Cornwall touted as the 'new Jersey'

Cornwall is being dubbed the 'new Jersey’ as potatoes fromthe south-west county are starting toget an identity all of their own.

With producers, retailers andchefs raving about their quality, thenext step will be to increase consumerrecognition of the products’ qualities.

One of the region’s biggest advocatesis chef Jack Stein, the son of RickStein who is forging a successful restaurantcareer all of his own.

Stein hasbeen working as an ambassador forBranston’s Cornish potato season, creatingrecipes and promotional videosto showcase the product and its versatility.

Stein tells FPJ that the taste andseasonality of the potatoes is a clearmessage for consumers to understand,and it fits in with Cornwall’sreputation as a producer of high-qualityfood, in particular dairy, fish andmeat. “Cornwall is looking to do something
similar to what Jersey did [withpotatoes],” Stein says.

“But Cornwallhas a lot more food attached to it. It’sgood for a product to be associatedwith the region, and it is a trend thatis coming up.”

Branston itself, which has beentalking passionately about the region’spotential, sources 25,000 tonnes ofCornish potatoes. Maris Peer is thepredominant variety, backed up byGemson, Charlotte and Piccolo Star.

Tesco has been a key supporter ofthe products, featuring them both insouth-west stores and nationally.

“The Seasonal New Cornish cropis the first of the mainland UK’s newseason potatoes each year and wesee Cornwall as a very importantarea in the seasonal calendar, notjust because of its earlier springs butalso because Cornwall already carries
such a strong food association legacy,”a Branston spokesperson says.

“The Tesco Seasonal New offeris all about best in season, freshestpotatoes with a loose fluffy skin.

Cornish Seasonal New potatoestherefore follow on from the Jerseyseason in Tesco stores, not onlydelivering best in season but also instorevariety and innovation.”

Tesco is not the only retailerbacking Cornish. Asda has beenselling Cornish Crystal potatoesin its Extra Special range for severalyears, while other supermarketshave been promoting their ownoffers.

With the current momentumbehind the region’s produce, that isonly likely to continue.