A lot of people claim an interest in food, but Colin Whitham's enthusiasm verges on the fanatical. It drove him to leave a successful career in newspaper publishing, to pursue his dream of running a food business.

Knowing that cash flow was likely to be a major issue, the first stage of the master plan was to buy an established set-up. After a two-year search, Colin and Julia signed a deal to buy Harvest Foods at Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, which produces frozen ready-meals for hospital patients. Using its equipment and premises, as well as the skilled workforce, Colin and Julia recently launched March Hare. The sister firm is fulfilling their ambition to cater for "cash-rich, time-poor workers who want to buy pre-cooked frozen meals for a Friday night supper with a bottle of wine."

Four years on, the core business is still delivering frozen dinners like cottage pie, beef in ale and lasagne by freezer van to nine hospitals from London to Scotland. It sells almost half a million portions annually, with a turnover of about £600,000.
Harvest Foods is an accredited National Health Service supplier, and its fully-audited system is a great selling point for potential new March Hare customers. "After all, our kitchens provide meals for sick people in hospitals, so all the food has to be produced to a very high standard," says Colin.

Meanwhile, March Hare launched this spring and currently fills about a dozen orders a week from retail outlets all over the country, with roughly three new customers being added every week. Turnover is only about £500 a week at present, but the couple have high hopes for the future.

The style of March Hare is "classic English with a twist," and care is taken to ensure the recipes are low in salt, and free from artificial colours, flavourings and preservatives. The NHS and deli-quality meals are produced in the same kitchen, which is not heavily automated, stresses Colin. As well as a brat pan and several steam kettles, it has a large gas hob and two industrial gas ovens.

But while NHS meals remain standard all year round, March Hare products make full use of seasonal food. Colin thinks autumn lamb has a better flavour, so that is when he started testing a new recipe for Dales lamb with cracked black pepper and coconut. Freezing gives a lot of flexibility for this sort of approach, he says.

About a dozen different dishes are produced under the brand, including wild boar and pear sausages in a Madeira and coarse grain mustard gravy, and venison braised in Old Peculier beer with sticky onions and garlic.

Vegetables like colcannon (mashed potatoes with cabbage, black pepper and nutmeg) and champ (mashed potatoes with spring onions) are sold separately. As Julia is keen to point out, "providing a staple dish is not enough, because you don't want to buy a ready-made meal and then have to start peeling potatoes."

With their lack of previous experience, the couple admit to having problems in the early stages, especially when trying to 'scale-up' their favourite recipes.

"Producing meals in large quantities took a bit of practice at first," admits Colin. "I've now learned that if you take a recipe which includes thyme and make 10 portions, it won't taste right if you add 10 times the amount of such an intensely-flavoured herb. You might only need to increase by two and a half times."

Hospital meals must be consistent, partly because of budget constraints, and March Hare customers also expect dishes to taste exactly the same every time. Therefore the company's restaurant-trained chef has had to learn to curb his 'flair' and follow recipes to the letter.

The Whithams have firm ideas on sourcing food and try to buy locally wherever possible for both types of ready-meal. For March Hare, they limit supplies to Northern England only, and all the meat must be grass-fed and free-range during the summer.
Among their regular suppliers are the Northumbrian Cheese Company, Theakstons Brewery and Yorkshire Game. Lamb and beef comes from three National Trust farms near Wallington, Northumberland, but finding a reliable source of welfare-friendly chicken and pork has not been easy, and Colin is hoping he will locate the right producer soon.

March Hare dishes go out in C-PET meal trays and retail to the public at £4-5 for a main course, and £2.50 for a two-portion container of vegetables. They are usually delivered frozen by the firm's own van, but it is hoped that the launch of the new website will attract internet orders, which will be sent out by courier. The products can either be microwaved, or put in the oven.

Lack of time for food preparation was one of the problems Colin and Julia encountered while they were pursuing their professional careers. They found they were struggling to fit in full-time work with caring for three young children and managing domestic chores at their former home in Shropshire. While Colin tried to remain loyal to his love of cookery, Julia regularly took advantage of ready-meals, but says she found the products on offer "boring."

The couple met while they were both working for the Sunday Times newspaper, where Julia worked her way up to the position of advertising manager. Colin went on to become managing director of a group of regional papers in the Midlands, and Julia eventually left the Times for a position as head of business development for Good Housekeeping magazine.

Despite bringing considerable marketing skills from their previous jobs, finding time to contact potential customers has not been easy, he comments. He and Julia rely mainly on telephone calling to reach potential new outlets, but they are not averse to dropping in on a likely-looking establishment, to speak to the owner direct.

Food fairs are also a way to attract attention, and one of the first orders was placed when a buyer for Bury Lane farm shop in Cambridgeshire approached March Hare at an event. Chatsworth farm shop has also expressed strong interest, but orders have been delayed because packs need to be bar-coded. For 2007, they have booked a space at the International Food and Drink Exhibition at ExCel in London.

"I initially thought that the NHS meals side of the business would virtually run itself, but of course it didn't turn out that way. But when we do find a moment to get in touch with food retailers and send them samples, the response is usually positive."

Colin and Julia have been on several training courses – mostly part-funded by grant aid. Julia has completed the basic and the intermediate food hygiene certificate and intends to study auditing, while Colin has attended a food-labelling workshop. They have found the Food Technology Centre at nearby Middlesbrough a great source of help and advice.

The search for the right name for the new business proved elusive for some time, until one day Colin was doing the school run from the family home they have moved to in the Yorkshire Dales.

"I was thinking about a name that would catch the imagination and evoke images of natural goodness and free-range, when I looked down and saw a hare that had been run over by a car. One idea led to another, but that was my 'Eureka' moment," he says.
Trying to secure a supermarket order is definitely not part of future strategy, although he does eventually aim to target gastro-pubs and restaurants. This last idea is a reaction to the fact that many restaurants are now having difficulty finding staff.
"I'm one of those sad people who sits in bed at night reading recipe books," admits Colin. "It's not practical to aim for huge volumes with March Hare, because our suppliers are mostly small businesses. But I think it's realistic to expect to produce 250,000 meals a year and achieve a £1m turnover at some point.

"The only thing I miss about corporate life is the company car – and the odd expense-account lunch, of course," he adds.