For a humble vegetable, potatoes have been making quite a stir recently. For example, one of the UK’s most famous Michelin-starred chefs, Michel Roux Jr., has departed from MasterChef, the popular TV cookery program – and all over potatoes!
The BBC suddenly decided to object to a contract Roux, their star chef, has with one of his suppliers, Albert Bartlett potatoes. The result was a massive amount of publicity for Roux – but even more for Bartletts, who suddenly found cooks across Britain hearing of their potatoes. Roux had been working with Bartletts for a decade, yet I had never heard him mention the brand on TV. But as the BBC discovered, you don’t tangle with any of the Roux family. Roux quit, and they were left with the proverbial egg on their faces.
Other BBC personalities, such as footballer/commentator Gary Lineker, who promotes Walkers Crisps, have happily worked alongside their sponsors and the BBC, but whatever upset the bosses at BBC, the result has been a massive amount of publicity for Bartletts, that was the first producer to package washed carrots in polythene bags. And, of course, lots of lovely publicity for potatoes. Any retailer looking for ‘new’ lines who has gone onto the Bartlett website, will have been amazed at the different types of potatos that are now available. They supply an enormous selection of varieties, many of them specialty types that are new to the mass market.
Tesco
Tesco, one of world’s biggest food retailers, has had rumblings in the boardroom recently. Whether it is frozen food, or potatoes, Tesco sells about 30% of food sold in the UK; so when CEO Philip Clarke leaves after 40 years with the company – tills rattle. No-one should feel too sorry for him, leaving with a pay-off and pension package estimated at around GBP20 million, but it shows the fragile state of major stores in UK.
Potatoes are such a humble vegetable, yet history shows they have caused endless problems. Angle-Irish history records massive problems from the potato famines of the 19th century, and latest spat over this vegetable and Roux has enlivened BBC TV programs as top presenter and judge on the MasterChef competition program.
What’s McCains up to?
Tesco and other stores are still selling old favorites, from crisps to oven-ready chips, with constantly buoyant sales. Producers are always looking for new ideas, and the giant McCains has recently come up with Ready-baked Jacket Potatoes. For anyone used to shoving a large potato into an oven, and waiting for it to cook…this is no longer good enough for today’s time-poor consumer. So McCains has come up with a new twist on an old favorite, their Jacket potatoes. They say “Our Ready Baked Jackets have the taste of an oven baked jacket but take a fraction of the time to cook. We just select the best British potatoes, drizzle them with sunflower oil and then slowly bake to perfection. So all you need to do is pop it in the microwave for 5 minutes and add your favorite topping. And to add to the sales message, there is an amusing TV ad going the rounds, featuring Britain’s favorite poet, Pam Ayres.
Another idea, they say, is to offer McCain’s Roasted Garlic Wedges. Now, for anyone used to British cooking, garlic was a no-no. From The Queen (who refuses it as a matter of keeping her breath sweet) to the average Briton, garlic was regarded with suspicion, but now, so international is British cuisine, that garlic is one of the most popular flavorings. Mc’Cain’s are offering a limited edition Roasted Garlic Wedges, made from specially selected potatoes and boasting an on-trend roasted garlic taste for that added punch of flavor. As McCain’s says, “they are a perfect treat to enjoy during the summer, so why not serve a bowl of McCain Roasted Garlic Wedges when watching sporting events or movies with your loved ones for the ultimate sharing experience”. McCain Roasted Garlic Wedges (750g) will be rolling out in to all major retail outlets, with a RRP of GBP2.
Roast potatoes
Once an essential part of the Sunday lunch, no cook worth her salt would have thought twice about providing these. But tellingly, today’s cooks are so unused to cooking, that with the Christmas season in mind it might be an idea to stock Aunt Bessie’s Roast Potatoes in the Frozen Cabinet. Customers have to bake these for 30 minutes for “potatoes that are crispy on the outside, fluffy & light on the inside!” Like jacket potatoes, many of today’s customers just aren’t confident when it comes to potatoes to go with the turkey, goose, etc., so they might like to buy something that needs no preparation.
