Following on from the review of The National Fruit Show in last week's Journal, this week The English Apple Man reports on The Festival of British Fruit at Wakehurst Place over the weekend of 20th & 21st October.
Wakehurst Place is in West Sussex; a Botanical garden with the world's largest seed conservation project and a chance to explore 465 acres of country estate with ornamental gardens, temperate woodlands and an Elizabethan Mansion. Wakehurst offers seasonal walks and themed tours to discover more!
The Festival was held in conjunction with 'The Great Seed Swap' at Wakehurst Place where visitors could swap seeds with other visitors in The Millenium Seedbank Building. Wakehurst marked an international conservation milestone in 2010, having conserved seeds from ten per cent of the world's plant species.
The National Fruit Show annual 'after show' event marked its 10th birthday this year. The opportunity to take the show fruit to new places each year is both challenging and satisfying. A lot of planning goes into this event each year and we can never be sure of success until the weekend draws to a close.
The 'Great Seed Swap' held on Saturday was guaranteed to draw many visitors to the Millenium Seedbank Building where the display of Show Fruit 'wowed' the visitors and we were set up to offer 'tasting & purchase' of the show fruit to the many visitors to our stand.
Soft Fruit & Nuts compete in their respective classes at The National fruit Show and although there were no Walnut entries this year, Cobnuts were represented. Strawberry, Raspberry & Blackberry entries were of a very high standard and added another area of interest for the visitors to The Festival of British Fruit at Wakehurst Place.
It was a joy to see many young children trying and enjoying the taste of our many English Apple & Pear varieties. These delightful pictures were taken by Jamie McGrorty of South East Farmer.
The experience of tasting English apples & pears in optimum condition brought smiles of satisfaction to all present; the opportunity to taste the many different varieties on display enabled each customer the chance to try and fully appreciate the many new English grown varieties that are extending the portfolio of English Apples & Pears.
The days when our industry depended largely on Cox & Bramley apples and Conference pears has passed and the future is in the hands of Gala, Braeburn, Jazz, Rubens, Kanzi, Cameo, Zari, and many more; Cox, Bramley and Conference will still be there, and hopefully with new growing systems English Conference pears will increase in volume to reduce the need for imported pears.
At Wakehurst we were able to offer for tasting a small quantity of the Sweet Sensation Pears (a blush Comice) now growing at East Malling Research; the superb flavour and texture 'more than' impressed those fortunate to taste this new English grown Pear.
By lunchtime, the flow of people through the building had been good, but sales were not matching our anticipated target so an 'executive decision' brought our Sunday plan into operation early on Saturday afternoon.
We had anticipated less visitors to The Millenium Seedbank building on Sunday and had planned a second selling point near the entrance to The Visitor Centre.
This proved very successful and sales of full trays (each holds circa 35+ fruit) 'took off' as soon as we were up and running, ensuring all visitors to Wakehurst that weekend would see our display and with the car park just 50 yards away, the trays priced at £6 each were fantastic value. Customers could also buy 5 fruits for £1. These 5 fruits could be selected by the customer from any of the varieties present; the 'mix and match' could be a mixture of apples & pears.
With all these tasty apples & pears on show, it is poignant that the latest Jazz Newsletter arrived in my mailbox on Wednesday.
JAZZ was voted tastiest apple at the 2012 National Fruit Show
JAZZ inherits the best attributes of its parents; Gala & Braeburn. The firm texture is definitely inherited from Braeburn, while the juicy element is more of a Gala trait. The sweet flavour is a balance of the best of Gala & Braeburn. Jazz has a superb 'shelf life' and can be left in the fruit bowl in ambient temperatures for a couple of weeks and will still eat very well; retaining the firm juicy texture.
Juice is an integral element of The National Fruit Show and the juice competition is hotly contested. It never ceases to amaze me how many different English apple & pear juices are available, many having made their entry in the last Decade. Moor Organics who produce Organic Apple & Pears at Nickle Farm at Deerton Street near Faversham in East Kent and specialise in high quality juice joined us at Wakehurst Place.
Moor Organics is very much a family business and helping Nick Moor at Wakehurst over the weekend, his wife, sister-in-law, daughter and niece.
Regular readers of The English Apple Man will be aware of my 'love affair' with fine food. My ex colleagues even sign on to my website just to see where my latest gourmet adventure has taken me!
WELL; on Wednesday I took my daughter and her family to Webbes 'Rock-a-Nore' Fish Restaurant in The Old Town in Hastings, East Sussex.
Situated opposite Hastings newest visitor attraction, The Jerwood Gallery and no more than a 'stones throw' from The Hastings Fishing Boats which bring fresh fish daily to this little corner of East Sussex.
This Fish Restaurant is one of four in the WEBBES RESTAURANTS group. The Wild Mushroom in Westfield in East Sussex has been delivering gourmet meals for 15 years and Webbes Fish Restaurant in Rye has been open for ten years. The Fish Restaurant in Hastings has been open for 4 years, but this was my first visit and we were not disappointed. Never have I enjoyed 'Cod & Chips' as much as the superb fresh fish caught that morning by the Hastings Fishermen and cooked and presented so superbly!
AND, for dessert, delicious Bramley Apple Fritters!
A message from Chef Owner Paul & his wife Rebecca Webbe
"Our collection of successful, individually stylish, modern restaurants, and Cookery School grew entirely from our passion for the wonderful, wild & natural ingredients of possibly the most exciting triangle of food flavour in the region - the Rye Bay area of Sussex between Rye, Westfield and Hastings Old Town with it's outstanding eco-friendly fishing; woods, farms, gardens and vineyards"
Next week The English Apple Man visits a Morrisons Distribution Depot in North Kent.
Take care
'The English Apple Man'