Scarlett & Mustard
Just add food!
We love having Suffolk-based Scarlett & Mustard as one of our Sourced Locally suppliers, as this family company’s range of products are designed to help encourage people to experiment with food in fun and simple ways.
Whether its salad, veg, bread or meat, you can add a punch of flavour with the award-winning dressings, dips, marinades, sauces and jams produced by Scarlett & Mustard. And all the products are homemade using local ingredients, most of which are sourced from within ten miles of its base at East Soham.
Run by Sandy Ruddock, Scarlett & Mustard began with a secret family recipe and the talents of a budding entrepreneur. When he was just eleven-years-old, Sandy’s son Oliver decided to set up a stand in the garden, selling bottles of his Granny’s tarragon dressing – an original cider vinegar recipe which had passed down through the family. Extolling its virtues and describing how delicious it is served with warm, crushed new potatoes, he returned two hours later having sold all the bottles and with £76 in his pocket!
Having seen how popular it was, Sandy made up some more bottles and sold them through a local shop. She was soon peeling, chopping and mixing all day to keep up with demand, until she needed help and a bigger kitchen; and Scarlett & Mustard was born.
Inspired by family
Today there are eight different dressings to choose from, including Granny’s Original Tarragon Dressing, as well as a selection of marinades, sauces and jams. Just as the business was named after family nicknames, the names of each product also show how a member of the Scarlett & Mustard family has been the inspiration behind each one.
There is Rosie’s Doo-Dah Sauce, inspired by Sandy’s stepdaughter Rosie’s nickname for the family recipe, because she struggled to say balsamic! This works well as a dipping sauce for rustic bread or served over fresh avocados. Others include a Lime and Chilli dressing inspired by Sandy’s sister, who was affectionately called Auntie Frog by the children, and a sweet, golden honey dressing named after Sandy’s husband Julian, known as Big Bear.
Today the company operates from its headquarters - ‘The Dressing Room’ - situated at Moat Park. Sandy heads up the operations team and her husband Julian is in charge of sales. They are continuing to expand the range and the kitchen is a hive of activity and people 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!
“We have worked with the East of England Co-op for 7 years now and it has been a great success. The people are genuine, friendly and helpful, and the Co-op's ethos of fairness to their suppliers and to their customers is a breath of fresh air and much appreciated. They are brilliant at supporting all their local suppliers with their initiatives and they are an extremely valued customer of ours. The Locally Sourced project is something that we are very proud of, so thank you East of England Co-op!”
To find out more about Scarlett & Mustard, visit: www.scarlettandmustard.co.uk.
Pop to your local East of England Co-op to find great Sourced Locally products! *
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