UK-based potato supplier, MBMG, has launched its exclusive brand of Juliette potatoes into the retail trade.
Juliette - part of the company’s Potato Lovers range - has been well-received by caterers since its launch into the food- service sector last year, and will now be stocked in fine-food outlets, Harrods and Selfridges, as a legitimate brand in its own packaging.
An online ordering facility will also be launched on the Potato Lovers website to enable small retailers and restaurants to order the potatoes in either 1kg packs or loose in 10kg boxes.
Marking the occasion, chefs and MBMG customers braved the rain to lift the first potatoes at Elveden Estate - a 22,500 acre Suffolk holding, which grew 20 per cent of the Juliette crop this year.
Paul Gayler, an executive chef at the Lanesborough Hotel, prepared and served the newly-dug potatoes to guests at a special dinner. Later, he stepped out of the kitchen to presenting the Potato Lovers Challenge trophy to Emilia Strazzanti of the Birmingham College of Food, Creative Studies & Tourism, for her recipe, Salad of Juliette Potatoes, Mussels & Fennel.
Neil Beeton, MBMG’s sales director, said: “With the enthusiastic response we have received for the event, but particularly with regard to the taste and texture of the Juliette potato, we are anticipating a strong demand from retailers and food-service customers as Juliette becomes more widely available.”
