Scholes News

Rachel Green cooks up a storm with unique new British produce at the York Festival of Food and Drink.

Scholes, the innovative farming business from the Yorkshire Wolds, will be showcasing their superb new products at the prestigious York Festival of Food & Drink on Monday 22 September 2008, at 11.30am.

In the magnificent setting of York’s Guildhall, celebrity chef Rachel Green will be demonstrating specially-created recipes using Scholes’ unique (frozen) flageolet beans (always hitherto imported in dried or tinned form), their chicory, dubbed the Yorkshire Endive, and some of their range of splendid squashes.

The event, known as the Chef’s Produce Day, is an event devised to show to foodies and members of the food industry alike, the range of wonderful produce from the region.

The demonstration will be followed by lunch, when the audience will have the chance to taste some of the dishes.

“We are really looking forward to introducing our new produce to this particularly discerning public,” says Rachel Scholes. “I think they will be amazed and delighted to learn that produce they had always thought had to be imported, is now for the first time being grown in Britain.”

September 2008

For more information about the event: call 01673 828764 or email caroline@kenyon-communications.com

Scholes’ Yorkshire Chicory to be stocked by Morrisons

Scholes new vegetable produce for 2008, Chicory has been snapped up by Yorkshire based supermarket Morrisons. The UK’s 4th largest supermarket chain will be stocking the Scholes’ “Yorkshire Endive” nationwide in their 375 stores.

Scholes’ drive to be innovative and their vast experience in growing root crops steered them towards chicory. The result has been an outstanding sample of chicory and the biggest commercially grown crop in the north of the country. The roots harvested last autumn are currently being grown in purpose built pods on the Scholes’ farm.

The excellent quality and flavour of the chicons has met the exacting requirements of the national supermarket chain. “We are proud and delighted to be supplying Morrisons and we are totally focused on placing a premium product on their shelves. The uptake of the chicory has exceeded all our expectations and after only 2 weeks of supply we have been asked to double the volumes, which we have done” says Mark Southwell from Scholes.

Scholes will be also be backing up chicory sales in Morrisons with a dedicated press campaign featuring new recipes by TV chef Rachel Green. Delicious dishes such as Asian Beef Skewers with Oriental Chicory Slaw and Roasted Salmon with Chicory, Mustard, Ginger and Orange Salad, will show how tempting and versatile Chicory can be. Along with these tasty new dishes, the Scholes’ website www.scholes-ltd.co.uk features over thirty specially commissioned recipes using their own specialist products, demonstrating the company’s total commitment to support both their retail partners and their customers.

June 2008

For further information, please contact Kenyon Communications – 01673 828764 or email marija@kenyon-communications.com

Scholes set to introduce UK’s first frozen Flageolet Bean

Yorkshire vegetable producers and packers Scholes have just agreed to supply Booths supermarkets with their unique new product Frozen Flageolet Beans this June.

Flageolet beans, often described as the “caviar of beans” are only available in the UK currently in tins or dried. The new frozen Flageolet Bean from Scholes will combine the convenience of tinned beans with all the benefits and taste of the fresh produce, and is generating a lot of interest in the retail market.

Innovative Scholes have been successful in growing the largest crop of Flageolet Beans in northern Europe and this year they plan to produce 250 tonnes of the beans from carefully selected land on their farm in the Yorkshire Wolds. “We are delighted to be supplying Booths and to be associated with such a distinguished retailer is very exciting. Booths have recognised that we are offering a unique product and have been very proactive to make sure they are the first retailer to have UK produced frozen flageolet beans on their shelves” says Mark Southwell, Scholes Sales and Marketing Executive.

This years Flageolet Beans are being drilled at this very moment. This delicate crop is sown in rows that are 500mm apart at a rate of 250,000 plants in every hectare.

The harvesting of the Flageolet is a very specialist operation, which only takes place in the late summer when the condition of the Flageolet is exactly right. At this point the beans are harvested quickly to keep them in their prime tender condition using special bean harvesters, designed to handle the precious Flageolet very carefully. The Flageolet Beans are shelled from the pod and are then transported to be frozen within two hours of being picked. These will then be packaged in Scholes’ own newly designed bags.

Flageolet Beans are very popular with chefs and unlike many beans, flageolet hold their shape well during cooking, have a delicate flavour and are creamy and dense in texture. New Flageolet Bean recipes have been specially devised by TV chef Rachel Green to showcase the new product on Scholes’ behalf. One of these delicious recipes can be found on the new Scholes bean package, and the Scholes website www.scholes-ltd.co.uk features many more.

Scholes are also talking to other major retailers about stocking the Flageolet Beans and are confident that their new product will become a household favourite.

Mark Southwell is available for interview

June 2008

For further information, please contact Kenyon Communications – 01673 828764 or email marija@kenyon-communications.com

Yorkshire Farmers Scoop National Award at the House of Commons

Innovative Yorkshire farming family, Scholes has been honoured in the Farm Business Magazine’s 2007 Food and Farming Industry Awards, as the winner in the category of Arable Food Chain Marketing Award.

Farming's most prestigious award presented on the 16th November at the House of Commons in London, recognises farmers leading by example in the effective promotion of the arable food chain. It also highlights the hard work of the winner in demonstrating new ideas and carrying these through to the end user.

“We are absolutely thrilled” says Rachel Scholes, Managing Director of Scholes, “many will know us for our background in potatoes but we feel really strongly about moving forward with new and distinctive products for our customers”. The Scholes are soon to launch their pioneering frozen Flageolet Bean, a first in the UK market and are currently growing Yorkshire’s largest commercial crop of Chicory. They also demonstrate their commitment to their customers by commissioning celebrity chef Rachel Green to devise original delicious recipes for each of their new vegetables and are redesigning their website to feature these.

Scholes is a family run business since 1967, farming 2,000 hectares on the Yorkshire Wolds. They combine both traditional values with a progressive attitude and a sound environmental policy.

Rachel Scholes is available for interview.

19th November 2007

For further information, please contact Kenyon Communications – 01673 828764 or email marija@kenyon-communications.com

Scholes top of the class with an A Grade from the BRC

The potato enterprise of the Scholes business has again achieved the highest accolade with an outstanding report from the BRC (British Retail Consortium) in its annual audit. Scholes are a privately owned company who not only grow and pack potatoes, but are currently introducing new specialist vegetable crops into their rotation, alongside the more traditional crops.

Over 400 hectares of potatoes are grown and packed, and recently, the potato pack house has undergone major redevelopment, including state of the art optical and weight grading machinery with a full traceability labelling system. The business received a number of commendations, gaining an ‘excellent’ for its quality management system, and scoring highly on traceability, process control and quantity control. In summary, the pack house was described as ‘very impressive’.

The business achieved an A grade, for the second year running, with no major or minor non conformances. Assessor John Brown described the business as “A well organised potato packing business with key management being able to have the ability to drive the company forward in its production process. Well done.”

Scholes were thrilled with the results, and the high standard they have set in this area of the business is reflected throughout the company. With new crops including chicory, flageolet beans, turnips and kohlrabi on the menu for 2007/8, they look set for a successful future.

June 2007