Ben's Riverford kitchen vision for 2010

What is unique about us is the range of products we make ourselves. Many things have gone off the boil over the years so my resolution for 2010 (it might take longer) is to get the Riverford Kitchen and Butchery humming again with ideas and innovation leading to a flow of exciting, affordable, healthy and wholesome products.

Riverford to go Aimed at making life easier, we are making salads and snacks that are ideal not only for your lunch break but can be part of supper in the garden on a balmy summer's evening. This little lot consists of a classic combination of tabouleh, Moroccan carrot salad, our new recipe falafel and a small tub of our own hummus. The salads are also sold separately in generous tubs too so you can serve them up with something from the barbecue. Riverford to go Easy Meal Every week Paul rustles up a ready-made meal and we sell it in tubs that will easily feed two. It's fresh, delicious and as close to home-made as you're going to get, and only requires gentle reheating.

Souping it up
First on the list is soup. Hardly the most original you might say but that is how far we have fallen. With the dairy, vegetable business, butchery and two kitchens, why are we selling soups made by a local company, Tideford, and all because making them didn’t fit in with something else we were doing five years ago. Anyway we are putting this right and some offerings have already appeared and disappeared from the shelves of the shops. The intention is that there will be two on the shelf at any one time - one vegetarian and the other not and they will change according to what is available from butchery, dairy and veg farm. I like a twist in my soups to make them a bit more exciting so the kind of thing we will be offering will be butternut squash & bacon chowder with caramelised, spiced pumpkin seeds and chorizo, chestnut & chickpea.
Jamming
Second on the list are preserves. The same arguments apply as with the soups. With the exception of soft fruits, we have the ingredients on the doorstep most of the year and we really should be looking at the program and getting on the case. I started playing around with some frozen Seville oranges just before Christmas and have turned out a few fancy marmalades, including ‘Whisky Mac’, since then. Paul’s Raspberry Jam is getting more and more consistently good and a seasonal Riverford pickle that will rival anything in the cheese and pickle sandwich stakes is just around the corner. In the autumn Paul made thousands of jars of green tomato, Doverhouse and cucumber pickle for the veg box extras list and these should keep the shops going throughout the year. Did you know that Branston might be an attractive rural village but it is also a suburb of Burton on Trent where one of the first Crosse and Blackwell factories was built - hence the name? I have always felt that sales of Riverford chutneys and jams have been adversely effected by our rather unattractive, more basic than basic, label so a new, easier on the eye version has been introduced and you can see more of what's in your jar.
And that’s not all...
... Frozen meals have also gone on the back burner and these are due for a shakeup and - though I have been more than happy with the quality of most of the sweeter offerings from the kitchen - Pastry Mark is coming up to retirement age and likes a holiday as well. Everything seems to grind to a halt in his absence so that really does need to be sorted out. Much to do - expect to see some changes!

Ben Watson

What we like most is to produce foods ourselves from start to finish - from farm to table, the Riverford way. Food should tell a story and, because we know what it is, we can tell you.

Mass production of food has meant adulteration, in the form of additives, chemicals, techniques and processes. Favourable publicity for organics and farming in general has highlighted some of the health, environmental and welfare problems associated with modern agriculture. Between farm and retailer, in the form of transport and food processing there are vast areas, virtually unknown to the public. Adding air, water and emulsifiers was unheard of fifty years ago. Now they are normal practice. By making so many products ourselves we are able to avoid this abuse.

The core of the Riverford Farm Shop business has always been the Riverford kitchen and butchery.

We have been baking bread at Riverford since the business began in 1983 and now offer not only great bread but a great number of breads - plus pasties, pies, tarts, biscuits, cakes and pastries too!

A day in the Riverford kitchen...

The bakers, Neil and Steve arrive at 11pm to and set the ball rolling for the following day's breads and pastries. The sponges for the dough are started first and this slow fermentation allows the flavour to develop. Mark Mellish turns up at 6am, help finish off the bread and gets started on the croissant, flapjacks and cakes etc and, with Paul Goss (the head honcho in the kitchen) start planning and preparing for the rest of the days production. If we're lucky, production stops at 6pm.

Paul gets on with the slightly more specialised stuff like preserves and frozen meals while Emma and her team of helpers crack on with the hams, pies, pasties, scotch eggs, quiches etc). The kitchen is also kept busy with producing marinades, sauces and stuffing for the butchery - and regularly tries something new to surprise the meat box customers (who receive a free 'taster' in their box that is often straight from the Riverford Kitchen). Late in the year the delicious smell of spices and fruit waft from the kitchen as the team produce brandy soaked Christmas cakes, countless trays of mince pies, puddings and brandy butter - when they're not basting hams that is...

The list of things we do changes and increases as we go along, and we strive to add and perfect new recipes to keep our dedicated customer base well supplied with baking and cooking that's as honest and close to homemade as you're ever going to find.

There's no place for colourings and flavourings here, all is made with the best, predominantly organic ingredients and we would be insulted if anyone compared it to processed food.