21st June 2019
#Food & Drink #Sports
Wimbledon may be revered worldwide as the quintessential British experience, synonymous with Pimms, Murray and an array of fashion conscious tennis superfans all looking for a piece of the action, but there’s one superstar we haven’t mentioned that’s been quietly making its mark in the light of the UK’s greatest tennis tournament, the humble but perfectly formed strawberry.
Last year over 1429 kilos were enjoyed throughout our pubs during the Wimbledon tennis, a pretty respectable number, ( albeit far from the 28k consumed at the actual championships)….but as we all know size isn’t everything and we decided to catch up with our very own strawberry supplier Michael Bowden of Kirkenel Orchards, to find out exactly what makes their strawberries so berry, berry good.
“We have been Growing Strawberries here in the beautiful Shropshire countryside for over 30 yrs . My parents had a small patch of land and grew some fruit and veg as a side line.
My Father and I were made redundant from our jobs in the mid 80’s so we started Kirkenel Orchards, specialising in top fruit but we saw a growing market for soft fruit and decided to change direction. In those days there were no commercial poly tunnels available so supply was very hit and miss. In the early 90’s we invested in poly tunnels and the quality and continuity improved and we slowly grew the business adding Raspberries to our offer. We have a very dedicated team working for us and without them all this would be impossible,
Our strawberries are special because we grow the best varieties hand-picked ready to eat we are members of Red Tractor, smeta, leaf and our packhouse is BRC AA* accredited so customers can be sure our fruit is ethically grown. “
The best way to enjoy them?
“I eat strawberries every morning, my favourite way is on top of my porridge can’t beat it.” Michael Bowden: Kirkenel Orchards.
Whether you love your strawberries for breakfast, lunch or dinner (or all three, it is Wimbledon after all!) Check our guide to the best places to enjoy them below.
