The main dish

The main dish

Kirby’s Fresh Produce

Kirby’s Fresh Produce

The original Kirby business was started by Darrell and Jon’s father and uncle in the 1980s as a traditional greengrocer with shops in the London boroughs of Primrose Hill and Camden Town.  Darrell joined the family business in 1989 after a couple of jobs working on the trading floor of merchant banks.  Under his guidance, Kirby’s moved away from retail in the early 90s and started supplying wholesale orders to hotels, restaurants and pubs as increased competition from the supermarkets made it harder to keep the retail shops profitable.

Moving to New Covent Garden Market in 1993 made the break from retail complete and the business has grown steadily ever since, primarily by word of mouth and personal recommendation, with customers attracted by Kirby’s core values to supply quality produce and premium service at a competitive price.

Although the majority of their produce comes from the market itself, Darrell and Jon have found that with the increased demand for locally grown fruit and veg, they are now sourcing a lot of their seasonal produce direct from farmers and growers, as the traders in the market have not kept up with this demand. They try to increase their percentage of locally sourced food every year and work very hard to ensure that their customers really are getting what they want; whether that is British grown, Fair Trade, organic or LEAF marque produce.  Darrell points out though that it is impossible to run their business solely based on local fruit and veg and their aspiration to source from the UK is tempered by market forces, our capricious climate and this year in particular, by economic constraints, with imported goods sometimes being cheaper than the homegrown varieties.

Kirby’s weekly market report highlights what is currently in season so that chefs can choose to buy some of the “forgotten” fruit and vegetables which traditionally would have been eaten at particular times of the year.  From demand comes supply and Darrell argues that consumers need to eat according to the seasons in order to bring these vegetables back into vogue; buying kale, damsons, turnips and gooseberries, rather than wanting Kenyan fine beans and strawberries in January.

Finally to quote Darrell: “Life as a wholesale greengrocer is not for the faint hearted – the market at 2am on a snowy frosty morning is a raw environment. The idea of running a fresh produce company sounds straightforward but I put in a great deal of effort and many hours every week to make the business work as I want it to.  Indeed, I have lived, eaten and breathed this business for the last twenty years.”

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