20 years fronting a TV ad for crisps
Twenty years ago, one of Britain’s favorite footballers, Gary Lineker, was chosen to front a TV advertising campaign for Walkers Crisps. Trading on his ‘Mr. Nice Guy’ image, the ads featured Lineker in situations where he greedily gobbled up the crisps, often even snatching them out of others’ hands. With that familiar cheeky look, Gary Lineker grabs yet another crisp and sticks it in his mouth, and the advertising agency has sent up his image of being a really nice person. As front man for the very popular weekly football program “Match of the Day”, Lineker’s image has remained pristine, even though ads have attempted to show a ‘nasty’ image behind the scenes. But the great British public loves their Lineker, and he and Walkers keep on. As Gary says, “It’s absurd! Who would have thought when I did the first one as a one-off, I’d still be going now?” But while he remains popular with the public, Walkers are happy for him to stay, whilst tills still ring merrily. The latest ad sees Gary tracking down ingredients to make his favorite snack as they now include real home-grown British ingredients, with cheese from Somerset, chickens from Devon and tomatoes from the Vale of Evesham, Worcs. But he reflects that that people like to know what’s going in their food, so it makes sense to use home-grown produce, like the chicken.
Do Continentals like British chips?
One thing that is very different either sides of the Channel is the preference for fried potatoes: in Britain, the potatoes are cut in thicker strips, and traditionally fried in animal fat, while Continental fried potatoes are much thinner, and often fried in vegetable oil.
Continentals like their fried potatoes thin and crisp; the British like theirs thick and fat, and often to Continental tastes they are limp and not crisp enough. Although McCains offer French Fries, described as thin and crisp, to a Belgian they aren’t a patch on what they eat with mayonnaise, but these just aren’t popular. Except with French and other overseas communities, where supermarkets in areas such as King’s Road and South Kensington are more likely to cater to their tastes.
Fish and chips
However, so popular is the British staple of Fish and Chips that most supermarkets now offer these in the frozen food cabinet, but in a turn-around, Youngs Seafood has announced its first high street fish & chip shop. It is a joint venture with The Petrou Brothers to refit and rebrand their existing Cambridge shop – making the establishment the first Young’s branded fish & chip in the country. The refitted shop will be jointly branded as ‘Young’s Fish & Chips, brought to you by the Petrou Brothers’, and will be revamped to feature a distinctive Navy Blue and Red decor to match the brand identity of Young’s Seafood Limited.
Simon Clarke, business unit director at Young’s Seafood Limited, commented on the partnership: “At a time when many high street brands are purely focused on creating presence in the supermarket aisles with branded products, Young’s Seafood Limited is also taking our retail brand to the high street with this innovative new venture. I, Mark and Pete Petrou are widely respected in the industry, having won a host of awards including the UK’s number one Fish and Chip shop. Mark was also recognized for his work earlier this year when he won the Outstanding Achievement Award at the National Fish & Chip Awards.”
Involvement of a major retail brand into the fish and chip sector highlights how far the industry has come in the last few years, and the revamped shop will feature an extended restaurant as well as take away service.
It’s a strange feature – fish and chips seems to be something that customers only want to eat in Britain. When Harry Ramsdens, probably the ‘Daddy’ of fish and chips shops, started to open abroad in places like Hong Kong, the franchises were taken over, and so far although there are plans – anyone wanting to eat the dish has to come to Britain.
Loose potatoes
A feature of potato sales in Greengrocers was selling them from sacks. However, recently, supermarkets have asked for potatoes to be pre-washed and packed in blister packs. Any of our grandparents, seeing these sold for GBP2 for four, when they would have been able to purchase a full sack for the same cost, would scratch their heads in wonder. However, the latest gimmick is to package potatoes with some soil still adhering to the skin;
Partridges, an up-market store catering to oligarchs and aristocracy in Chelsea, London, now offers 4 potatoes from Cyprus, carefully packed in a blister pack, but with soil very definitely sticking to the skins underneath the plastic. The Cypriot growers are keen to promote their potatoes, and Booths and other supermarkets now feature them in their offers. They are probably hoping to copy the success of Jersey Royals, the first of the new crop of potatoes into British shops every year and always selling at a premium. Cornish growers have been successful in capturing this lucrative market, with their branded Cornish potatoes now selling for good prices. One item that always adds to cost is the obligatory mint that, for the British housewife, has to be popped into the boiling water when cooking new potatoes.
Salt
However, expect crisps to offer more exotic flavors. With governments slamming our salt intake, manufacturers are being shamed into cutting down salt content in ready cooked foods, and eventually the message is going to be difficult to ignore. For the moment, the up-market flavor is Anglesey Sea Salt, but how long this will remain is difficult to say.
But McCains is leading the way with offering frozen potatoes with their skins left on; this is seen as being healthier than peeled potatoes, and will find favor with those who have slaved away at the sink, peeling potatoes before a family event. Leaving skins on could also be a sop to the health lobby, so they don’t enquire too closely into how much salt is in a packet. The only ones to lose out are the manufacturers of potato peelers – but have you noticed how many vegetable recipes are now featuring artfully sliced veggies – such as the artistic strips making up cucumber salads and dishes today?