Farmers back Gordon, man for all seasons

Food & Drink

Saturday, May 10, 2008

By Linda McKee

Celeb chef Gordon Ramsay claimed he has spoken to Prime Minister Gordon Brown about outlawing out-of-season produce in a bid to cut food miles.

The king of the F word has left many an employee trembling in their pinny and now the restaurateurs are in the firing line as he calls for fines for British restaurants that serve fruit and veg that aren't in season.

His comments have won the approval of farming representatives in Northern Ireland, who have pressed for more restaurants to label ingredients in their menus with country of origin.

Stormont Agriculture Committee chair William McCrea said: "Clearly there would be practical issues to looked at before fines could be imposed for using out of season produce. However, there does need to be encouragement given to the greater use of local and seasonal produce.

"I believe that if consumers were more aware of just how far some of their food has travelled then they may reassess their weekly purchases."

Meanwhile the Ulster Farmers Union said it agreed that restaurant chefs should focus on using local produce when it is in season and called on the Assembly to introduce country of origin legislation for restaurants.

President Graham Furey said: "We fully support this sentiment — food from local farms is fresh, has short food miles and has guaranteed high production standards.

"Country of origin labelling would help consumers make an informed choice about the food they choose in restaurants, hotels and pubs. This legislation is being progressed in the Republic of Ireland and it's time for similar legislation to be implemented in Northern Ireland."

Nick Price of Nick's Warehouse in Belfast is keen to persuade more people to eat seasonal produce such as strawberries sold in Northern Ireland in June.

"There's a little bit of spectacularism but he does make a valid point. It would be interesting to see some of his menus," he said.

"I think it's a bit draconian talking about legislation - it's red tape city around here at the moment.

"We need some kind of educational thing so that people understand what's in season. There are times of the year when it's going to be very grey and root-vegetably and I think people will rebel against having to eat carrots and turnips.

"We need to get people to go into production of more unusual things. A lot of people are putting up polytunnels - for seven or eight months of the year you should be able to grow things in polytunnels."

Beechill Country House Hotel in the north west grows much of its own ingredients, including herbs, shallots, celery, tomatoes, potatoes and courgettes. It also sources a lot of produce and eggs from a local organic centre.

But owner Patsy O'Kane says it's not practical to fine restaurants for not toeing the line.

"It would be lovely but in this country there's always too much of something — too much rain or too much frost," she said.

"It's easy for Gordon Ramsay to make very strong statements, but it's not always easy for people to access these things. Here we only have farmers' markets once a month and in other places it's twice a week."