In the last year, consumption of asparagus has gone up by an impressive 29 per cent, according to analysts TNS. This achievement is a testament to the efforts of the British Asparagus campaign which ran for the second time last year. However, with a current household penetration of just five per cent, there is considerable room for expansion.
This year vegetable suppliers Mack Multiples, Bomfords, Barfoots of Botley and Exotic Farm Produce have once again joined forces with Kitchen Garden Produce and Tuddenham Hall, the UK’s largest growers of asparagus, to fund and participate in an even bigger national PR campaign.
Spokesmen for the campaign, Chris Kitchen, of Kitchen Garden Produce, and John Clement, of Tuddenham Hall, say they have been pleased with the previous campaigns’ impact on sales and the opportunity to raise the profile of the product among consumers.
“The campaign is all about communication,” says Clement. “It is about taking the product to the customer so that they can see it and learn what to do with it. There is always a lot of bad information and we are just trying to get the really positive messages across.”
With a steady increase in plantings, promotion is vital to ensure additional demand is maintained, Kitchen adds. “It is in our interest as producers to promote the product and improve on the one per cent increase in penetration that we saw last year,” he says. “The last few years have seen a healthy increase in asparagus sales which is encouraging but also means that we have set ourselves tough targets to sustain this growth. We estimate that across Britain there is at least 25 per cent more asparagus in the ground which will be harvested this year. The campaign we have in place to promote British asparagus is therefore crucial - we have to encourage consumers to buy our product and retailers to continue to support it to have another successful season.”
Kitchen has 160 acres of Dutch Gijnlim asparagus in production at his farm in Lincolnshire, which he supplies to a range of customers including three of the major multiples, as well as suppliers to restaurants across London and other retail outlets. Meanwhile, with 300 acres, Tuddenham Hall produces some 14 million spears a year of five varieties from two seed types, which amounts to around 20-25 per cent of the country’s total production, according to Clement.
The campaign kicked off well before the season, with various leading newspapers, magazines and radio broadcasters covering the multiples' race to secure the first available crops, as well as the story of David Brown, an asparagus farmer in the Isle of Wight. Brown placed a bet with Ladbrokes that he would be harvesting the UK’s first naturally grown commercial crop of the year on April 8. Unfortunately he was unsuccessful since cool weather delayed the crop by a week, but he did manage to generate some interest in the product, which can only be a good thing.
The central theme of this year’s campaign is seasonality, Kitchen explains: “We’re living in an age where consumers have lost sight of when crops are in season, which is a great shame because we do grow fabulous seasonal vegetables in Britain. British asparagus heralds the start of summer as one of the first of the new season’s crops.
“When a domestically-grown vegetable is in season it’s being picked, packed and delivered in double-quick time, and asparagus is no exception. Each spear makes a short journey from field to plate so you can enjoy it at its tastiest and most nutritious.”
Clement also expresses his regret over the diminishing concept of seasonality. The UK climate is best suited to growing asparagus in the summer months, so this should be recognised and accepted, he says. “Everything has its place throughout the year but I think we should support the English market. I think asparagus should be eaten in May and June, just like strawberries should be eaten at Wimbledon when they are meant to be grown and so taste their best.”
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Rather than just expecting products to be available year-round, British products should be cherished and looked forward to, Clement continues. “You don’t buy sprouts in June because they wouldn’t taste as good and would be imported so you are looking at 10,000 air miles on them. It’s like picking an apple off the tree or eating one that has been in a cold store for six months - you can taste the difference.”
Clement praises the achievements made by TV chef Jamie Oliver in raising the issue of using quality ingredients in cooking - for which locality, and therefore seasonality, is integral - during his exposé on school dinners. A number of celebrity chefs have been latching onto the concept of seasonality of late, and some have been quick to lend their support to the British asparagus campaign.
According to BBC Saturday Kitchen presenter and restaurateur Antony Worrall Thompson, the beginning of the asparagus season is a highlight of the culinary year. “I can’t wait for May and the first bundles of fresh green domestic spears,” he says.
For Yorkshire TV’s ‘Flying Chef’ Rachel Green, who has been taking part in a number of radio interviews along with Kitchen, British asparagus is steeped in nostalgia. “I grew up with asparagus and the taste of it is part of my childhood,” she says. “My father had about quarter of an acre of asparagus in the garden, with wonderful old crowns growing there, and my brothers and I all had to help bundle it up. It had a beautiful purple tinge, and the flavour was amazing. Now, an old friend grows wonderful asparagus commercially, and I very often use his for cooking - his children are at school with mine, and we pass huge boxes of the stuff across in the school car park.
“I am passionate about cooking and eating seasonally - asparagus tastes so much better, sweeter, more intense, when you have waited for the first crop of the season, and you look forward so much to the next year when you have just eaten the last. A platter of steamed asparagus, and a pot of yellow homemade hollandaise is an English heaven.” Green will be demonstrating her culinary expertise with asparagus and other local produce at The Fun Food Fayre at Easton Farm Park in Suffolk on May 29.
Clement suggests one of the major deterrents for people considering purchasing asparagus is an unfamiliarity with how to prepare it. However, with the asparagus association’s readily updated website and the campaign’s promotional material, the information is widely available, he claims. “Try it and buy it and we will show you how to cook it properly,” he says. “We will show you how to use it in salads or in quiches or as a starter or a main dish, and not just chucked in a pan of boiling water.”
TV chef Oliver also emphasises its versatility, saying it can be steamed, grilled or roasted and makes a good accompaniment to meat or fish. His recipes include both thin and thick varieties, but he says the vegetable is enjoyed best without too much fuss. “I don’t believe in mucking around too much with asparagus - whatever flavours you add should be subtle, such as good olive oil or butter, or extremely complementary, such as anchovy butter or gorgonzola.”
Clement agrees this simplicity is a definite selling point. “People are always complaining about not having enough time to cook proper meals but it only takes five minutes to steam some asparagus and that really isn’t a lot of time, is it? Last night I got in and the asparagus was ready before I’d even pulled the top off my pint!”
He suggests people have also been put off by the price but believes this is unjustified given the work put into cultivating asparagus. “People say it is expensive but it isn’t,” he says. “You have to remember we have 140 people working here. All the asparagus has to be cut by hand which takes a lot of effort. There are a lot of people putting a lot of effort into getting the right product on the supermarket shelves. And you can eat the whole thing - it’s not like a lettuce where you might have to throw half of it away.”
One of the main aspects being highlighted by this year’s campaign is the number of health benefits associated with asparagus. Not only is it low in all the dietary hazards, such as fat, carbohydrates, cholesterol and sodium but it is also a great source of iron, vitamins A, C and E, fibre, folic acid, rutin and prebiotics, according to the British Asparagus Association. As such it can help to boost the immune system, maintain general well-being and weight loss, and prevent heart disease and cancer. In addition, 80g of asparagus counts as one of the 5 A DAY recommendations and it is also said to be a natural aphrodisiac.
With such a glowing portfolio, Kitchen and Clement are both feeling positive about the coming season. “The weather has been a bit colder but the growers I have spoken to all say the crop is looking very good,” Kitchen concludes. “There have been a lot of bud bursts and we are looking forward to a very good harvest season.”
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