Tasty and trusted

Gluten free, high quality and offering a good profit margin, McWhinney’s sausages are a favourite for Fiddlers Elbow

Fiddlers Elbow sits in Leintwardine, a small village in North Herefordshire, but its reputation stretches far beyond the local area, thanks to its 100% gluten free menu. 

Run by owners Linzi Morris and Dominic Eusden since 2013, the pair wanted Fiddlers Elbow to be accessible to all. Linzi comments: “Ever since we moved in, we wanted to cater for everybody. We didn’t want anybody to miss out. We are constantly looking at what we can put on the menu to reduce the amount of allergens, to make it suitable for everyone.” 

While Fiddlers Elbow offered gluten free options from day one, the takeaway went fully gluten free after a refit in 2017. That commitment has become their USP, with Linzi adding: “We’ve got customers that come regularly, and they’ll easily travel an hour each way because they know we’re 100% gluten free, we’re 100% safe and there’s no cross contamination.”

Sausages have always been a popular option, even more so since switching to McWhinney’s Gluten Free Sausages. “We started off using another gluten free sausage, but I really wasn’t keen on the taste, and the meat content was next to nothing,” says Dominic. 

Their switch to McWhinney’s came after taking part in a tasting challenge. “We tried their standard sausages first and liked the flavour straight away. Customers enjoyed them too,” explains Linzi. “So when McWhinney’s brought out their gluten free sausages, we jumped straight on board and we haven’t looked back. They have a high meat content compared to most others – it’s about 63% – so it was a no-brainer.”

Serving McWhinney’s sausages makes good business sense too. “Sales of sausages have really gone up since fish prices increased,” Dominic says. “The GP is pretty good. A jumbo costs me about 60p and we sell it for £3. No one bats an eyelid because it’s a really good quality sausage.”

Linzi agrees that customers understand the value, adding: “They know it’s cooked fresh to order, they know it’s gluten free, and they know we won’t compromise on quality. We could go cheaper, but the products are just inferior. Once we find something really good, we stick with it.”

“The day I go to cheaper, inferior products is the day I shut the door,” Dominic adds.

McWhinney’s Gluten Free Sausages are enjoyed by a varied customer base comprising youngsters, older customers, and even people buying sausages for their dogs as a treat!

Open lunchtimes Thursday to Saturday and evenings Tuesday to Saturday, the shop is run entirely by Linzi and Dominic. “It’s just the two of us,” Linzi says. “We listen to customers’ allergies and dietary needs and work around them. That’s why McWhinney’s sausages work so well for us, it’s another option we can put on that’s suitable for our customer base without it being any extra work for us.”

McWhinney’s 028 9127 1811 www.mcwhinneys.com