WestlandsWow Collections: Taste of the Sea

Showing posts with label Taste of the Sea. Show all posts

Monday, 7 January 2013

Happy New Year 2013

Westland Nurseries (Westlands) has got many reasons to look forward to 2013. This includes the positive results of the investments made during October and November 2012, a revamped website and attending a number of important food service and Chef facing events.

After a successful summer during which Westlands grew more products and introduced a number of new collections, such as:

Westlands Heritage - a collection of heirloom tomatoes, which saw Westlands grow a range of UK tomatoes numbering over 30 different types.

Westlands Taste of the Sea - a collection of Sea Vegetables and flowers, from "traditional" samphire to salty fingers and okahijiki.

Westlands Inspired - a collection of more unique and unusual products including edible flowers, popcorn shoots and bronze fennel.

The Westlands investment package has enabled us to ensure a consistency in our winter range of Micro Leaf products, which has not been achieved before. Westlands undertook a number of "product surgeries" with our Chef clients to understand the key ingredients that they needed during the busy Christmas and New Year period.

Amaranth is one of those ingredients, in the past supplies have been patchy because during winter the plant slows down. Westlands bucked this trend and was able to deliver a consistency not seen before, to our customer base, during the key weeks prior to Christmas and the New Year.

As well as being invited to attend a number of prestigious events, Westlands are delighted to again be involved with some very popular TV programmes this year and contributing products to those Chefs taking part.

We also intend on increasing the number of visits to our facilities and will be on the lookout, as ever, for interesting and innovative products to grow. So please do let us know of any products you would like to see more of.

For the first time Westlands will be hosting two of our own events, one in the summer "Westlands Summer Season Fete" and the other in the autumn "Westlands Harvest Festival".

These events are about sharing and celebrating seasonal fresh produce, so please do look out for more details and your special invitation.

Along with our continued focus on growing unique and innovative fresh produce Westlands will be revamping its website, continue with social media and look for opportunities to engage even more deeply with Chefs, the Food Service Industry and our customers. Look out for our weekly #WoW of the Week and our #PoW of the week, as chosen by our grower team.

We wish you all a very prosperous, healthy and Happy New Year for 2013, from all of the team at Westlands.

Tweet us @WestlandsWow

Be friends with us on Facebook

Share our Board on Pinterest

Thursday, 29 November 2012

Menu Planner - Seasonal Update Winter 2012-2013

The team here at Westlands are always looking to keep our loyal customers and especially those chefs planning menus, informed about seasonal changes in our offering and how our crops are performing.

This blog has been created to confirm the products that have now left us for the period, those being introduced and information regarding supply of a few of the more tricky lines, as we come into the Winter period. Hopefully it will help you to plan any last minute menus and avoid any disappointment!

Availabilities can change depending on both order patterns as well as changes in crop growing conditions. The following information is our best forecast, and we will continue to update to ensure that we keep you informed.

In Summary:

Westlands Micro Leaf Collection:

Lemon Balm, Thyme and Tarragon - are now at the end of season, but will be available again in Spring 2013.
Purple Basil - is delisted for Winter, but available again in Spring 2013.
New for Winter 2012 is Purple/Red Radish.
Amaranth, Coriander, Green and Thai Basil - are generally good, however these products do experience seasonal variations in growth patterns during the Winter months. We will keep you updated of any short gaps that maybe seen in supply.

Westlands Inspired Collection:

Butterfly Sorrel - is now finished until May 2013.
Buckler Sorrel - is finished, but will reappear in Spring 2013.
Sorrel Flowers - are now out of season until June 2013.
Radish Flowers and Radish Tadpoles - are now finished.
Lemon Verbena - difficult supply period; however we may have some available on special request. Please do ask.

Westlands Taste of the Sea Collection:

Sea Aster - is now finished until the new crop in Spring 2013.
Sea Beet - has started and we have good volumes.
Okahijiki - finished until the new crop in Spring 2013.
Sea Purslane and Ice Lettuce - this is a difficult supply period for both; however they may be available on special request. Please do ask.

If you are unsure on availabilities of any Westlands products, please do ask your usual supplier or feel free to Tweet us @WestlandsWow.

We have also created a handy Menu Planner Guide for you to download and share with your teams.

Thursday, 26 July 2012

"A Taste of the Sea" Dinner

Created by Carters of Moseley

We were delighted to be invited by Brad Carter and Holly Jackson to a "Taste of the Sea" inspired dinner at Carters of Moseley where some of our Westlands Taste of the Sea collection would be featured. As well as our lovely invites for two of our team, Simon and Peter (and their significant others), we also met new friends Connolly's Fine Wine and Spirit Merchants.

The menu, see below, was just amazing and the pictures of some of the meals are so beautiful, we felt it only right to share them with you in one place via our blog.

We hope you enjoy viewing them, and why not check out Carters of Moseley, a great British restaurant based in Wake Green Road, Moseley, Birmingham.