Pork firm's pukka deal with Jamie Oliver

EAST Hull pork producer Cranswick Plc has received a glowing celebrity endorsement after entering a joint venture with Jamie Oliver.

The TV chef is preparing to launch his own brand food products, adding to a growing portfolio of popular cookery books, kitchenware and cooking accessories.

And Cranswick will provide all the meat and pasta for Jamie's range of fresh pork joints, pork steaks, marinated ribs, bacon, Italian charcuterie and fresh pasta dishes.

Jamie, his development chef and food developers, have worked together with Cranswick's own food experts to develop the recipes, which are set to hit the supermarket shelves this spring.

Retailers were invited to see and taste the products at a special launch event in Jamie's north London studio where the celebrity chef and his team have thoroughly tested each of the dishes themselves.

Cranswick yesterday posted healthy quarterly sales figures and said sales growth remained strong across the group.

Chief executive Bernard Hoggarth said: "Jamie Oliver has a very good reputation with consumers as being a very straight-forward and straight-talking chef and when you meet him he is the same as the guy you see on the television.

"We have been developing products with Jamie and his team for the last six-to-nine months and are very excited about the range."

The recipes will only use pork from pigs reared outdoors on Freedom Food approved farms.