Korker Sausages

Korker Sausages, a Kent sausage maker since 1959

Korker Sausages is a family business based in the Kent village of Rolvenden. Its origin dates to 1959, when Jim Hoad rented a butcher's shop in the village and ran a butcher's and game business there. The venture proved successful enough for him to buy the shop two years later, and it was in that shop that the original Korker sausage was introduced, following a recipe that had been in the Hoad family for four generations.

Customer response was strong enough that Jim Hoad decided to scale up and concentrate on wholesale production of Korker sausages. The factory remains in Rolvenden and the company continues as a Hoad family business.

Product range

The catalogue covers a broad line of sausages and related meat products, sold under the Korker name:

• Original Korker Recipe
• 80% Premium British Sausages
• Sage & Onion Sausages
• Gluten Free Sausages
• Honey Roast Sausages
• Chilli
• Sausage Rolls
• Pork Burgers
• Toad in the Hole
• Pigs in Blankets
• Cranberry and Stilton
• Meatballs
• Caramelised Onion
• Gluten-Free Halal Chicken Sausages
• Cumberland Sausages

Ingredients and production

The company states that its traditional sausages are manufactured in the Garden of England, as Kent is known. It describes using fresh ingredients, premium cuts of pork, herbs and spice mixes and traditional methods to make its secret recipe. It also notes that most of its team have been with the business for many years.

Where to buy and wholesale supply

Korker supplies independent retailers, pubs and restaurants, as well as major wholesalers, across Kent and East Sussex. For catering partners, the company sells through approved wholesale outlets and some major wholesalers.

A postal service delivers fresh sausages and sausage meat to any mainland UK address. The company says it researched ways to send fresh products safely and wanted a solution that would also be environmentally sound.

Recipes published by the company

The site includes a recipe section intended as inspiration for home cooking. Among the dishes listed are sticky honey mustard sausages, sweet tomato and chilli chutney, red cabbage and apple slaw, sage and onion sausage stuffing, sausage and lentil stew with baby carrots, classic toad in the hole, gluten-free bangers and mash with onion gravy, rosemary and garlic sweet potato fries, sausage lasagne, Scotch eggs, sausage bolognese meatballs, caramelised onion gravy and redcurrant and red wine gravy.

Customer feedback cited by the company

The business reproduces comments from customers and trade buyers. A resident of Rolvenden describes the sausages as the best by far and recalls growing up with Korkers. The manager of the Pepper Box Inn in Ulcombe notes that her grandfather was the first restaurant customer some 60 years ago and that the pub is marking its 60th anniversary serving them. Benenden Community Shop, Café and Post Office reports serving Korkers sausages and sausage rolls throughout the morning. Heath Stores in Horsmonden, Kent, states that Korkers are its most popular sausage and that it cooks roughly 250 to 300 sausage rolls a week. The Bell Inn in Hythe says customers ask specifically for Korkers and that children often order them from the menu. The Kings Head in Rye highlights the consistency and taste of the products and the popularity of its sausage bowl combining the chilli, honey roast and original varieties.