Howard’s Way

By Austen Dack

Chip Shed try Babylon Potatoes from Agrico!

Cambridgeshire potato merchant Isle of Ely Produce have launched a new platform to promote the great British Chip in association with Agrico. Its aim will be to carry on the good work it has been promoting via their hugely successful open days, and the ‘Field to Frier’ award.

The Chip Ambassadors will become part of an UK wide group of shop owners and fryers who will promote best practice for potato buying, storing, and of course frying. The chain will also include key growers too like PJ Lee & Sons, and A. L. Lee Farming Company, as IOE looks to cement the relationships they have grown across the whole supply chain over the last twenty years.

An important area where these new ambassadors will be utilised is to sample any significant new varieties that come into the marketplace. With this in mind Agrico have partnered with Isle of Ely Produce to bring two such varieties into the trade initially via our Chip Ambassadors. The two varieties Babylon and Lugano will be sampled at some of these ambassadors to back up the results of early trial successes.

Recently I visited fish and chip gurus Gregg & Caroline Howard at their magnificent Chip Shed restaurant in Bourton on the Water.

Gregg said “We have been associated with Isle of Ely Produce and their potatoes for many years and have them delivered to our shops via our wholesaler. When we were asked to try a new variety from Agrico, (Babylon) we were only too pleased to do it.”

Oliver Boutwood Isle of Ely Director says. “We have met so many great chip shop owners over the years, all who have brilliant knowledge of what it takes to choose, store and of course fry a potato. We have supplied enough potatoes during that time to serve over 600 million portions of chips. This new scheme will give us even more information across the UK, that we can use to make sure we have the right variety in supply at all times.”

It was great to visit the Chip Shed team

and see their set up and enthusiasm first-hand. To have Chip Ambassadors like Gregg trying samples and giving us valuable feedback is valuable for the whole industry.

Babylon offers the customer outstanding frying and eating qualities that challenge Agria, whilst Lugano offers a sustainable future for the grower in the fight against potato cyst nematode (PCN), while producing excellent frying and eating quality for the customer.”

Gregg said of Babylon “It was a clean big and bold sample, with easy preparation. They fried very well in the pan and held up in the chip box too. Our customers enjoy a rich coloured chip and we are looking forward to trying some more as they tasted excellent too.”

Alex Moore, Agrico UK Sales Manager said: “Our varieties have made up a large proportion of the potatoes supplied to the chip shop sector over the years. However, previously we have had very little interaction with the shops themselves. We are thrilled to be working closely with the Chip Ambassadors to launch two of our exciting new varieties. As a business we are always trying to breed better tasting and more sustainable potato varieties. In Babylon and Lugano we have both! We place a lot of emphasis on product management and this link with the Chip Ambassadors, Isle of Ely and the growers will help us ensure that each area of the supply chain know how to get the best out of Agrico varieties, to give the end customer the best chips they can buy.”

Chip shop owners already signed as Chip Ambassadors for Isle of Ely Produce are Colin Cromer – The Fish Hoose, Kerry Brennan – Golden Union, David Henley – Henley’s, Richard Ord Jr – Colmans, Eric Snaith – Eric’s, Kelly & Tim Barnes – Krispies, Lauren Kellaway – Kellaways, Charlie Collins – Frydales, Fred Capel- Chez Fred, Matt & Ashley Phillips – Shap Chippy, Malachy Mallon The Dolphin Takeaway, Richard Foster – Fish and Chips at Weston Grove, Emir Hikary – Hiks, Alan Shillingford – Shillingfords, Gregg Howard The Chip Shed and Sarah Heward – The Real Food Café.

We will be featuring Babylon and Lugano in the coming months both inprint and online to showcase their merits to the fish and chip industry. We will also invite you to taste them at the open day at the farm at our next open day.

Email austen@isleofely.co.uk if you too would like to become a Chip Ambassador and try Babylon and Lugano for yourselves.