People who shop in supermarkets are mostly in a disconnect with where their food comes from. Vegetables in the major supermarkets are from farms producing on a massive scale and not always UK based. I am glad to see that that things are changing and people are searching out something extra.
Chefs over recent years have been leading the charge for getting their produce from the farmers themselves cutting out the people in the middle, getting fresher faster more sustainable and supporting the small businesses that deserve to be seen.
Where I work in London, we interact with fishermen livestock farmers and butchers. We have vegetable growers who plant for our needs and deliver directly to us.
As an Asian restaurant our needs are somewhat different to the everyday, so we work closely with Namayasai farm in East Sussex which is run by Ikuko Suzuki and Robin Williams.
They started there in in 2005 and worked hard to establish an agrochemical free growing regime, nothing added and all organic, now they have around 60 acres including 2 large green houses where they grow herbs and salad leaves dotted with a few yuzu trees.
the fields are populated with fruit trees including Nashi pears with first season of fruit under their belt in 2017.
Sea buckthorn negi daikon Kyoto style turnips grow outside also where also fruit bushes Blackcurrants, Gooseberries Tayberry and a fair few I have never heard of reside.
As the season progresses, I hope to dive into the lesser varietal’s, education, curiosity, and not forgetting a good dose of hunger!
Namayasi are well known amongst Japanese restaurants and the new breed of chefs, the produce from the farm is featured on many menus in London and Sussex and is Championed by many.
The lockdown continues as I write this, the restrictions have been eased slightly so it was possible to go and collect some vegetables pulled from the earth just an hour before my visit. Let me tell you the difference between shop bought is palpable.
My bag had Hourensou spinach (with roots on), Shungiku (edible chrysanthemum), Wild rocket Rainbow chard, Spring herb selection (yomogi, (mugwort), fennel, mint) not forgetting some Negi.
Although the core business would be expected to be the trade customers, such is the enthusiasm for cooking with different ingredients and primarily super fresh ones, their veg box distribution far outstrips the supply to trade. The British have found a new enthusiasm for cooking and perhaps for more interesting ingredients.
The boxes are pre ordered with a selection of the seasonal produce and then distributed to a number of pick-up points
Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays in the London area, Thursdays in Lewes, Alfriston, Seaford, Brighton & Hove and up to Haywards Heath, during lockdown this has been a benefit to all.
I made myself busy when I returned home as not to miss out on an opportunity to cook them as soon as possible.
Firstly, some mint tea while I washed the spinach and chard,
Which would make up the components for dinner.
The spinach was blanched and cut sprinkled with sesame seeds and would later be doused with homemade ponzu made with the fresh yuzu from a delivery a few weeks previous.
The Negi and chard were component parts in a vegetable stir-fry with just a little salt added so we could enjoy as natural as possible.
Some fried tofu marinated in dashi and we had a feast.
Sussex has a whole manner of interesting producers’ growers of fruit and vegetables, a lot of local wine cheesemakers and livestock farmers, but like the fields here you have to dig a little deeper to find them, but you will be rewarded.
