosity had been piqued, to the extent that he'd made it his business to find out more. The sausages were in fact from Wales. I asked how he'd come by this information, and he said he had, and I quote, "looked on the box". Langford's Welsh Sausages was clearly written. "Not from Lincolnshire at all" said the waiter, as much to himself and his maker as to me. He seemed thrown by this discovery, and quite disappointed that he'd inadvertently misled me - and more annoyed that he'd been misinformed. "I've been told porky pies" he said, ["pun implied", I chipped in] followed by "why was I given to believe they were from Lincolnshire?"
Off he went, preoccupied. I resisted the urge to chew more fat, on why it is that sausages get all the glory and attend award ceremonies when bacon doesn't get a look in. My parting shot had simply been to suggest that maybe there had been a change of supplier after the menus had been printed, and Trading Standards people had not yet bothered getting round to Little Chef's misleading marketing. He'd nodded vaguely but was already in a parallel universe, albeit still ambling towards the cooking area. I considered the switch of supplier as quite possible, as the alternative would suggest a lack of respect for Wales by the Little Chef. If the supplier had not changed, surely the menus should read "Award Winning Welsh Pork Sausage" instead. Not to state Welsh instead of British is not technically wrong of course, but it ignores heritage and lumps Wales in with England in a way that's less respectful than the approach commonly adopted when Scotland is involved. The Scots seem to be better at protecting their heritage and nationality, but the Welsh generally get ignored. The only exception seems to be on my Garmin Sat Nav, where England, Scotland and Wales are all listed separately and I need to enter Wales for a postcode in Flintshire to be recognised.
There you have it, my update. We now know more about the sausages served at the Little Chef - though sadly not about the awarding body involved. So, Wales could well have received a Gold Medal in the Discus at the 2008 Olympics. [ This will only make sense if you read my post earlier this month ]
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