There are few things more satisfying than delicious home-cooked food, so when Sarah from Sunshine Deli got in touch to ask if she could come to the Now Then office and bring a hamper full of tasty scran with her, we cleared our diaries and put our stretchy trousers on.
Tell us a little bit about Sunshine Deli, and how and why you started the business.
Sunshine Deli originally started as Sunshine Pies, and what we wanted to do was to make home-cooked food like your nan makes. We started off catering events at old people’s homes dressed in 1940s clothes and with 1940s music playing, and we also served our food at festivals. People loved our home-cooked food and they’d always say it was like what their nan used to make. Then we started doing beer festivals because people enjoy a nice pint and a pie, and our little pies are quite quirky and come in all sorts of different flavours. We’ve done CAMRA events in Sheffield, Barnsley, Hull, Thurrock, Crewe and Scarborough, and we’re also booked to do the Hard Rock Hell Rock Festivals in Sheffield and Birmingham, where we’ll be serving up to three thousand people.
There’s just two of us running the business, me and my partner Sarah, and we’ve been doing this since about 2014 but we decided to trade as Sunshine Deli because we don’t just do pies anymore, we do so much more – from scotch eggs and Chinese-inspired food, to gluten-free dishes and vegan chocolate cake. I was diagnosed as being gluten intolerant so we started making gluten-free pies and scotch eggs, and as much as possible we try to make everything gluten-free.
What do you think sets Sunshine Deli apart from its contemporaries?
The fact that we haven’t got a shop, we’re based at home in our kitchen. We produce everything as much as we can at home, and if not then we’ll cook everything fresh at the events and festivals we go to. People seem to really enjoy watching us cook so I’d say that’s our unique selling point.
You’ve recently moved into events catering, which events have been your favourites to cater for so far?
The rock festivals – the people there can come across as pretty scary on stage but really they’re very nice and polite. We also had a fantastic time doing the food for the Everly Pregnant Brothers’ Christmas gig and Richard Hawley’s birthday party where we got to serve Jarvis Cocker, and we’re currently trying to work out a menu that’ll go well with gin so we can jump on the gin event bandwagon.
You’re currently developing a Gluten-Free Range, which dishes are you most excited about?
All of them. We do a really good gluten-free beer battered fish and chips but at the moment I’m most excited about the sweet dishes, especially our gluten-free and vegan chocolate cake.
When will your new website be ready?
It’s work in progress but watch this space! And keep an eye on our social media for more Sunshine Deli news.
Can we find you at street food markets in Sheffield and further afield?
Yes! You can find us at the Ball Street Deli on Sunday 26 March where we’ll be serving up a special Mother’s Day menu, and we’ll be at the Street Food Pop-Up Event at Trafalgar Warehouse (next to Corporation at 120 Trafalgar Street) on Monday 27 March from 5pm ‘til 9pm. It’s a great streetfood dining experience and we provide a range of tasty mini dishes for customers to sample.
We also have a delivery service that runs across South Yorkshire and gives people with Coeliac disease and other intolerances and dietary requirements a chance to buy good quality food at a reasonable price. Just get in touch with us via phone (07510 596 159 or 07510 596 151) or email us on sunshinepies.co@outlook.com for more information. We look forward to feeding you!
Interview by Felicity Jackson
Images courtesy of Sunshine Deli
