Also available are some organic Seville oranges for those of you who like making your own marmalade. They’re only here for a couple of weeks though so get them while you can.

Also in fine fettle are ‘normal’ Navellina oranges from Spain. Some nice sizes coming through, and cracking value.

Other citrus doing well are the excellent leafy clementines, mainly from Spain at the moment. Italian lemons are a bit awkward at the moment as one of the main importers into London sadly decided to shut and go back to his native Naples just before Christmas.

January also sees the arrival of forced rhubarb from the famous Yorkshire triangle. Lovely pink stems with a great flavour, it was awarded an EU PDO status in 2010 and rightly so. A bit of a slow start to the season because of the mild weather but the recent frosts should put that right. Perfect for warming winter puds, and anyone who doesn’t like rhubarb crumble or cricket does not deserve to call himself an Englishman in my humble opinion!

For those of you who want to pep up your morning muesli or porridge then blueberries are great value at the moment. Pomegranates are also here, but not for much longer.

Also with us in plentiful supply are lychees from Madagascar. A bit fiddly but great if you fancy something a little exotic.

On the veg side of things some of the brassicas are struggling a bit and are expensive for the time of year, cauliflowers are pricey and . Purple Sprouting is non-existent and cauliflowers are going through the roof price wise.

To get your fill of greens then I’d stick to the beautiful organic broccoli coming in from Spain and the lovely home grown Savoy cabbages. Cavalo Nero and Curly Kale from Sussex is also holding up both in terms of quality and price. There are also some beautiful romanesco cauliflowers coming in from France if a little dear.

Roots however are thriving, with carrots and beetroot both doing well. Jerusalem artichokes, celeriac and parsnips plentiful and decent value at the moment too.

Fantastic new biscuits and cakes from Sally Clarke’s Bakery in Kensingston. Everything is handmade in their kitchen in, using only the finest ingredients they can get their hands on, UK sourced where available and there are no artificial ingredients in anything they make. 

You’ll notice the difference when you bite into one of these marvellous cookies or delicious tea cakes. Biscuits are available in the following flavours…

• Chocolate Chip
• Double Chocolate
• Ginger
• Hazelnut & Chocolate Chip
• Almond Macaroons
• Hazelnut Shortbread

Tea breads include Lemon & Poppyseed and Bittermilk & Pecan. At weekends we will also have some of Sally’s wonderful breads, including Sourdough and the amazing Fig & Fennel Bloomer.

David Oliver Meals

Started by two friends, David Holliday and Oliver Shute, who started to sell their meals to a few local stores from their catering business during the quiet winter periods. The meals proved hugely popular, and whilst travelling back from France the boys decided to focus entirely on the meals.

From the outset the plan was to create restaurant standard meals that are easy to prepare in the home. They use the same techniques as they would if we were in a restaurant: braising, stewing and roasting to name but a few, using products from the best producers to create the best results. Recipes include…

• Guinea Fowl & Lentils
• Rabbit & Flageolet Beans
• Classic Venison Stew

Daren Spence and his wife Suzanne set up Tea in 2007. The idea came to them Budapest when they stumbled upon a teashop and were amazed by the menu of wonderful teas. Back in the UK they started to research tea, drinking as much as possible as often as possible! A lot of cups later they decided to take the plunge and opened the doors of their teashop in the shadow of St. Paul’s Cathedral.

The aim was to make the complex world of speciality tea more accessible to their customers and to celebrate the British love affair with tea. Daren and Suzanne are also committed to sourcing teas from the best tea gardens and estates around the world and this commitment has been recognised with Tea Ltd collecting 9 Gold Stars at the 2011 Great Taste Awards, taking them up to 31 Gold Stars over the past three years.

Daren has also been recognised as one of Rick Stein’s food heroes for Tea Ltd’s commitment to quality.

We currently have a special offer of 25% off all Tea Ltd products, including the new Super Teas – Daintea slimming tea and Puritea detoxifying tea,

Greengages have just started up, a little on the small side but they will only get better as the season goes on. Fantastic large red plums coming in from Italy.

Also coming in from France are beautiful Muscat de Hambourg Grapes. Dark-skinned with an amazing, deep flavour that lasts on the palate. A great after dinner fruit with cheese. Probably the nicest grape variety we sell all year!! 

I’m afraid we’ve all but given up on the French peaches from Languedoc as the price is simply ridiculous and shows no sign of coming down. Superb peaches and nectarines coming in from Spain and Italy to compensate though at a more than reasonable price. Look out for the white flesh varieties as they have a lovely flavour, much better than their yellow fleshed siblings. White peaches also cook much better. I think poached peaches must be one of my favourite desserts!

