Produce World's Andrew Burgess has called for a National Kale Day to be established in the UK.
Figures show that kale sales are up by 79 per cent year on year in major UK multiples, which has led the firm's agriculture director to make the claim.
The USA is celebrating National Kale Day this Wednesday (1 October), with the superfood being presented in all its glory at an event that celebrates eating, growing and sharing kale throughout the USA.
Burgess said: “In recent years kale has boomed; not just in America but also in the UK. I think that having a National Kale Day is a fantastic initiative and should become a permanent fixture in the UK calendar too.
“It’s a great opportunity to not only try out new varieties, but learn about the different ways people grow the vegetable and find out what they like about the current varieties already in shops”.
The Produce World Group has been trying out new varieties in its trial fields this year, including coloured kale, baby kale and kale sprouts. This work has seen the UK’s leading grower and supplier of fresh vegetables into retail produce pink and white varieties, as well as kale sprouts, which look like small green and purple flowers.
Currently there are around 50 different varieties of kale, and since the vegetable was first cultivated 6,000 years ago, it has grown quite a fan base - the likes of Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Katy Perry are all said to be avid kale lovers.
This year’s National Kale Day in the USA, which is the second of its kind, will see an array of events to promote the veg, including kale being served to around 1.1 million children across New York state schools.
Burgess added: “If we could bring National Kale Day to the UK, it would not only raise the profile of the vegetable further but encourage people to get excited about all that is kale”.
