French cherry season is coming to an end and although we are sourcing good fruit from other origins, it is the end of the season now. Peach and nectarine are fantastic with some of the best tasting, if a little fragile, fruit coming from Corsica. Plums are really on the move and although still early, we have seen a range of good eating fruit from Oblinaj'a to Ersinger Quetsche and the first false varieties of greengage. Avocado is moving away from Spain and we now have good fruit from Peru. 
Melons are lovely with the Spanish coming to an end and the French taking over. We have had some fun to with mini Magma watermelons that weigh as little as 1.5kilos. We are starting to see the appearance of some new season root vegetables now, the purple stripe Chioggia, golden and white (albina) beetroots from France are particularly stunning this week. New season French parsnips are also starting to show up, and from our grower in La Sarthe we are now able to offer a mixed carrot of white, yellow, purple and round Parisian in the box. Finally to finish the roots, new s
eason celeriac is starting to replace the old crop now albeit a little small at present. On the alliums' side of things new season shallots are the order of the day with a large and small banana shallot being particularly good. We can also offer a half round and the much stronger flavoured grey shallot now as well. Some nice quality new season tiny silver skin grelots from Italy are now coming onto market along with new crop French yellow onion. 
Good news on the Garlic front! The French pink garlic from Tarn has now started available in two calibres, 60/80mm and 70/90mm and also in the more popular 1kg strings, although the strings are a little green at the moment but they should soon dry out. This is always the for runner to the arrival of the famous red label pink garlic from Lautrec later on Soft fruit continues to be readily available with the exception of Tulamine raspberry. (We are offering both strawberries and raspberries from the UK too.) Figs are a must for the next couple of months as the black
become even sweeter, the skins begin to split and the wonderful syrupy juice oozes out! European grape is getting good. Cardinal for colour and the beginning of the Italia season for flavour. 
Plums are coming in all sorts of colours now. Definitely something to think about for fruit bowls in a couple of weeks. The blood fruit has begun - peche de vigne and nectavigne both have red flesh that makes a
great visual addition. As you can see though, the colour is not that bold yet. From an eating point of view they do not come close to "˜traditional' varieties and they are often more delicate, bruising easily. The new season Pink garlic from Tarn. Lautrec will be along in about a month.
Tiny silver skin onions from Italy - great for pickles and sauces. 
Mixed coloured carrot from our local grower, which replaces the bunches. Purple cauliflowers complete the offering of "˜coloured cauli' available to you.
We have worked with Benjamin and his father for many years because of the quality of their product, the care and attention to detail and their willingness to help us and keep us informed (working together). Using organic compost with a high percentage of 
coconut husk, they produce truly great fruit, both visually and on the palate. Very little is added to this natural product by way of chemicals and from pollination to pest 
control, all is done using mother nature's methods - insects. Fruit, both tomatoes and two specialist varieties of strawberry, is harvested by hand and hand packed to minimise possible damage. All this AND it arrives at our warehouse just a little over 24 hours after harvesting. Like this market report and want access to all of the latest industry action? Join The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.
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