Excellent English blueberries around at a very good price. Strawberries and raspberries are still a little dear for the time of year. Gooseberries have all but finished.

Melons are at the cheapest at this time of the year, with nice Galias coming from Spain and lovely deep red water melons coming in from Italy, beautifully sweet. Plus there are still my favourite Chanterais Melons coming in from Provence.

Lovely Scottish Girolles  started up last week. A lot better value than the French ones. Also making their first appearance are Romanesco. The early Purple Sprouting Broccoli from Dan Lloyd is still in top nick.

Globe Artichokes have come back down to where you’d expect at this time of year, not sure what caused the recent hiccup but it seems to have rectified itself.

Pazo Barrantes Albarino

In the heart of the Salnes Valley in the Rias Baixas, the Creixell family – owners of the famous Rioja estate Marqués de Murrieta – created Pazo de Barrantes. The winery shares the same values as the Rioja estate, offering the finest wines possible whilst maintaining the respect for tradition and nature.

Well balanced palate, the acidity is crisp without being sharp; fruits are soft and ripe, dominance of apricot character. With excellent texture as well as noteworthy purity, it will provide lovely drinking over the next few years, acquiring a rich, nutty style.

We currently have an introductory offer on this wine of £18.50 per bottle – normal price £19.50

Mariner Pinot Gris

An excellent Pinot Grigio – given the French moniker Pinot Gris – made on the Spencer Hill Estate.

Very light yellow with a copper tinge. Pears, apples and tropical overtones on the nose.  Fresh and crisp on the palate with hints of passion fruit.

Currently drinking beautifully this wine is on a great offer of £12.50 a bottle, normal price £15.00 

The warm days of summer may have yet to arrive, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the best of this years rosé wines. Each year the choice of rosés seems to get better and better, and this year is no different. The rosé renaissance continues at full speed.

Rosé wines are extremely versatile. Most can be drunk on their own as an aperitif or just with friends on a nice sunny day in the garden, and their are also some fuller-bodied varieties that go well with even meat dishes. 

Here’s our pick of the summer’s best rosés.

Chateau Roubine Cru Classe 2010

Always one of our favourite rosés, it has a round, elegant palate revealing flavours of candied fruits and a slight peppery taste.

Ideal served with poultry. As a Provençal wine it particularly enhances Mediterranean dishes.

Longchamp ‘Alpilles’ Rosé Mas de Longchamp 2010

This organic Southern French rosé that has been made from grapes that have absorbed the Mediterranean sunshine.That sunshine has been dished straight back into this fragrant, rosé. This is a great wine to sit on a sun lounger and relax with.

Touchsone Organic Rose 2010

Chilean rosé made from a blend of Syrah and Shiraz. This has everything you’d expect from a new world wine, with lots of rich red berry flavours. It is not so light that you couldn’t have it with food. One of our most popular rosés.

Sancerre Rosé La Port du Caillou 2010

One of the most sophisticated rosés around. Made from 100% Pinot Noir this is top notch rosé Sancerre bursting with wild strawberry and cherry fruit, structured and dry but generous in its flavours.

We always pick strawberries for their flavour, not the shape or shelf-life, so buy your strawberries on the day you want to eat them. Our strawberries will not last in your fridge for four or five days, even if the supermarkets tell you the soulless, watery varieties they sell will.

Other berries are also doing well and in plentiful supply. Superb raspberries coming in from Rogers in Kent, and blueberries from Spain both currently offering great value. Still a few more weeks for the English blackberries but gooseberries are in fine fettle.

Amazing cherries coming in from France at the moment, particularly the ones from Vaucluse. Other stone fruits like peaches and nectarines from Spain doing well, although we’re still waiting for the world beating French fruit to arrive.

What is coming in from France are some of the best apricots we’ve had, ever!

Apologies for going a bit Gallic on you but we also have the amazing French Charentais melons from Jules Nourrit in Provence. They are more expensive than varieties, but they are the most amazing melons you’ll ever have. They taste super sweet, and have a fragrance that is sensational. I can never resist leaving one out on my kitchen worktop overnight and coming down in the morning to this incredible scent flooding the kitchen.

The European fig season has started with lovely fruit coming in from Italy. They don’t hang around long though so get them while you can.

As you would expect for the time of year salads are at their best, with our old pals Betts in West Malling in full production of their wonderful lettuce. Cucumbers from the Caffarelli family growers in Newmarket are in excellent nick (ours come unwrapped, why you’d want to suffocate a cucumber in plastic I don’t know), and Gary down at the Nutbourne Nurseries in Sussex is in full swing with his lovely varietal tomatoes.

