Having recently returned from a break in Canada, I felt compelled to focus this month’s column on applauding the country’s outlook and use of fresh produce. I don’t miss leaving behind the unusually glum Canadian weather, but I am pining for their refreshingly, fantastic use of fresh.
Minutes out of any city, carts and trailers adorn the side of the roads, with a medley of fresh fruit punnets creating a visual feast. It was great fun pulling over and picking up an armful of plums, peaches and mouth-watering tomatoes. The market-garden style made a novel change and despite being quite ordinary in their promotion (a roadside chalkboard), the presentation was fantastic.
At the other end of the spectrum, the large supermarkets did not disappoint. Fresh produce was hard to avoid - it is the first category you see and isn’t concealed by packaging - no plastic or bar codes in sight; just an open display, not afraid to show the product off, stacked high and proud in a traditional style. It made the shopping experience more tactile and encouraged you to be more adventurous in your purchase. And they’re not perturbed by showing the product in its true state - slightly tarnished, odd shapes - visually, product had an out-of-the-ground appearance, but to taste it was in a class of its own.
The sheer volume of product available was also a pleasure. At a covered market on the edge of Vancouver, I counted more than 20 types of tomato, including Heirloom products, from all over the world. Here, you wouldn’t have looked out of place in chef whites, as sales were secured through buying by taste, with saucers of samples everywhere.
The restaurant experience also offered a lot more than our home market - no package meals to be seen, an emphasis on taking the raw product and preparing it for a home-cooked feel; not the burger-and-chip mentality that North America is so often branded with. From high street chain to high-end restaurant, the differentiation in quality is marginal. In most restaurants, you can pick from around 20 types of vegetable to accompany your meal - not simple a medley mix that stays stagnant on a menu for four months. Is the consistent good food a result of a better supply base than the UK? Do Canadian suppliers more ably guide their customers into experimentation, or do they have a better back-of-house skill base than us?
Food safety is obviously very important, but travelling around Canada I started to wonder if our convoluted standards on how to cook and prepare fresh produce are actually disabling a higher quality restaurant experience, and encouraging less experienced chefs to the fore.
Take the high street in any major city - fresh corn cob stands on every corner prove that food fashion hasn’t dominated Canada and they’re happy to promote good food when it’s at its best. There were barely any carbonated drinks, but instead stands sold freshly squeezed lemonade served over ice.
It’s saddening that our farming and fishing industries are under threat - in Canada it is very much a part of their heritage. We’re an island, but aside from Rick Stein, I struggle to think of any fresh fish restaurants that have earned a reputation - in Canada there are a myriad of outlets.
Of course, my observations don’t represent the whole of Canada, but I would like to see the UK take a (maple) leaf from their book. The industry needs to make customers aware, not of developing the next mustard seed, but simply to promote what’s good at the defining time; worrying less about trends, and more about taste. We need to focus on what’s in season and pushing the old favourites; challenging the limits of food fashion, proclaiming fresh on a menu and helping customers to welcome fresh produce, and not be frightened of its peaks and troughs.
It could be argued that the sheer size of the country allows Canada to import less product, but the UK seasons are notably milder, so opportunities must be out there. The country was such a breath of fresh air that I have to ask myself what we can do to help similar growth in the foodservice industry here at home.
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