GO BEYOND FOUR SEASONS

PEAK SEASON BOX

Our Sourcing Team have selected the 9-10 varieties tasting their best right now. From familiar favourites to lesser known ones, these are our picks this week.

Coll de Dama Figs – Lleida, Spain
Reine Claude Plums – Toulouse & Montauban, France
Black Muscat Grapes – France
Red & Green Piquillo Peppers – Hampshire, UK
Romana Courgettes – Pembrokeshire & Hampshire, UK
Striata Aubergine – Lazio, Italy
Amarillo Peach – Lleida, Spain
Green French Oakleaf – Loire, France
Mixed Beans – Cornwall, Pembrokeshire, Hampshire & Kent, UK
Sandy Carrot – Dunkirk, France

SAVOURING THE SEASON:
FIGS

As summer berries begin to fade, figs are just hitting their stride. This is the point in the season when the fruit is left on the tree for as long as possible, allowing the sugars to concentrate until the figs are almost bursting. The challenge, of course, is getting fruit picked at that exact moment to you in perfect condition.

Our Bourjasotte Noire variety comes from the Solliès basin in Provence, where they are protected by AOC. Thin-skinned and full, they are left on the tree until the very last moment, until their flavour is sweet, herbal and complex. After harvest, they move rapidly to Paris, where our sourcing team hand selects the best, sometimes choosing figs with sugars already leaking through the skin. Packed in a single layer and laid on their side, they then travel to London. Within hours of being picked, they can be on their way to you.

Across the Pyrenees, in Catalonia, we find another exceptional variety: Coll de Dama, known as the ‘Queen of figs’. Smaller than the Bourjasotte Noire, they have an elegant elongated neck and deep red, jammy flesh. As the season flourishes, the same trees have around a one in ten chance of producing green figs: firmer, with striking green skin and pink flesh. We received our first green figs last week.

We spent years looking for a grower who cared more about the quality of the fruit than the quantity harvested. In 2024, we found José. His traditional Catalan variety, and his willingness to watch each fruit closely as it fattens until it simply can’t take any more, made him the perfect fit for us. Much of the best Spanish produce never leaves Spain, so we feel particularly lucky to be able to bring these figs to the UK.

As with so much of the fruit we source, the key is patience. Picking early might protect a crop, but it also means sacrificing flavour. Jose takes the risk, leaving the fruit to reach its peak. The result is a fig with extraordinary sweetness, texture and concentration, and a season that is very short.