‘Sheeran’ Loves Babylon Henry’s try new variety - your chance to try them too By Austen Dack
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ambridgeshire potato merchant Isle of Ely Produce have launched a new platform to promote the great British Chip in association with Agrico. Our aim will be to carry on the good work we have been promoting via our hugely successful open days, and the ‘Field to Frier’ award. The Chip Ambassadors will become part of an UK wide group of shop owners and fryers who will promote best practice for potato buying, storing, and of course frying. The chain will also include key growers too like PJ Lee & Sons, and A. L. Lee Farming Company, as IOE looks to cement the relationships they have grown across the whole supply chain over the last twenty years. Agrico have partnered with Isle of Ely Produce to bring two new varieties into the trade initially via our Chip Ambassadors. The two varieties Babylon and Lugano will be sampled at some of these ambassadors to back up the results of early trial successes. Recently I visited Henry’s fish and chips in Hunstanton for owners Ian and Jane Wallis and head fryer Ed Sheeran look alike Chris Marks-Burton to try Babylon for themselves. Ian said “We were only too pleased to try this variety in our shop. We know and respect Agrico, and Isle of Ely Produce,
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Chippy Chat & Fast Food Magazine • December 2020
and are proud to be part of something so important. Every week we look for the best potatoes for our customers and are always looking for the next best variety to come into the marketplace.” It was great to visit the team at Henry’s and see their million-pound shop. To have Chip Ambassadors like them trying samples and giving us valuable feedback is great for the whole industry. B a by l o n o f f e r s t h e c u s t o m e r outstanding frying and eating qualities that challenge Agria, whilst Lugano offers a sustainable future for the grower in the fight against potato cyst nematode (PCN), while producing excellent frying and eating quality for the customer.” Jane said of Babylon “Wow what a lovely tasty chip. They fried so well and were of a good size. They were fluffy in the middle and crisped well on the outside too.” Chris said “We are on Sagittas at the moment. The first thing that struck me was the colour difference. Babylon are a rich yellow colour even before frying. Babylon were great to peel, and chip with little effort needed pre-rumbler. It was a good clean bold sample. They fried very well and I would be very happy to serve these to my customers on a regular basis.” Alex Moore, Agrico UK Sales Manager said: “We are thrilled to be working closely with Isle of Ely Produce & the Chip Ambassadors to launch two exciting new varieties. As a business we
Chippy Chat & Fast Food Magazine • December 2020
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