G’s Fresh

PRODUCER: G’s Fresh, Cambridgeshire
PRODUCT: Fenland Celery
REGION: Eastern England
CATEGORY: From the Earth (Primary)

WHAT THEY DO:

G’s Fresh has been growing celery in Cambridgeshire’s Isle of Ely for more than 50 years. In 2006 grower Hamish Mellor took the step to reintroduce Fenland Celery, a heritage crop with a special history.

Traditionally grown in the Cambridgeshire Fens, where the soil imparts a sweet and nutty flavour, Fenland Celery was popular in the 1800s with fashionable Londoners at Christmastime. It eventually fell from favour as it became too costly to produce, but in the past decade G’s Fresh have successfully revived the crop and seen it become the first English vegetable to be awarded Protected Geographical Indication. 

The team say, “This accreditation sets Fenland apart from its mainstream cousin for its taste and texture, which is put down to the traditional techniques by which it is grown and harvested.”

G’s Fresh’s Fenland Celery is harvested by hand and taken to local farmers’ markets to help promote the truly regional vegetable to wider Cambridgeshire. A portion of profits is donated to the local air ambulance. 

The business is proud of the product and status they have procured for it, which “protects the history, tradition and provenance for future generations to enjoy”.

WHAT THE JUDGES SAID

Judge Thane Prince recalled eating Fenland Celery at Christmastime while growing up in the Fens, and all were impressed by G’s Fresh’s work preserving and promoting this heritage crop.

VISIT THE WEBSITE:  fenlandcelery.com