For sale: the York home with added relish

By The Newsroom
Published 22nd Feb 2019, 14:57 BST
The ground floor is open plan. To the left is the kitchen area, which was the birthplace of Pucketts PicklesThe ground floor is open plan. To the left is the kitchen area, which was the birthplace of Pucketts Pickles
The ground floor is open plan. To the left is the kitchen area, which was the birthplace of Pucketts Pickles
Pickle supremo Sarah Puckett’s stylish York home is for sale now that she has a new property challenge. Sharon Dale reports.

Prospective buyers will no doubt be impressed with the interiors in Sarah Puckett’s stylish home but the property also has a foodie claim to fame.

The period townhouse in York, which is now on the market with Carter Jonas for £335,000, is the birthplace of Puckett’s Pickles.

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Until recently, the kitchen was the epicentre of Sarah’s artisan food business. Using two big jam pans and old family recipes, she cooked up enough chutneys and pickles to fill 200 jars a day.

The dining area, which becoms the sitting area in summer. the table was £10 from a Facebook Buy and Sell page but the Philippe Starck chairs were an investment buy.The dining area, which becoms the sitting area in summer. the table was £10 from a Facebook Buy and Sell page but the Philippe Starck chairs were an investment buy.
The dining area, which becoms the sitting area in summer. the table was £10 from a Facebook Buy and Sell page but the Philippe Starck chairs were an investment buy.

She reclaimed the space for purely domestic purposes after orders flooded in from delis, mail order customers and top chefs, including Andrew Pern and Tom Kerridge.

She now has her own “Pickle Palace, a small unit on an industrial park, along with a new custom-made 160-litre pickling pan and two part-time staff - all essential to help cope with a growing demand for her delicious concoctions, which include curried greens pickle, Puckalilli and beetroot and orange chutney.

The business move is not the only big life change for Sarah. She and her partner have just bought a Victorian villa in need of complete renovation, which is why she has put the “For Sale” sign up on her much-loved house in Heworth.

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She has mixed emotions about selling up as she loves her home and the neighbourhood.

Sarah Puckett now has dedicated premises for her burgeoning pickle business.Sarah Puckett now has dedicated premises for her burgeoning pickle business.
Sarah Puckett now has dedicated premises for her burgeoning pickle business.

She bought the property on Heworth Road 11 years ago after relocating from the south to become Pret a Manger’s North of England operations manager.

“The company put me up in a flat in Leeds city centre at first and I hated it. I like old houses with history and so I moved from there pretty quickly.

“I liked York and when I viewed this house it had a really nice feel and so I bought it. I love it and I’ve been very happy here,” she says.

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While the property was well maintained, the decor wasn’t her style.

The house is one in a row of four. The period exterior hides a contemporary interior.The house is one in a row of four. The period exterior hides a contemporary interior.
The house is one in a row of four. The period exterior hides a contemporary interior.

“It was quite twee and I like a juxtaposition of an old house with contemporary interiors, though I don’t follow trends. I go with my heart and buy what I like,” she says, adding that she prefers a “less is more” approach.

“That might be a reaction to growing up in the 1980s when my mum decorated with Laura Ashley florals, wallpaper borders and lots of antiques.”

She also dislikes every room in a house being painted a different colour and has used a soft white Little Greene paint on the walls throughout her home.

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