The Shallot Growers Association held an event at a salubrious London location, as it takes its first step to increase the profile of shallots within the UK. The day also marked the official launch of a new website to support the efforts of the association - www.ukshallot.com which seeks to raise the profile of the vegetable through a range of initiatives.
The event took place at The Arts Club in Green Park, London and featured celebrity chef Rachel Green who cooked various dishes featuring shallots to show the versatility of the vegetable.
Paul Cripsey, farm manager at FB Parrish and Son, said that the UK is missing out on the qualities of the shallot and there is much room for improvement. He said: "While on average the French each enjoy approximately 580 gms of shallot a year, in the UK we consume just 70gms. This equates to only three shallots per person."
The shallot possesses a unique flavour and is much sweeter and firmer than the onion. However, the problem seems to be that consumers do not know what to do with it. Chris Kitchen, of Kitchen Garden Produce, believes that there is plenty of work to do. He said: "Our recent research surveyed 300 people over three locations. It revealed that almost one in three UK shoppers never purchase shallots - and it generally seems it's because they don't know what to do with it. Educating consumers and providing them with information is vital."
The association will put the website address on packs of shallots in stores, which will act to encourage shoppers to find out more and the website every month will feature a recipe provided by Rachel Green. The chef prepared a selection of mouth-watering dishes, on the day, using shallots. She said: "People are unsure what to do with shallots, hopefully my recipes will give a few ideas."
Robert Barker of Garner Foods, part of the Baxter Group, spoke about the rise in popularity of pickled shallots, which is seen as a rapidly growing area of the business. He said: "Engine Farm provide us with our shallots for pickling. Pickled shallots is a rapidly growing area and we've decided to response to customer requests by doubling the jar size, which will be seen in stores for the first time at Christmas."
The five UK shallot growers, FB Parrish and Son, Kitchen Garden Produce, Oldershaw Group, Engine Farm Ltd and E M Key make up the Shallot Growers Association and the quintet are now working hard to encourage the consumption of the vegetable and are looking for help from retailers to help promote its culinary uses.
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