When lockdown impacted on a fledgling Devon business, salvation came in the form of Scotch eggs and curries. Su Carroll visits the Shepherd Shack
After travelling the world working in restaurants and hotel kitchens, Scott Harrison-Jones and his wife, Clair, decided to move closer to family in Devon. They wanted to bring up their two sons somewhere they loved. With family in Plymouth and frequent holidays in Dawlish, Devon was the obvious choice and they moved here in 2013.
With a wealth of experience in schools, gastropubs and hotels the couple decided it was the right time to open their own business – the Shepherd Shack – catering for shoots, parties, events and small weddings and gatherings.
Their attention to detail and great local flavours won them many food fans, especially at shoots on a Devon estate, Ashcombe, ten miles from Exeter. And then Covid hit.
With events cancelled, it was Scott’s travels that came to the rescue. He grew up in Birmingham where the flavours of China, India, African and the Caribbean were all around. ‘When I left college I went travelling in Australia and India,’ he says. ‘My best friend was Punjabi and he told me what places to visit. They use about five or six different spices but there’s incredible variety. And I was influenced by his family’s cooking. It was Indian food that got us through lockdown.
‘Two to three weeks into lockdown we were doing curry nights in our village, producing around 72 portions on a Friday night. We were ‘visiting’ different areas of India each week. There was an Indian lady we served who said we were taking her on a journey home.’
‘Through Facebook we were able to reach local customers, providing them with meals on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday,’ adds Clair. ‘Some people were isolating and by themselves so it was a way of connecting. There wasn’t anyone else coming by.’
They even produced a seven-course birthday meal for a family in different locations. They all had the same prepared food, with cooking instructions, and connected via Skype, all eating at the same time. ‘Apparently the plating got very competitive,’ laughs Scott.
Scott had been working with the gamekeeper at the Powderham Estate, trying to get people to eat more game. ‘If you go to the supermarket, you see all sorts of things on the shelves that are not in season. And here is something that is seasonal, local and delicious.’
With supplies in the deli hit by lockdown, Scott started producing Scotch eggs for Powderham. ‘Then we started doing sausage rolls as well, and quiches.’ The ranges, and stockists, expanded and they were very busy. When Shepherd Shack went to Devon County Show, they sold a thousand Scotch eggs in three days – all made in small batches in the tiny kitchen of their Dawlish base.
Shepherd Shack has joined Food Drink Devon and celebrated the third birthday of the business by receiving three Gold Awards from them for their artisan, Jafar and Mediterranean scotch eggs and a Silver for their onion marmalade and Cheddar pork pie. Having ridden out the storm of lockdown, Clair and Scott returned to events – but small enough to be able to pay attention to detail. ‘For big numbers you need the right premises,’ says Scott.
‘When I worked at Bistrot Pierre we would serve 400 people for a Christmas meal. It’s a very different environment. If we do weddings, we don’t want to be serving 200 people, that doesn’t fit our style. We want to do the more bespoke fine dining, something a little bit different. We like to do little buffet platters, or small portions of something in a bowl.’
