Wild mushrooms seem to be everywhere at the moment with suppliers we would not usually associate with them, having piles of cepes of various calibres on offer. (They are the tricky exception to a general rule of freshness that can be seen and felt.) We have a good range of cultivated on offer too but beware that pied bleu is proving difficult and therefore more expensive at the moment. Burgundy truffle continues to be popular and we have secured a good price for white Alba truffle.
Edible flowers are tricky now as the last of the French ones arrive. We will soon be forced to go over to air-freighted ones.
As for fruit, well it's all about citrus now! Clementines are really good with the start of the second variety of the season - Oronule. They are available with or without the leaf depending on your requirements. Other citrus now includes Primofiori lemons and the first oranges are just around the corner.
Apples and pears are excellent with new varieties like Chantecler as popular as ever and the very colourful, sweet Jazz now in its prime too. Colder weather should provide a good golden rosée in the next week or two.
We've been asked several times this week when Italian roquette will be available. Well it is!!! But we would prefer wait to wait a few cuts as the first leaves are often too large. Meanwhile our Fontainebleau grower is bringing us his best roquette of season - never too late!!!
Brittany fields are giving their best at the moment. Most of our vegetable are coming from there and some of our favorites include cauliflower, cabbage, coloured carrots, and various other roots"¦
Moroccan bobi beans and extra fine beans are back on the market as the French machine beans are finishing. Best tasting and looking are from Morocco.
Peppers red, green and yellow are now coming from Spain, replacing Belgium product so too Spanish aubergines. Wrapped Spanish cucumbers are now highly recommended. From time to time we also get our hand s on some super large red and green clovis peppers - arrivals are just less regular than the californian.
We've been eating our first Italian datterino and Piccadilly tomatoes. They were super sweet. Only one arrival in the first part of the week at the moment.
Apart from that beetroots, carrots, turnips specialty roots and of course Jerusalem artichoke are our new best friends! 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.
Over the last 16 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 560,000 followers across Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.
A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.
Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.
