Asparagus; the chefs who nailed it this season
Asparagus season is coming to a close, but its not too late to set your mitts on the last of it. Our supplier Ben, on the Isle of Wight, picks the good stuff to order and has it at your front door in 24 hours.
Through Foodchain, chefs have been able to get the highest grade for as little as £9 a kilo; and, if they aren’t too fussy about a bendy stalk here and there, they can bag a bargain with Grade B boxes at just £4.50.
From April to late June nowhere is more excitable than at Foodchain HQ; we always have a crate of delicate Isle of Wight spears stashed in the corner of the office. As we move on to the first new ingredients of summer (including tomatoes from the same sunshiney corner of England) join us, as we pick the chefs who we think smashed it out the park this asparagus season.
The Dysart at Petersham have taken Asparagus straight back to its traditional French roots with the classic combination of morels, poussin and of course our Isle of Wight Asparagus. Chervil, garlic flowers and wild fennel make this dish pop and, these, of course, are sourced via Foodchain from Growing Underground, the team using disused tunnels to grow microgreens.
Also on the French vibe is Blanchette in Soho. Perfectly grilled, served in greedy slices, their juicy forerib from Gordon’s gets a dash of colour from those bright green shoots.
At The Smoking Goat the Grade B Asparagus is doused in chilli and dressed with a pork-fat fried-egg. By fusing the greens with a zingy eastern spice, Michael Harrison shows that Thai food can make the most of local seasonal produce. Roasted in a flash and straight to the table, there is nothing but great produce front and centre in this dish.
Size isn’t everything, its how you use it. We reckon that the team over at Artusi in Peckham have both on point. Making the most of the larger 16–20mm stalk sizes available, paired with peppery horseradish and creamy gorgonzola, we think this dish is late Spring at its most tempting. From the sunny soil of the Isle of Wight to your table in 24 hours, it doesn’t take an Einstein to know that this is a winning combo.
Henrietta Inman’s Asparagus Souffle Omelette at Yardarm is on-brand with her passion for plentiful seasonal produce. At breakfast…dinner, we don’t care, we would have it any time of day! Henrietta used Isle of Wight’s characterful wonky stalks (the grade B) to re-home otherwise rejected veg, more affordable but still just as delicious.
I know we said five, but we had to give special mention to the cheekiness of the team at St Johns Tavern who, like us at Foodchain, have made sure to squirrel some of the good stuff away for themselves. We love to see our community getting as enthusiastically greedy with our produce as possible! We have all got to take a little moment to enjoy seasonal presents for ourselves.
Ben and his family are frantic at the moment, picking the young shoots before they go to flower, which is no small feat as the shoots can spring up 15cm in only one day! Joining the Foodchain community means having access to independent suppliers like Ben Brown at Isle of Wight Produce aka AE Brown Farms. If you aren’t on Foodchain already, then don’t wait another minute: download the app today on iOS or Android, suppliers like Ben are waiting to connect with chefs who care where their food comes from.
