Garden to Plate
How we use the winter garden produce at Chapters
For many restaurants that focus on seasonal produce January & February can be a little trickier and with the weather at the tail end of 2022 being a little crazy - wet, warm, frosts and snow all in the wrong order - we have found ourselves a little lacking.
One item that has always served us well is the Jerusalem Artichoke; a perennial root that needs little to no maintenance and gives a great return each year. During December the first course was an artichoke veloute topped with a hazelnut foam served with soda bread & Welsh kelp butter (see below).
When the restaurant reopened at the end of January and for the first couple of weeks in February we served the crème fraiche dish pictured above. Using the crème fraiche from Neals Yard Creamery which we are lucky enough to have located just a few miles away in Dorstone.
To read more about the Jerusalem Artichoke here are a few articles
Alys Fowler: The Guardian
RHS
Recipes
Other home grown ingredients that have featured include Cavolo Nero - all our chard and PSB succumb to the frosts - and many hardy herbs & salad leaves. Rosemary and Thyme are being used in stocks and in the polytunnel we have a nice patch of Winter Purslane and Land Cress. Outside the Corn Salad is doing really well and have even found some self seeded plants in amongst the fava beans.
On a slightly different but very much related topic I have been thinking about the panic around the country at the moment about the lack of fresh produce available in the supermarkets. One thing I think so important to remember is that food is seasonal, we shouldn’t have access to all foods all of the time. Salad is available in the winter but it looks different from the salad in the summer, rather than tomatoes and cucumber try Cavolo Nero and chicory leaves. Farmers markets, greengrocers and veg boxes around the country are full of salad - items might be different to what you are used to but they are definitely worth trying - winter leaves tend to be a little more bitter but are absolutely delicious.
Cucumbers shouldn’t be available February, never mind being rationed to 2 per person. Wait till the summer when they are at their best enjoy, food when it is being grown in this country and ask your veg supplier for more details on what to do with things you don’t recognise. That is what these people are there for, they love to talk about their products and will happily chat about recipes.
For more on this topic head HERE as Guy from Riverford Organics explains things so well and with an amazing passion and knowledge.
I am always on the look out for local suppliers of fruit and vegetables that we can use in addition to what we grow. If you have a market garden or supply to restaurants then do get in touch as we would love to hear from you.