A new business in North Northumberland has outgrown its first production area - a farmhouse kitchen - inside six months.
Former farm manager and milkman, Eck (Robert Alexander) Smith, has been so successful that he has had to take over a factory unit in Wooler for his vegetable processing operation. And it was sliced carrots that gave him the incentive to expand.
Fruits of the Field was set up 16 months ago to supply freshly-peeled potatoes to hotels, pubs and restaurants on both sides of the Border. But, since he started supplying julienne carrots, he has been inundated with orders.
"The demand for the strips of carrots is catching up with the orders I get for potatoes," he says.
Eck processes Maris Piper potatoes from Till Valley farms with a formula he devised himself to keep them fresh for up to seven days. They are supplied ready for boiling, roasting or as chips. His main customers include Floors Castle and the Roxburgh Hotel at Kelso; the Plough Inn, Allerdean, near Berwick; the Oaks Inn and the Market Tavern, in Alnwick; Foxton's in Berwick; the Black Bull, Etal; the Angel, Wooler; the Apple, Lucker, and the Borderer at Yetholm.
