seasons
food & drink
eat the
Keeping you in the know as to what is coming into season each month is NEIL MORTIMER from Lovejoys Wholesale...
N
ovember is the month when frosts and heavy rain usually arrive. Potato growers have finished harvesting and have their crop safely stored in their sheds for winter. Any other vegetable crops are safe left out in the elements with some, like parsnips, benefiting from frosts as that turns the starch into sugar, making them taste sweeter. It has been a good year for local produce, mainly from Bromham. The rain has come at the right times, especially for the potato crops. We are extremely lucky in this area to have an abundance of fantastic vegetables being produced, including Cavolo Nero, curly kale, bunched carrots, rainbow chard, beetroot of all colours, cabbage plus previously mentioned potatoes. We also have lovely watercress grown in Warminster. Other great local produce we sell to our chefs and shops are mussels, rape seed oil, Lacock Dairy ice cream, Hobbs House bread and Shipton Mill flour. We also sell local cheeses and dairy products
28 THEWESTWILTSMAGAZINE
including milk from Shaftesbury and Gloucestershire, eggs from Trowbridge and even quinoa from Corston Fields Farm just outside Bath. We really do our best to champion the local area as much as possible. If you are interested to see other products that we sell please look at our new website and you can see the entire catalogue, plus read about the history of the business.
A DIFFICULT YEAR It has been an extremely difficult year for so many. Most of our cafĂŠs, restaurants and hotels are open again and doing a wonderful job complying with changing regulations, although even on days when they are full they have far less tables than usual due to distancing. It has been very stressful and demoralising at times, but the hospitality trade is there to serve and it will win through. Many have had to come up with ideas to continue to trade, with takeaway options, meals to freeze at home and gazebos, sheds or tents so people can eat outside. One even put
reclaimed sash windows in between tables for screening! We also supply nurseries and schools, many continuing to cook a hot meal each day. Closures and isolation for year groups have been happening, but through it all smiling cooks and lunch staff keep the ball rolling. It gives the children a little normality and is vitally needed for some who perhaps do not get one at home. Our care homes also need a mention - they have again kept three meals a day going, despite all of the many difficulties, a big well done to all of the kitchen teams! This year has shown us that our customers have been resourceful in the face of huge adversity, Lovejoys will continue to provide them with the ingredients and produce to provide meals, or food, to their customers and community. As always email me your questions on growing or anything else. Neil neil@lovejoyswholesale.com @lovejoysuk • lovejoyswholesale.com
