Select lincolnshire exhibited at The Restaurant Show 2008 at Earls Court this week for the first time, where it unveiled another first for the UK market.
Select Lincolnshire ambassador Rachel Green told delegates at the Lincolnshire cookery demonstration about the recently launched pink onion that has been produced for the first time in the UK by grower Fraser Key of Key’s of Lincolnshire.
The allium Rosanna has a mild, sweet flavour and is being marketed as a multi-purpose onion. The growing season runs from March to September and the onions are available to both the retail and catering trade.
“This is the first time we have used the pink onion,” Green told FPJ. “The fact that we are the first to grow it shows what a forward-thinking county Lincolnshire is.
“The Restaurant Show is fantastic and people have been very interested in the fresh produce we have been cooking on our stand. As well as pink onions, we have carrots, shallots, chicory, pumpkins, potatoes and brassicas - to name a few.
“This sort of show is like a wave and we will see it reverberate through restaurants, and soon London will be crying out for Lincolnshire produce.”
London’s The Goring Hotel has also been showcasing Lincolnshire products all week in support of Select Lincolnshire, as part of the Lincolnshire County Council initiative’s mission to get the county’s food into the top restaurants.
Mark Tinsley, chairman of the Lincolnshire Forum for Agriculture and Horticulture, said: “Both retailers and wholesalers require a quality that delights customers and, despite retailers trying to source from elsewhere, they continue to come back to Lincolnshire.
“Why can’t the foodservice industry equally have access to Lincolnshire produce? It can, and its customers should be eating produce from the best producing area.
“This is why we are building the Select Lincolnshire brand and bringing it to London. It takes time to build a brand and it would be simple to rely on reputation, but this is not enough.” l
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