Mill Race chef Richard Kaye and his team will be creating sausages to the pub’s own recipes, including pork & chive and venison, but alongside the sausages Richard says don’t forget the mash.

“Eating sausages without mash is like having eggs without bacon – much better together. Along with traditional mashed potato we also make creamy mash and bubble and squeak mash,” he said.   “After all, there are so many different sausages that one mashed potato recipe can’t possible bring out the flavour of them all.”

According to figures from the British Sausage Appreciation Society (yes, there really is such a society), nearly 6 million Brits tuck into pork sausages every day, and The Mill Race confirms that it’s certainly one of the pub’s more popular lunchtime dishes, especially in autumn and winter.  In an age of austerity they can also be one of the most versatile meals (wartime butchers and housewives upped the water content in the pork meat and they’ve been called ‘bangers’ ever since because when the water turned to steam in the oven, the sausages exploded).

Sausages first came to Britain thanks to the Romans some time before 400 AD, but it was only in the reign of Charles 1 that sausages were divided into links for the first time (not the authentic Cumberland sausage, though, which is never split into links). Apparently legendary highwayman, Dick Turpin moonlighted as a butcher, making sausages from the meat of animals hunted in Epping Forest.

Mill Race chef, Richard, added: “There are many stories about the sausage, but the proof of a good sausage is the taste. It’s all about the quality. No-one will find a banger at The Mill Race, they’re all stuffed full of delicious H J Edwards meat with minimum water content and lots and lots of flavour.  The only thing going with a bang during British Sausage Week is the event itself.”

Notes to editors:  About The Mill Race

The Mill Race is located on the border of South Herefordshire and the beautiful Forest of Dean.   It is a multi award-winning pub (PubChef, The Publican, Flavours of Herefordshire), serving very good quality local food, ales and ciders at sensible prices and has one of the most extensive and well-researched wine lists in the area.  Inside, the pub has recently been refurbished and there is a pretty sun terrace at the rear.   The pub is open for lunch and dinner Monday-Friday from 12pm-2pm and 6pm-9.30pm, Saturday for food from 10am-2.30pm and 6pm-9.30pm; Sunday from 12pm-9pm.

New for 2011:The Mill Race Pizza Kitchen open Tuesdays & Thursday from 6pm.

www.millrace.info, www.facebook.com/mill-race