United Kingdom
October 21, 2019
Elsoms’ annual Open Days attract hundreds of visitors to see the UK’s largest independent vegetable variety trials. This years’ event on October 9th and 10th took place at Elsoms’ dedicated trial field in Spalding. Two days of wonderful sunshine made the event even more enjoyable for everyone who attended.
Displaying a massive portfolio of brassica species including Burgundy Broccoli, the UK’s first whole-head purple broccoli, Elsoms provided a great opportunity for visitors to see its extensive range. There were also special trials focused on the problems of thrips on white cabbage and light leaf spot disease in Brussels sprouts, demonstrating the quality and unique strengths and characteristics of Elsoms’ varieties.
Chef Rachel Green was busy delighting guests with delicious food created using the varieties on show. Rachel created six new recipes specially for the event and visitors were flocking to sample her Brussels sprout and pancetta kebabs and her melt-in-the-mouth swede croquettes. Some even challenged Rachel to improvise with what she had on the table at the time, and the result was a freshly made vegetable curry with homemade onion bhaji, which was a big success. Growers were delighted to see their favourite crops being showcased, with many taking home recipe cards for future reference.
Also showcased at the event were Elsoms’ seed technology specialists who created a great display demonstrating the benefits of various seed treatments. Similarly, Elsoms’ plant breeding team were on hand to show some of the technologies they use to produce the latest and best varieties for growers. The team were eager to speak with growers and processors to find out about any new challenges they should be focusing on for the future. Over twenty five businesses with products or services for the vegetable industry took trade stands in the large marquee, increasing the value and interest of the event for visitors. For the 175th anniversary Elsoms also displayed a specially made timeline showing how the company developed into its leading position of today.
“It’s great to see and hear the customers responses to the results of the hard work put in by our team at Elsoms.” said Justin Solly, Head of Vegetable Seed Sales at Elsoms. “Our aim was to make this year special to mark our 175th anniversary and I think we’ve definitely achieved that.”
“It’s great to see and hear the very positive feedback on our Open Days. The Elsoms’ team put a lot of hard work into the event to make it really engaging for our visitors.” said Justin Solly, Head of Vegetable Seed Sales at Elsoms. “Our aim was to make this year special to mark our 175th anniversary and I think we’ve definitely achieved that.”
Thank you to everyone who attended and we look forward to seeing you again in 2020.
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