This month’s adventure was a sweet and sour affair with a rainy but very enjoyable afternoon at Homme Green in Herefordshire where I met the Drummond family, proud owners of a long established farming business nestled in the heart of the Wye Valley. It’s always exciting to visit one of our suppliers and to understand more about the produce I use, which in turn inspires my dishes for our seasonal menu changes at The Daffodil.The Drummond family have been farming in Herefordshire since 1956. Eric Drummond senior had previously farmed in Scotland and came to The Homme in Ross-on-Wye with it’s ninety hectares of mixed farming. It has passed through the family and today the business is run by Eric junior and his son Ben. Together they manage and oversee the entire farm which includes soft fruit growing, poultry production, arable and potatoes too!
The farmland reaches as far as the eye can see, lush green fields, complemented by neat farm buildings and a beautiful large stone farmhouse which still remains the family home. You get a real sense of a strong family tie not just to farming but to this land in particular, an invisible bond that drew a grandfather here decades ago and that still runs deeply through father and son today.
Never one to let rain stop play, I pulled on my slightly unusual attire of chef’s whites, waterproofs and hiking boots, and left the warmth of the Aga to venture across the vast strawberry fields, shielded from the rain by the neat rows of polytunnels.
I immediately realised the sheer scale of work that goes into fruit growing when I stared at the strawberry fields stretched in front of me, bright red fruit alongside large plump strawberries, keen to ripen under a few rays of much needed sunshine!
I then noticed a small box attached to the side of one of the central tunnels and as I walked towards it I could hear a faint buzz that grew louder the closer I got. I was intrigued as Ben explained that the box was there as a sort of temporary hive for bees. It gives them a shelter whilst they go about their important seasonal task of pollenating the developing strawberry plants.
Fruit growing of any kind requires a huge effort and preparation of the land usually begins in February with the British strawberry season starting in April. The Wye Valley climate is perfect for fruit growing and enables the family to produce early strawberries with a mix of varieties including Elsanta, Elegance, Premier and Triumph. I soon learn that a delicate recipe of high grade planting, sunshine (with the odd chunk of heavy rain!) and bees, plus a large dollop of many years of experience combine to create Drummonds renowned annual crop.
This year is set to be a bumper harvest due to the extended weeks of cold weather in the early part of the year meaning the fruit stays on the plant longer and therefore becomes naturally much sweeter – no sugar required! Fruit growers across the UK and one chef in particular are set to celebrate with lots of exciting new fruity dishes on The Daffodil menu this coming season.
Imported strawberries, now sold for most of the year, are picked whilst slightly under-ripe to ensure that they don't go off during transportation. However strawberries don’t actually ripen any further once picked and so imported strawberries are often hard and lack the really natural sweetness that we all love. If you taste imported directly against fresh, in season British strawberries then there’s no comparison – buying British really is a ‘no brainer’ in my view!
We regularly hear that the state of British farming is in jeopardy with bad weather, rising costs and disease. This worrying picture is a strong argument for us all to buy local and seasonal wherever possible.
I leave the farm with my passion for local produce once again reaffirmed having seen the hard work and commitment involved. I can’t help but take my own small punnet back to The Daffodil kitchen and get straight to it by creating a stunning little number of Meringue mille-feuille with beautifully fresh British strawberries which, once demolished by the boss, heads straight onto our summer menu!
