Passion for fruit and vegetables
Yesterday, while sitting in the garden watching our grandson Isaac play on his slide, I noticed the fig tree that Ian Watson presented us with over nine years ago when we celebrated our 25 years in business. For those very few who don’t know Ian, he was a greengrocer in Elwick Road, who had also supplied my restaurants for the best part of their existence. Every day, he would breeze into our kitchens, carrying crates, cartons, bunches and bags of vegetables the chefs would’ve ordered earlier that morning. He always had a smile, a bit of gossip or a joke to tell before going on to his next delivery. He sadly passed away far too young, last year after suffering a fall.
The fig tree also reminded me that on occasions, Ian brought us unusual fresh fruit and vegetables that were rarely found on supermarket shelves. I suspect that Madjid, our chef at Krimo’s, had a secret arrangement with Ian, to buy any of those fruit and vegetables that the latter came across on his trips to the wholesalers based on Tyneside. The goodies were for Madjid’s own consumption. A rare such fruit from the Mediterranean is the medlar, pictured on the right, which I have come across only a handful of times in my years in the UK.
It is a fleshy fruit with dark brown stones, which when ripe is very sweet and juicy. This tree is found in most Mediterranean gardens, laden in summer with delicious fruit. Other troves which Ian used to regale us with every now and then were green and purple figs. Growing up on a farm where there were various fruit trees, figs were always part of our diet, fresh in autumn, and dry, the rest of the time. No wonder we rarely suffered from blockages.
Speaking of blockages, these were often caused by overindulgence of prickly pears, the fruit of the cactus. There were even contests where competitors are encouraged to eat as many of those prickly pears as they could. The only downside is that both winners and losers invariably ended up in hospital to have their stomach pumped.
On another occasion, Ian brought us a vegetable we had never seen before. Romanesco was a cross between broccoli and cauliflower and is now widely available.
Modern transport may have brought fruit and vegetables from all five continents to our tables, but I really believe that there is nothing like enjoying things right where they are produced.
Unless the greenhouse effect turns the North Sea into the Med, I doubt very much that Ian’s fig tree will bear fruit in my lifetime.
It will however be a nice reminder of a gentleman who left his mark on those who met him.