On the veggy front there’s nice peas coming in from Dan Lloyd up in Worcestershire, the superb D&G broccoli from Boston (the Lincolnshire one, not Massachusetts!) started arriving this week, and we have beautiful firm, darkest green courgettes.

Carrots have moved onto the French ones for the time being until the English summer varieties start to come through. Onions and especially shallots are a little tricky at the moment whilst we’re waiting for the new crop to be ready to harvest.

Finally this will probably be the last week for the Secretts asparagus so enjoy one last hurrah this weekend.

After months and months of searching we are pleased to be working with a new supplier for sushi, The Sushi Chef.

The Sushi Chef are made up of a team of experienced sushi chefs and fish cutters, many of whom have worked in the London sushi business since it first started twenty years ago.

They work with responsible fisherman and organic farmers to ensure th best quality and sustainable fish is used in the sushi. We have a variety of ready made boxes available – including vegetarian – which are delivered to us fresh each morning.

Hoxton Beach Falafel

Another exciting take-away product we’ve recently sources is Hoxton Beach Falafel. Started by Patrick Matthews who discovered the delights of falafel on a street stall in Damascus whilst studying Arabic and decided to spread the word of this delicious snack on his return to the UK – a sort of ‘Road in Damascus’ moment!

Hoxton Beach falafels are made with organic chick peas which are mixed with fresh garlic, parsley and dill before being cooked. All falafel boxes come with salad and portion of lemony tahina or houmous.

Crosbies Tarts

You’ve all been telling us how much you like the Crosbies range of cakes we launched earlier this year, and Chris and the gang have come up trumps for us again.

We now have a range of new fresh tarts all made lovingly by hand of course from delicious ingredients such as butter and free-range eggs in their Surrey kitchens. Varieties include Normandy Apple Tart, an indulgent Chocolate Tart, and that old favourite, Treacle Tart.

Delicious with a nice cup of tea on a summer’s afternoon in the garden.

Yorkshire Provender Soups

Our friends up at Yorkshire Provender are now in full summer mode – it takes a bit longer to hit Yorkshire! – and have launched their summer menu. New varieties include Carrot & Fennel, Summer Veg and the delicious Minted New Potato.

Also well underway and therefore down in price are Jersey Royal potatoes.

Globe artichokes coming through from Spain are excellent and currently offering good value. The brief renaissance in Purple Sprouting is over for the time being. French yellow beans are offering a nice change from normal greens.

The fresh garlic from Egypt has now finished, but the French new season should start in a couple of weeks.

English salad leaves from our pals Betts in West Malling, Kent have started up again, as have the beautiful Heritage tomatoes coming from Gary Griffith’s Nutbourne Nursery in Pulborough.

Baby leaves from England are also available, along with Wild Roquette which is coming in from Gregg and Vernon at Secretts Farm in Milford with our asparagus.

The exciting news in fruit is the arrival of the first Charentais Melons from France. These orange-fleshed beauties really are the Kings of the melon world. They have a flavour that is so sweet you can just eat them on their own, scooping the flesh out with a spoon once you’ve removed the seeds, that’s how I eat then anyhow. Their perfume is also something to behold, if you leave one on your kitchen worktop you’ll have a lovely sweet-smelling kitchen when you come down to breakfast the next morning!

New season cherries are also arriving from France and Spain. English berries are starting to come through, although availability is a bit patchy. Blood oranges have now finished.

Venezuelan mangoes are still going strong. If mangoes are one of those things you’ve never bought because you think they’re a lot of effort for little reward then I urge you to give these a go. Once you’ve had a mouthful of their sweet, buttery and fragrant flesh then you won’t regret it.

They have a long history and tradition of working directly in partnership with farms and producers throughout the UK, such as our Devonshire Gold Organic Chicken from Stream Farm in Somerset.

This ensures a year round supply of fully free-range meat, all produced to exacting standards of welfare and quality. The meat is then skilfully butchered and prepared by Gary and his team at Elizabeth King.

As a result of our unique partnership with Elizabeth King we will be able to know exactly what farms our meat comes from, who farmed it, and to what standard. We are also able to specify exactly what type of cuts we want to reflect our customer demands.

It also means that we are able to offer you a much better value product, and you will notice that a number of lines such as our superb Mature Scottish Steaks will be available at significantly lower price, all with the same quality that you would expect from Bayley & Sage.

We will be working closely with Gary and his team to develop some exciting new lines for you, particularly with your summer barbecues in mind. We are also now able to take orders for any larger cuts of meat that you may require such as ribs of beef for a Sunday roast, and can turn any orders you have around in 48 hours.