In the wholesale markets this is one of the busiest weeks of the year as everyone is buying in for the Christmas week. The week in between Christmas and New Year is also a busy one for supplying caterers, according to Barra Sweetnam from Allfresh Wholesale, based in Cork, Ireland.
Spanish clementines are available at Allfresh Wholesale, Barra said that right after the terrible floods in Valencia it was a bit of a challenge getting the lorries out as the roads were impassable, but that only lasted a week or so. "There is no problem with supply now and the clementines are good quality. Clementines and satsumas are traditionally very popular at Christmas time, although that is diminishing a bit now."
"There is still good demand for Brussels sprouts, but this has been lessened by the retailers who always drop the price of traditional Christmas veg at this time of the year. They are offering it at 39-49 cents per 450g, we cannot compete with that and we see the caterers going there, rather than to the wholesalers for their veg. This is a loss leader for them, but it devalues the product, it cannot be produced for that price. It also leads to more food waste as people will buy two packs as it is so cheap, but they will never use it all."
Other products which are popular with caterers at Christmas are berries. "They like to have fresh strawberries and raspberries for desserts, cranberries, herbs and chestnuts are also popular. I see a drop in demand for products like cranberries and herbs such as sage and thyme, I think this is because caterers are buying more ready-made sauces and stuffing because they struggle to get enough staff and this saves time.
"Blood oranges will arrive on Friday, this is a bit later than normal, but these are becoming more popular for the Christmas market too."
For more information:
Barra Sweetnam
Allfresh Wholesale
Tel: +353 21 4510526
[email protected]
www.allfresh.ie