Liverpool duo turn food waste into thriving venture
During COVID lockdown Amy Yarker and Sam Watson from Liverpool began preserving food waste using the ancient method of fermentation – now they tell the Baltic Triangle Podcast how it has become a thriving business. Tony McDonough reports
During lockdown Amy Yarker and Sam Watson from Liverpool found they had more time on their hands and started to recycle food waste using the ancient method of fermentation.
In an interview with this month’s Baltic Triangle Podcast they tell how their new-found hobby was transformed into a thriving business. So swift was the success of their venture – The Fermentation Station – that by 2021 there were winners in the Great Taste Awards.
Fermentation has been around for centuries and can be used for the production of ‘gut-friendly’ probiotic food. The Fermentation Station offers a wide range of foods including sauerkraut, hot sauces and mustard.
Microorganisms convert carbohydrates such as starch and sugar into alcohol and acid, which act as preservatives without having to use additives.
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Amy said: “We are manufacturers of fermented food and drink that is gut-loving and focused on seasonality and sustainability. We work with local farmers and we take as much food waste as possible, preserve it, and save it for future years to come.”
According to Sam, Amy is more the business brain of the operation he describes himself as “the chaos”. He explained: “We do a lot of messing around. We ferment anything and everything we can get our hands on.
“We started the business during lockdown – we had more time on our hands and we got to know our local producers.
“There might be tomatoes that had gone a bit mushy and we were getting them for free and taking them home to create really interesting ferments and flavours.”
Amy added: “The people of Liverpool are our greatest asset. We have this brilliant culture around collaboration, independence and wanting to give back to the local community… we want to be here and grow.”
Also featured on this month’s podcast is Clare Campbell and Roy Basnett. They have just set up The Podcafe – an audio and video podcasting studio in Norfolk Street in the Baltic Triangle.
Their fully-equipped recording studio with industry standard video and audio facilities. Roy said: “People, now, with the advent of reality television years ago, people want to watch other people just be themselves.
“And that is what we try to do here. If you are selling your business on the personality of the owner, you need people to see that personality and that is what we do here.”
Clare added: “Anybody can market themselves but if you can see the person behind the business and build a relationship of trust then your clientele is going to increase.”