Soft fruit is good with some lovely large, tasty blueberries from Chile. Spanish strawberries are more flavoursome and almost full red now and who knows, if the mild weather stays, we could have Gariguette by the next Newsletter.
eek. Last week saw the first French white Asparagus from the south east of France, a little small then, but now we are up to the 16/22 calibre. Today saw the first boxes of Calico Artichoke from Spain. They are round in shape and much heavier than the pointed ones that have been on offer. Many French Tomato growers have started sending their first production onto t
he market. Beef tomatoes are coming up from Provence in the full range of calibers from the very large 18 to quite a small 27 - all excellent for stuffing, etc. Vine tomatoes from different producers and in different colours means we can offer a fruit with a fuller flavour and a better ripeness than the Spanish counterparts. The yellow and orange varieties are great for chutneys and better still they are rarely over-ordered so fresh stock arrives on a daily basis.
Starting this month we are offering a pick "˜n' mix section where you can select 6 different cheeses of your liking and make basically, the cheese board of your dreams!!! There are a huge selection of pasteurised and unpasteurised goat, cow and sheep cheeses to draw from, for example you could have a couple of Feville goat's cheese, two Brillat cow's cheese and finish off with a couple of Perail Brebis sheep's cheese.
Here just a small selection of some of the cheese you can select from: Le Lingot 200g, Rocamadour, Le Petit Perche, Picadon Carte Noir, Brique Bribis, Brillat, Munster, Petit Eppoise, Tentation, St Felician. There is nothing stopping you adding even more so long as you take a minimum of six you can keep adding until you've created your perfect cheese board. 
We will still keep our popular 2kg cheese board offering on the list though for those of you who are satisfied with that. We have also negotiated some smaller cuts of Comte, Cantal, Emmental, Gruyere and Beaufort so you can really enjoy some of the great French classics in a more manageable size So take a look at the new lists on the Dairy price sheet and start creating!!!! Happy munching!!
We are now offering our mixed wild mushrooms in a one kilo box. This should help both kitchens and wholesalers alike. Cedra, or Cedro, lemons have a very deep layer of pith and very little flesh, but the skin does contain a hi
gh amount of oil. Spanish Orri clementine with leaf! It is a lovely sweet variety with a distinct flavour. Not around for that long so it's time to enjoy them now. This picture does not really do these GOLD kiwi much justice. They are organic and from France but I am not sure how much longer they will be around for. Great for brightening up a fruit plate.
d Pourpier is always our favourite of the two seasons. We think these shapely leaves are great for decorating a dish or to go in a salad. Round courgette from Spain are everywhere. Their quality is at it's best and they are great value - just the time to use them. Courgettes have no discernable season now and Spanish production through th
is winter has been of a particularly high standard. Another great product "˜for the moment'. My little Bonbons are back! I love their shape, the only thing you want to do is dip your hand in the box - and they taste as good as they look.The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.
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