Primal Cut makes proper, award-winning, gluten-free sausages from delicious, fresh, free-range pork and hand-blended seasonings. We produce all our sausages from our artisan kitchen in the village of Burley-in-Wharfedale on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. Michael Oliver founded Primal Cut in 2018. Michael, an engineer turned sausage maker is passionate foodie with a mission to bring back proper sausages to Yorkshire and beyond - This is our story.
About Michael – Beginnings
Michael grew up in Doncaster with his family and parents, Bill and Doreen. Significant family events were always celebrated with gatherings and hot food and Michael has never forgotten his roots. In fact, if you are passing Jossey Lane on a Sunday, Doreen’s hot Sunday roast may still take your breath away! Our business values are built on that simple, honest tradition and the shared pleasure that eating well can bring.
Leaving School
Michael left school at 15 and trained as an apprentice blacksmith at Bentley Colliery. He left shortly before the pit closures in 1989 and subsequently found work in a succession of roles. His work included welding, heavy fabrication, refurbishment of train carriages and later becoming a highly sought after track welder on the London Underground - all hot hungry work. Throughout his career he remained grounded by his love of good food, nature and wild animals. He has a deep passion for birds of prey and once took his pet ferruginous hawk to work, where for one glorious moment, it swooped down the length of the shop floor to the cheers of the workers before being chased out of the factory by his boss!
A Second Chance
In 2011, Michael married his wife Kate and settled in West Yorkshire with their three youngest children Poppy, Brad and Robbie, now all over 18. As before, food brought the family together. A chance purchase of a sausage machine for a significant birthday saw the culmination of a life-long passion for great food with the beginnings of a new business idea. Don’t forget, the shared pleasure of eating is at the heart of all we do. We combined this with the chance to create really tasty, proper artisan sausages for the British public. And so, together around the kitchen table, the idea for Primal Cut was born. We wanted to change conventional wisdom, one sausage at a time. Our goal, to bring back old-fashioned authentic sausages to the British table. By that, we mean real sausages made simply from the best pork meat cuts, salt and seasonings…. and nothing else.
Our story so far
Michael went on to train with Alex Chambers at Squisito and found common ground with Alex in their shared love of artisan food, tasty sausages, fresh local ingredients and slow food principles. Alex has continued to act as a mentor for Michael as the business has grown from strength to strength. In October, we won three awards at UK sausage week after less than six months of trading. Perhaps it’s a big ask for people to change their favourite sausage brands and try our real food sausages. We truly believe however there’s a more discerning public. Consumers who want to eat real honest sausages secure in the knowledge of what they are eating and the simple ingredients that have gone to make up their food. So far it’s been a great journey. And the rest, we hope, is history!
Our mission is simple
As part of the real food movement, our mission is to help as many people as possible find and eat a proper sausage. We love the shared pleasure that eating well can bring. We fully recognise the power that eating good, nutritious food can have on health and happiness.
Where to Find Us
Our unique range of award-winning, artisan crafted, gluten-free sausages never compromise on quality or taste. We are gaining a loyal following at local and real food farmers’ markets where we go to sell each week.
You can keep up to date with all our attendances and events on Facebook. It’s here on this market events calendar we list our next appearances each week on different markets. We hope to meet you there soon!
If you have enjoyed reading our story and would like to try our sausages – get in touch. We’d love to hear from you! You can find our full range of nutritious all-natural sausages here and we are happy to arrange for free collection or local delivery simply email hello@primalcut.co.uk or call us now on 01943 511 564.
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Hi, we saw your stall when we went to Skipton on a day out and purchased the Yorkshire sausage, they were absolutely delicious and to know that they are healthy eating was great as I have problems with sugar level so I am on a low or no sugar diet they are perfect, I will be ordering some more, thanks.