Pam's pasties prove to be good turnover

FOR more than 60 years, the Sweetland family has been farming at Farway, near Honiton.

They still use the 100-acre site for that purpose, but in 1993 Pam and Gerald Sweetland realised that, like many farmers, they needed to diversify. So in addition to selling the beef, which comes from their Aberdeen Angus cows, the couple decided to put Pam's extensive experience — she has been in the catering business since the 1970s — to good use.

"My heart wants farming but my head says cooking," said Pam, 54. "We're probably best known for our pies and pasties. All of the recipes are mine — none of them come from books.

"The first recipe was for a pasty and I created that through questioning people. I asked them what they liked, what they wanted in a pasty and how they liked the vegetables to be prepared. I collated all the information and came up with what I call the traditional East Devon pasty.

"The basic recipe is much the same as a Cornish pasty, but I wouldn't call mine one because they have their own way of crimping. And I wouldn't want to insult the Cornish. But we do have Cornish customers!"

That was just the start. The Sweetland East Devon pasty now has several siblings — a lamb and mint pasty, pork and apple, cheese and bacon and the regal steak and potato pasty with a touch of parsley.

The couple create pasties, pies and desserts for functions, weddings and parties and to sell at farmers markets and shows across Devon.

When Sweetland's Catering, which is based at the farm, started in 1993 Pam baked all the pies and pasties herself.

In 1995 Gerald, who is the chief salesman, fractured his neck. He then suffered from ME, so the couple took a break.

In 2000, they set up the business again. It has proved such a success that they now employ five other people, including two chefs and two kitchen assistants.

Every menu is different, designed to suit each customer's taste. It comes as no surprise that the team has had some unusual requests, but they are happy to do whatever they are asked.

"We always do unusual requests," said Pam. "We were asked to do octopus and squid at a wedding, which is different."

The recipes for the pies, which have a range of fillings, have been created by Pam and her team. They include duck and orange, turkey and cranberry, duck and Champagne and vegetarian options such as apricot, butter beans and carrot. The company also makes its own desserts, including chocolate gateaux and lemon syllabub.

As well as farming their own beef, the couple also have 50 free-range hens, which produce around 10,000 eggs a year.

These freshly laid eggs are used in their puddings and a range of seven types of quiche.

Everything else is sourced locally, including cheese and vegetables from farmers markets and organic vegetables from Culm Valley Organics in Cullompton.

The pies and pasties are sold at farmers markets across East Devon, including Exeter, Honiton, Exmouth, Budleigh Salterton, Ottery St Mary and Seaton, as well as Wellington in Somerset and Weymouth in Dorset.

Although Pam and Gerald have been approached by shops who want to sell their products, they say they are happier to go it alone.

"We like to sell our products ourselves," said Pam, who believes the reason for the food's popularity is that it is all home made. She added: "We provide professionally prepared food. Everything is very fresh and nothing is manufactured.

"We don't use any other breed for our beef. In my opinion Aberdeen Angus produces the best beef in the world."

The couple keep around 40 cows on the farm. "The breed is very hardy," said Pam. "It is also very weather resistant, which is important as we live on top of a hill.

"We are very careful that we feed them a natural diet. They don't have any additives in their food and we don't use fertiliser. They are kept organically as possible.

"I think you can taste a real difference in the texture of the meat. It is slow-growing and reared happily in the fields."

Pam is flexible in her business approach and creates a menu to suit any customer.

"We offer our customers something unique," she said. "We always pay attention to detail. Nothing is too much trouble.

"Our success is very much about teamwork. My ambition was to have a successful business and give jobs to people, which we have achieved.

"We work hard, but we also really enjoy what we're doing."

Details: 01404 871436 or visit www.sweetlands.co.uk.