BUTCHER BECOMES AUTHOR


A TASTE OF THE OTHER BLACK BEAUTY


Jack Morris is a second- generation butcher and a well- known and much respected figure in Lancashire. This is firstly for his delicious black pudding, originally (and still) sold on Bury Open Market and now produced by his son Richard and business partner Debbie Pierce’s business, The Bury Black Pudding Company. Secondly, Jack’s fame arises from the publication of his auto- biographical book, The Other Black Beauty. His story is remarkable, inspiring and often humorous. Craft Butcher chatted with the man himself to get a little glimpse into his extraordinary life story.


Although Jack himself is synonymous with the Bury Black Pudding, the gold medal winning family recipe in fact dates back over 100 years. Ironically, after the Lancastrians it was the French that first took this delicacy into their hearts, following Jack’s spur of the moment entry into a French competition in 1970.


Unexpectedly, this resulted in his puddings being awarded a gold medal for Great Britain. This competition, Jack says, changed his life as it provided the impetus


for Jack to set up the ‘Best Black Pudding in Great Britain Competition’ which helped raise awareness of black puddings throughout Britain. The competition eventually ran for 32 years and managed to rope in several ‘A’ list celebrities along the way for valuable (and free) publicity.


Without giving too much away, fast forward


several years and in 2002 Jack’s son, Richard, joined forces with Debbie, who originally sold Jack’s puddings on Bury Market, to create The Bury Black Pudding Company. After moving into a bespoke production facility, they began approaching all the major retailers with their product. Initially supplying on a regional basis, as sales increased they quickly moved to national supply.


Today, The Bury Black Pudding Company supply their products throughout the UK and all over the world. They employ 95 staff and produce between 80- 90 tonnes per week. Turnover this year is forecasted to reach £7.2 million. Although capacity and sales have increased significantly, they are proud


to say that the recipe and traditional production methods remain very much the same.


To buy a copy of The Other Black Beauty


To read the full story of this family business, told in Jack’s distinctive, straight talking butchers’ style, members can buy the book direct from the company website,


www.buryblackpuddings.co.uk/news/the-other-black- beauty-by-jack-morris/


The book retails for £6 with an added £2 for P&P. 25% of each sale goes to The Stroke Association charity (Bolton) in honour of a close family friend.


26 | CRAFT BUTCHER MAY/JUNE 2021


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