Residents of a historic Yorkshire town are up in arms after their local butcher had to stop making its wildly popular scotch eggs following complaints about the pong from the deep fat fryer.
Appleton’s Butchers in Boroughbridge had been batch cooking dozens of scotch eggs every day before grumblings about the smell prompted a visit from the council.
Officials found that the store’s extraction system needed expensive improvement, prompting Anthony Sterne, 47, who runs the 160-year-old butchers with his 50-year-old wife Isabel, to decide making the snack was ‘no longer worth it’.
This has prompted an outcry among locals, who blamed the demise of their favourite meaty treat on the shop’s neighbours – one of whom is a former butcher and its old owner.
Mr Stern told MailOnline: ‘We have been making scotch eggs for years with no problem. But we had a visit from the council and they said our extraction system needed changes.
‘These would be expensive and require a lot of maintenance, so we decided it’s no longer worth cooking the scotch eggs. But now everyone has gone absolutely mental saying they are the best ever.’
The couple took over the business 15 years ago and also have stores in the nearby North Yorkshire towns of Ripon, Wetherby, and Knaresborough.
Anthony Sterne, 47, runs the 160-year-old butchers with his 50-year-old wife Isabel
One of those to complain is Ray Johnstone, who used to own Appletons and still lives above the shop with his partner, Paula. The shop’s extractor pipe is seen out of his window
The scotch eggs are handmade at a central kitchen using free range eggs and local pork before being delivered raw to stores early in the morning and then deep fried
Mr Sterne continued: ‘People have asked why we can’t just bring them in from our other four shops, but for us they have to be freshly cooked that day with a lovely crisp outside and warm sausage meat inside.
‘It is a different experience so we are not going to compromise on quality by bringing them in cold. People will just have to go to our other shops.’
Locals are far from happy about the prospect of having to travel to get their hands their favourite delicacy, which costs £2.40.
Angus Gaudie, who was queuing outside the shop this morning, said: ‘It is ridiculous. They smell absolutely gorgeous. Where is the Christmas cheer? It is another nail in the coffin of British food.’
Janet Brown said her daughter ‘loves’ the scotch eggs, adding: ‘I must admit I would not like to live next door. But maybe they should just get rid of the extractor fans. As far as scotch eggs go, these are the piece de resistance.’
Pauline Richardson called the row ‘stupid’ and said the demise of the eggs had forced her to ‘come in for a pork pie instead’.
George, a regular customer, declared the scotch eggs ‘the most delicious you will ever see in your life’.
‘It is a shame a local independent business which is well liked has been told to stop making them here,’ he said. ‘It’s the talk of the town. Not a massive amount happens here, so this is a biggie.’
Angus Gaudie, who was queuing outside the shop this morning, said: ‘It is ridiculous. They smell absolutely gorgeous’
Janet Brown and Pauline Richardson both mourned the demise of the town’s favourite scotch eggs
Appleton’s, which dates back to 1867, has tried baking the scotch eggs in the oven or putting them in an air fryer but decided they did not taste the same
Veronica, who lives nearby and was recently given an Appleton’s pork pie by a generous family friend, called the incident ‘yet another attack on small businesses’.
One of those to complain is Ray Johnstone, who used to own Appletons and still lives above the shop with his partner, Paula.
They had previously objected to works carried out on the building, which is Grade II- listed and in a conversation area. Some of these changes have since been rectified.
The 69-year-old, who has lived in the flat for 30 years, said: ‘We have had issues with the new owners of Appletons since they moved in.
‘We are still getting the smell because they are selling loads of other things. So why they decided to stop selling the scotch eggs is beyond us.
‘The extraction until is directly opposite our dining room window.
‘We have had the noise of all that and we cannot have our windows open because of it. It should be higher up.’
Mr Johnstone believes that the smells coming from the shop have become unbearable. He is seen standing next to the extractor vent
Boroughbridge is a prosperous town with a population of just over 3,000
He said smells from the shop had been wafting up for years through cracks between the old floor boards.
Two months ago, things came to a head when they say the cooking odours became unbearable.
‘We have complained loads of times about the smell,’ Ray said. ‘But this time it was really bad so I went down and complained to the girls.’
Paula added: ‘Two or three years back I came in and there was a blue haze in one of the rooms. I came down and they were cooking pork scratchings.
‘They did not have the correct filters or anything and it is an old floor. It would be great to move but it is an ideal shop and we like it here.’
The scotch eggs are handmade at a central kitchen using free range eggs and local pork before being delivered raw to stores early in the morning and then deep fried.
Appleton’s, which dates back to 1867, has tried baking the scotch eggs in the oven or putting them in an air fryer but decided they did not taste the same.
Locals are far from happy about the prospect of having to travel to get their hands on their favourite delicacy, which costs £2.40
A spokesman for Appleton’s said: ‘The extraction fan was put in earlier this year to try and meet the requirements of the council.
‘The scotch eggs are the only thing the shop deep fries so it does not make it financially viable. We do occasionally ship in scotch eggs from the Ripon shop for our customers in Boroughbridge.
‘The meat has a spice blend from some of Appleton’s early recipe books. They are closely guarded spice blends and they have never changed.
‘The business has been operating over 150 years and they have stuck to the recipes as they were when first written down.
‘We are trying to find a sensible solution around this challenge.’
MailOnline has contacted North Yorkshire Council for comment.
