MARKET REPORT FOR APRIL 2024
April brings a lovely shift in the season and brings great pleasure. It’s a tipping point: we are leaving behind the roots and starting to see all the things we haven’t seen for a year, such as tomatoes, broad beans and peas.
Asparagus is the king of all vegetables . You can’t beat the British season. Recent cold nights haven’t helped but the season is building up speed now and grading has been good. Wild asparagus from France is also starting.
Wild garlic is in its prime but will be moving to flower in the next few weeks. Wet garlic from Egypt. We also have foraged nettles.
For Jersey Royals, we have chats grade along with mids and ware. St George and Mousseron mushrooms join the Chinese and European Morels. Turkish are about to start.
Alfonso mangoes have started. They arrive airfreight from India and we buy them straight off the plane - sometimes you can still feel the sun’s heat in the fruit.
Courgette flowers are excellent quality. We have the new crop from Europe and they are stunning. Also round yellow and green courgettes from France. White (a.k.a. Nicoise) will be along later this month. It is still a bit early for the Provence tomatoes - they are available but flavour will improve.
Peas and broad beans come from Spain. UK purple broccoli is good now. For artichokes, Spanish Calico is moving to French Camus.
We’re selling fantastic Charentais melons that we airfreight from the West Indies .We were fed up with all the melons that lack flavour. With these, you can actually smell the aroma.
Gariguette and Ciflorette strawberries are available along with Spanish fraise de bois as a pre-order. Can also offer the first Tulameen raspberries from Panach, the top French grower.
Many of the radicchios are coming to an end. Castelfranco does carry on for longer but loses some of its vibrant colour. Precoce is still food quality. Puntarelle and cime di rapa are also finishing. Citrus is winding down, including blood oranges.
We will be starting some Lebanese nuts, soon – almonds and pistachios. Borlotti beans should start soon. We expect the first Spanish apricots at the end of the month. Beausse, our favourite salad grower, will get underway this month in Rungis.
