Raspberries

It's been another frustrating year at Rolley's of Glassonby. Robin's raspberries are large and juicy with a beautiful depth of colour. You're welcome to go and pick your own (their fields are near Long Meg) but for us it's been very hit and miss. Robin needs dry conditions to pick for us and every otherday it rains! Weather permitting he should be able to supply us for this weekend, but it's as likely as England beating South Africa.

Strawberries
Our strawberry supplies still hold good. These are grown under cover and supplied each Thursday direct from our farming friend, John Starkey, down in Worcestershire. The blackberries from Starkey's are magnificent this year and we are getting weekly deliveries as well.

Potatoes
Cumbrian new potatoes have now arrived: the first of the season. Our local supplies are still main crop. At South Farm Shop we carry Carrol's Heritage potatoes from Northumberland. We have found that the Ratte are the most popular, being an excellent choice for a salad potato. This weekend we will be getting local raddishes.

General

Alexander Evans, the Farm Shops manager and buyer began his real love of food when he joined Harrods Food Hall as a temporary Christmas job and left some sixteen years later, having worked in charcuterie, cheese and chocolate halls, before escaping to Cumbria.

Inspired by the food producers he meets, Alexander has made it his mission to promote the producers as much as the food they produce. His shelf edge descriptions of the food that he has selected are a personal guide and are an important link between the producer and the public and have been copied by many food producers to promote their wares

Not all our products land at our doorstep: Alexander travels the country visiting Farmers Markets and Food Fairs to find like minded people who have a story to tell and express it through the food they produce.

It's very satisfying giving space on our shelves to new producers and last autumn we were delighted to accept delivery of the first goats cheeses made by Lynn Ballentine-Dykes at Arkleby, Cumbria. Her blue goats cheese was so delicious that Alexander got her to make a larger Wardhall Blue so that we could serve it from our cheese counter. Her range with us now, has increased to eight delicious cheeses including two soft cows milk cheese called Arkleby and Gilcrux.