THIS WEEK : I could talk to you about my recent holiday which coincided with my birthday, but I won’t burden you with details. Instead I shall mention, a much more exciting event, the arrival of new crop English Cherries from Kent which Alex-the-Buyer rates very highly. We’ve received an initial batch of 50kg at a very reasonable price, but if demand is high we will be able to replenish our stocks to meet it without any problems.

Regular Peaches have been pretty good recently and continue to improve. I spoke a couple of weeks’ back of how Flat Peaches (last week’s Fruit Of The Week) differed from their more traditional counterparts insomuch that the flavour of Flat Peaches was smoother, more rounded and contained no tartness. Having sampled a few of our current stock of regular peaches I have reached the conclusion that their flavour is more complex and more satisfying - sherbet intensity combined with a mellow sweetness that I find rather appealing. The Nectarines we have in our warehouse at the moment are at their peak and taste ravishing. Apricots are a decent size and pretty good in every other department too - sweet, moist and with a deep sunset blush similar in colour to a nectarine in full bloom.

Watermelons are still really good, and have grown in stature whilst shrinking in price over previous weeks. On the other hand, Spanish Galia Melons are somewhat small - although their quality is still excellent, as is their price due to a surplus in supply. Alex-the-Buyer says this is because the Almeria region of Spain which is supplying our current stocks is approaching the end of its season. Size will begin to improve, however, once supplies start to come in from other regions. Also worth mentioning are English Gooseberries - the fruit equivalent of Marmite. I personally have a real fondness for these hairy little creatures. Perhaps more palatable to many peoples’ taste buds are Dutch Red Gooseberries, which tend to be somewhat sweeter and less astringent.