Seasonal update - March 19th

Seasonal update - March 19th
Wild Harvest UK

Wild Harvest UK

Standard Supplier 20th March 2012
Wild Harvest UK

Wild Harvest UK

Standard Supplier

Seasonal update - March 19th

 
Wild Mushrooms
 
The US continues to produce pied de mouton, yellow legged chanterelle & trompette despite dangerously high winds in the picking areas.
Proud as punch to receive the first of the small garnish friendly morels today (photo above), with fresh stock already lined up for next week.
Quality is excellent, but it will take rainfall to bring on a mighty flush and push prices down. We are selling at prices keener than we are being offered wholesale!
The season is due to last well into July when the mushroom will reach its adult size, perfect for stuffing with a nice truffled chicken mousse.
I’m treating myself to 100g for my Sunday lunch, and plan to make a nice creamy topping for a crostini.
 
Truffles
 
Winter truffles at a keen price with a fine nose and marbling.
Spring whites could finish any week soon, but we expect availability for Tuesday.
 
Fruits
 
Blood oranges are likely to come to a premature end next week.Many wholesalers have already pulled out, and others are busy rejecting shipments due to softness.
Our blood orange frozen puree from Sicoly gets excellent feedback, and (as for all their products) is frozen when the fruit are at their peek.
 
We tasted some charentais melons from the Dominican Republic this week, which where passable. On Monday we receive Moroccan versions of the king of melons. If they taste good we will go big for Wednesday, as North Africa works better for my carbon footprint conscience than the Caribbean.
 
We have heard that the French coeur de pigeon tomato is eating well, so we have a test batch for Monday.
Big plans for our tomato and salad leaf offering for the summer, we will be grilling both our Italian & French suppliers to offer a broad, unusual and delicious spread.
 
Vegetables
 
We have a fine trio of foraged aliums. Supply constant on all three – wild leeks, garlic & onion.
 
As the Jersey royal crop increases, grading becomes easier. From next week we can offer the more popular mid alongside the ware size.
 
Brassicas and the chicory family are thriving under current conditions.
We have seen some truly excellent British purple sprouting broccoli, French baby cauliflowers and Italian castelfranco this week.
 
The last week of the boule d’or golden turnip.
 
New season garlic is on the market. I’m checking quality for a start date as the Egyptian product spied this week was not up to scratch.
 
Fiddlehead ferns are going down a storm as an exotic crunchy garnish.
 
Lots more to talk about; give the office a call….

In these challenging times…

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 and restrict access – 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 12 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 500,000 followers across Facebook, Twitter, 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.