Borough Market’s Elsey & Bent welcomed Cobrey Farms’ first new-season green and purple Wye Valley-branded asparagus last week.
Cobrey Farms’ partner John Chinn and his wife Gay handed out samples of griddled green asparagus and raw purple asparagus to passersby at Elsey & Bent’s stall last Friday. The firm is receiving 1,200 bundles of asparagus a week from the Ross-on-Wye-based producer.
Chinn was enthusiastic for the coming season, despite a late spring and a crop delayed by approximately two weeks. He told FPJ: “British asparagus is an iconic British product. The customers at Borough Market are excited and understand that asparagus is late because of a delayed spring. Because of the late start, the crop’s yield will be lower than usual, but we will still produce 30 tonnes a day at our peak in May.”
Cobrey Farms will supply Marks & Spencer exclusively with new variety Royal Crown this year, which Chinn believes brings a point of difference with its sweet and tender spears.
The company aims to supply another new variety through to October in a limited quantity in 2011 and reach full commercial volumes by 2012.
Chinn described himself as an “ambassador” for the asparagus industry and said that consumers’ positive reactions to the premium product during the recession gave him further confidence in the UK industry. “We need to differentiate between new-season, home-grown asparagus and imported,” he continued. “It really can taste like a different vegetable and people will continue to pay a premium.”
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