Union Jack News
NICK JONES was born in the Mile End area of London – a true cockney, raised in Stratford and Eastham. In his youth Nick’s dad got him a job as “Saturday Boy” at Cockerel’s Butcher Shop, at the corner of Green Street and Barking Road, a stone’s throw from West Ham Football Club. Nick naturally became a “Hammer’s supporter, and still is today!
On leaving school Nick trained with some of the best butchers he could find. Moving around he settled in Canning Town, learning to cook meats/pies and Savalou’s banger. His last job in London was working for Farmers Meat Stores where he spent his Mondays on the farm slaughtering animals, and the rest of the week in the main shop in Barking “window dressing” the meat. This job enabled him to learn and perfect their 90-year-old sausage recipe of which one of the accounts was Harrods of London.
RECOGNISED
A change in lifestyle saw Nick arrive in Las Vegas during the 70s. But it wasn’t until 1990 Nick got back into his profession, and began making his Gourmet Bangers for hotels and a few pubs in the Vegas area. Nick told Union Jack of the first break for his business: “what really got my sausage recognised was a competition in a San Diego pub, ‘The Shakespeare’. There were two other well-known bangers and mine, I won best taste and consistency”. Since then, the Gourmet Banger has gone across the US and Canada in the largest pub chain.
Nick added: “I now sell from Epcot Center all the way to San Diego using US Foods and Sysco as my main distributors. The bangers are made by a large sausage plant and my seasonings are made by Heller’s, keeping the recipe exclusive. The Gourmet Banger has 17 spices making it a great flavor.”
QUEEN VICTORIA PUB
Nowadays you can also find Nick in the Rivera Hotel at his pub the Queen Victoria teaching the cooks how to make his meat pies and cure their own bacon. He also has shipped his pie presses over from London. In full production with pasties, chicken, steak and kidney, steak and mushroom, and pork pies, Nick even produces pie and mash with liquor.
Nick threw open an invitation to UJ Readers: “If you’re visiting Las Vegas please stop in, and take some sausage and pies home.”
Contact Nick (702) 656-2499 or email LondonSausage@cox.net
