Features Buy local and seasonal, says Gordon Ramsay

Date Published:

07/09/2007

Where should we be buying our fruit and veg from?

In an ideal world, everyone should be sourcing their food direct from local, environmentally sustainable farms, but of course, that’s not practical for everyone.

It is well worth establishing a relationship with good, local greengrocers, fishmongers and butchers who can supply you with the best seasonal offerings. If you are stuck with the local supermarket, then try to pick vegetables that are in their most natural state. For instance, go for whole heads of lettuce rather than bagged salad leaves that are pumped with gasses to keep them fresh but are ultimately devoid of vitamins and flavour.

Where do you source your fruit and veg - both at home and for the restaurants?

We have fantastic suppliers who provide us with the most amazing produce at the restaurants. At home, our refrigerators are constantly filled with leftovers from photo shoots so we always have lots of food around. However, Tana does supplement with a weekly shop of mostly organic groceries from Waitrose, or we’ll pick up really fresh fruit and veg from the local greengrocer or farmers’ market whenever we can.

Why is organic better?

If you had the choice between eating a conventionally farmed apple that has been sprayed about 16 times or an organic apple, the choice is clear. What we eat is directly related to our health so it makes abolute sense to keep the fertilisers, pesticides, hormones and antibiotics that we put inside our bodies to a minimum.

Organic farming is labour-intensive and this sometimes translates into higher prices, but the food is produced with the highest priority for animal welfare and the environment, which in turn benefits local communities.

Saying that, it is crucial to check where the organic food is from. As a nation, we still import a fair amount of organic produce so the increase in food mileage may well offset the environmental benefits of organic farming.

Do you think that kids should always eat organic?

I think it is important that children consume lots of fruit, veg and dairy, and if the food is organic, all the better. Their smaller, growing bodies are more vulnerable to chemicals, pesticides and antibiotics so it is best to feed them with natural, unprocessed food.

If price is an issue, however, non-organic fruit and veg is better than none at all. Also, organic produce tends to wilt quickly so if it has had to travel a long way and is damaged as a result, then it would be wiser to eat fresher, conventionally grown products. It is all down to common sense, really.

Is there any fruit and veg you wouldn’t bother buying as organic?

I would be less inclined to buy organic fruit and vegetables that have thick skins, such as melons, grapefruits and squash, as they get peeled off anyway. I’ve also heard that broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus and cabbage tend to have lower levels of pesticide than many other vegetables.