Our History

It was in the summer of 2006 while in France that Sir Charles Ronald George Nall-Cain, Third Baron Brocket was looking for a place to have a good British breakfast that he realised that good quality sausages and bacon were difficult to find, not only while on holiday but also within the UK.  Within a few months the idea had formulated into a number of initial food products and the need to offer something different that others were not currently doing as well as the need for a “taste of difference”

During lunch between Lord Brocket and a colleague it was suggested that celebrity driven food brand or brands would be of interest following current trends in the food retail sector.  What started as a tongue in cheek plan some four years ago has now developed into a company, Brocket Hall Foods Limited, which is sourcing, manufacturing to exclusive traditional Brocket Hall recipes and being packed in specially designed packaging.

Our aim at Brocket Hall Foods is to source traditional British foods and drinks where there is a clear opportunity to create a point of difference in quality, style or variety that reflect traditional values and flavour in past years of Brocket Hall, Hertfordshire.

Brocket Hall prides itself on standards of excellence. No less than you would expect from somewhere that has entertained kings and queens, presidents and prime ministers for over 300 years.

More commonly known as Charlie Brocket, Lord Brocket comes from an ancient Irish family called O'Cahan. The name was changed to Cain when Robert O'Cahan emigrated to Liverpool in 1844 to start his brewery that became a household name and grew into Allied Breweries. Charlie was educated at Eton, carried out his practical training as an architect and then served five years with the 14th/20th King's Hussars, in Northern Ireland, the Middle East, Far East and Germany.He inherited the family home, Brocket Hall, in 1971 in a semi-derelict state and took up his seat in the House of Lords the same year, specialising in tourism. Home to two Prime Ministers, Lord Melbourne and Lord Palmerston, he turned it into the premier high level conference venue in Europe, hosting numerous political summits between world leaders. In 1992 he built the first of two championship golf courses.

Therefore in the excellent tradition of Brocket hall and its secrets, all the recipes for our food products are exclusively ours and only known by only a few key people and our chosen specialist manufacturers and suppliers who provide the ingredients make our products to our own exclusive recipes.

Our sausages, the recipes and mixing of the ingredients and their heritage come from the depths of the great kitchens of the house. The family recipe book was handed down through the generations over the years and is now being used by Charlie, who is personally involved in all of aspects of the development and tasting of the brands products.

The BHF range of preserves and condiments was inspired by the mouth-watering products that emerged from his grandmother’s kitchen at Brocket Hall, who undoubtedly had in mind the reputation that Florence, Charles Brocket’s great grandmother, had for her jams, pickles and sauces. “An ordinary light lunch became quite an event,” Charles was told, “with Florence’s pots and their delicious contents lining the side-board but today the choice is limited and so many of these recipes have been lost in time”. The BHF range hopes to re-live those times when food could be transformed in the same way that Indians introduced curry to our food.  

All primary ingredients used in our products are carefully sourced from within the United Kingdom to ensure consistent quality and supply. Our producing partners each have a strong ‘track-record’ within their field and a reputation for quality and consistency of supply.

The products in our Brocket Hall Foods range obtain their flavour and texture only from natural ingredients and no artificial flavourings or colourings are or will be used.