On a beautiful midsummers day, MBM, a group of chefs including the renowned Pierre Koffman and Paul Gayler, retail and foodservice customers and food writers celebrated the longest day of the year by harvesting new potatoes in the sun-drenched Cornish fields, before retiring to the tiny, coastal village for a sumptuous meal prepared by MBM’s food innovation manager Claire Harrison and a local chef.
Juliette is a premium new potato bred in France from a cross between the Nicola and Hansa varieties and classified by the French in the highest salad potato category ‘Chair Ferme’. With its firm texture and clean, delicate flavour it is highly regarded by French chefs. Koffman, the former holder of three Michelin stars, was no exception, declaring Juliette: “Delicious. A real potato.”
And the English are now being converted too. “Like Jersey Royals used to taste,” said guest and potato lover Paul Gayler, executive chef at London’s Lanesborough Hotel. “They are amazing.” And his supplier Danny Murphy, of New Covent Garden’s Chefs Connection, said: “These are the best potatoes I have ever eaten.”
“It was a very successful evening,” says Harrison. “We wanted to let the potatoes do the talking and the best way to do that was to serve them simply, alongside some local saddle of lamb. The response was fabulous especially from such respected chefs. The potatoes cooked well, looked beautiful and had a lovely delicate flavour.”
Alistair Bishop, committee member of the Craft Guild of Chefs and executive chef of London’s Paddington Hilton, backs up Harrison with independent praise. He says: “It was the perfect evening. Flawless in every way and the potatoes were a sensation.”
And the innovative concept of asking diners to dig for their supper went down well too. The general consensus was that the group had gained a greater level of understanding of the intricacies surrounding the product pre-kitchen simply by visiting the fields. “It was the first time I’ve ever dug potatoes,’ says Clive Dixon, chef/owner of the Tavern on the Green by Grafham Water. “I’m amazed at how good they are.”
Juliette is being marketed under the Potato Lovers brand with Anya, a unique looking potato with a distinctive tubular thumb shape, a rich flavour and a smooth firm flesh, and Maris Peer, a small, round new potato with a creamy coloured skin and white flesh.
The trio of varieties are all now available in a range of formats from wholesalers, distributors and selected retail outlets nationwide. In addition to the advertising, direct mail and PR campaigns accompanied the launch, and a specific Potato Lovers website - www.potatolovers.co.uk - went live, providing details on the range and how best to cook the potatoes together with recipes and serving suggestions. The website also features an Ask Claire option via which Harrison can provide answers and solutions to any potato queries.
A leading MBM customer is Steve Rangeley, of Costco, who became the first retailer to stock the Potato Lovers range. He says: “We are looking forward to a bright future with Juliette. Congratulations on a wonderful launch.”
The brand aims “to provide chefs and food lovers with quality potatoes that deliver consistently good results every time”. Potato Lovers experts work very closely with Juliette growers in the monitoring of the crop to ensure that only the optimum amount of nutrient and water is applied at exactly the right time and that the crop is harvested only when it is perfect for eating.
The first of the Juliette crop is available each year from mid-June from Cornwall with product becoming available from Suffolk, Norfolk and Lincolnshire a few weeks later. Although Juliette potatoes are at their best fresh from the ground, stored crop will also be available until the end of March to enable the category to extend the stretch of its season as far as possible.
“The products have been extremely well received by our customers. The new potatoes are just the start - we will be adding some revolutionary new lines to the range in September for the winter season,” says MBM sales director Neil Beeton.
“Through consumer research and working closely with our customers over the years, it became very clear to us that although there is a huge range of potatoes available on the market, consumers are not only confused as to which potato variety is best to use but that they are also often disappointed with the end results.
“The Potato Lovers brand encompasses the passion that everyone in the supply chain has for potatoes - from the farmers who lovingly grow and harvest the potatoes, to the care and attention we at MBM take in the selection, storage and packing of the potatoes, to the passion that chefs and food lovers have in producing and serving delicious dishes.”
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