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26th January 2023

New Covent Garden Market aims to educate student chefs

Written by: Edward Waddell
Students at Westminster Kingsway College’s School of Culinary Arts and Hospitality (WestKing) will have the chance to learn about seasonal fruit and vegetables this year, thanks to New Covent Garden Market’s (NCGM) diverse range of produce and new monthly fact sheet.

The new initiative aims to shine a light on how and when the products are grown, their nutritional value and the way the supply chain works.

José Souto, senior chef lecturer in Culinary Arts at WestKing, said: “Every top chef in London will work with a trader at the market, so to get them engaged at this stage of their development is really important.”

The January King cabbages supplied to WestKing this month by D.D.P Ltd of New Covent Garden Market are grown by DE and DM Drinkwater, a long-established family business growing seasonal vegetables and soft fruit.

Packed with phytosterols (plant sterols) and insoluble fibre, cabbages can help keep your digestive system healthy, lower cholesterol and regulate your bowel movements. They fuel the good bacteria in your gut that protects your immune system and produces essential nutrients.

A typical cabbage is likely to contain over 50% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C, 85% of the RDI of vitamin K, more than 2g of fibre and 1g of protein. Cabbage is also a potassium-rich food, which can help lower high blood pressure and the anthocyanins and potassium found in cabbage help fight inflammation and protect the heart.

Paul Grimshaw, managing director of NCGM distributor, added“There is a big focus on seasonality and sustainability and a lot of the product will be British, but we’ll also be including imported product, for example pomegranates in January, to let them know about how the supply chain works more broadly.”

D.D.P. is ‘one of the leading’ wholesalers of fresh produce throughout London and within the M25 area. The company supplies a number of contract caterers, restaurants, hotels, schools & colleges, retailers, events, companies and corporate fine-dining offices.