 The Beginnings
The story of Lea & Perrins® famous Worcestershire Sauce begins in the early
1800s, in the county of Worcester. Returning home from his travels in Bengal,
Lord Sandys, a nobleman of the area, was eager to duplicate a recipe he'd
acquired. On Lord Sandys's request, two chemists—John Lea and William
Perrins made up the first batch of the sauce.
Lea and Perrins were not impressed with their initial results. The pair found
the taste unpalatable, and simply left the jars in their cellar to gather dust.
A few years later, they stumbled across them and decided to taste the contents
again. To their delight, the aging process had turned it into a delicious,
savory sauce.
Soon Mr. Lea and Mr. Perrins began bottling their special blend of vinegars and
seasonings. Without any kind of advertising, in just a few short years, it was
known and coveted in kitchens throughout Europe.
In 1839, John Duncan, a New York entrepreneur, ordered a small quantity of Lea
& Perrins Worcestershire Sauce. In the space of a few short years Duncan
was importing large shipments to keep up with demand. Lea & Perrins® was the
only commercially-bottled condiment in U.S., and Americans loved it rightaway.
Almost 170 years later, Lea & Perrins® sauce remains a favorite in
households across the U.S.
The Secret To Their Success
To this day, the recipe remains a closely guarded secret and only a privileged
few know the exact ingredients. To protect the sauce from other imitators, the
famous Lea & Perrins® signature was put on the label of the bottle, as it
appears today. Lea & Perrins® remains true to the spirit of the original
recipe, combining ingredients from around the world and aging the sauce in
wooden casks for 18 months for a richer, smoother flavor.
Loved Worldwide
Lea & Perrins® sauce is now available in over 75 countries worldwide. In the
UK, it is used to make the ultimate cheese on toast, in Spain it's used in
salads. In Hong Kong, Lea & Perrins® is a favoured dipping sauce, stir-fry
sauce and beef marinade. Lea & Perrins® might be served with refried beans
in El Salvador and in Canada and the USA, it's known as the "Burger Booster®"
used in beef burger recipes. One thing is for sure – Lea & Perrins® is a
versatile sauce that is a part of time honored family traditions worldwide.
Fun Facts
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Imported in 1839 by New York buiness man John Duncan, Lea & Perrins® is the
oldest commercially bottled condiment in the U.S.!
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Worcestershire can be properly pronounced a few ways: "wust-ter-shire,
"woos-ter-sheer", or "woos-ter-sher" sauce. But the easiest way to say
Worcestershire Sauce is Lea & Perrins®!
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Lea & Perrins® Worcestershire Sauce has been awarded the highly-prized Royal Warrant from Her
Majesty The Queen - a mark regarded as a sign of excellence and quality. For
more information visit www.royalwarrant.org.
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The Bloody Mary was born in 1921 at 'Harry's New York Bar' in Paris, when the
barman mixed vodka with tomato juice and a splash of Lea & Perrins®
Worcestershire Sauce. The rest, as they say, is history.
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Our Famous Wrap
Lea & Perrins® first started exporting Worcestershire sauce around the world
by boat. The lengthy and often rough sea voyages caused some of the bottles to
break. The practice of wrapping each bottle in a paper wrap was devised to
protect the bottles and prevent breakage.
While wrapping bottles is no longer technically necessary, the custom has
endured, and the wrap has come to symbolize the rich heritage and premium
quality of Lea & Perrins® sauces, a tradition dating back to 1835.
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