As patron of the Kent Farmers’ Market Association, Michel Roux Jr is urging other high 
profile restaurateurs to champion local produce. He recently visited Shipbourne to getting a taste of what farmers’ markets in the Garden of England have to offer. However, he’s is no stranger to the area as he was born and brought up in the village and even went to the local school until the family moved to London to open Le Gavroche.
The objective of his visit was to promote Kent Farmers’ Market month which will be in June. He is really keen to promote local, seasonal produce, sold at farmers’ markets where you can actually talk to the grower and producer. As he points our: “It’s the actual grower or the producer that’s bringing it to the market. You’re missing out the middle man, so it should be cheaper. Nine times out of ten it will be fresher because it comes from around the corner.”
Michel came to Shipbourne last year to celebrate the Shipbourne Farmers’ Market’s tenth anniversary with a fundraising dinner and agreed to become patron of Kent Farmers’ Market Association following that. Apart from supporting farmers’ markets, he is very concerned about the demise of the independent shops in the High Street. He said: “It pains me when I go down a High Street and all I see are chains, estate agents and mini-supermarkets taking over. The town then loses it’s character”. He is encouraging shoppers to use independents, not only for the quality but also for the experience. “You’re not just buying a bunch of carrots, you’re talking about something, it might be quite banal, but you’re having a conversation,” he said. “Likewise when you go into an independent butcher you’re talking to a professional craftsman, someone who is passionate about his meat. All of that I think is important, that we get connected back to where everything comes from and how it’s grown, which you can’t do in a supermarket. You can’t have a conversation with a polythene bag or a piece of clingfilm !!.”
Michel added he was “relishing” his new role as patron.“I think there’s a lot of produce that people don’t realise is grown in Kent. It’s a great county for apples, and cherries are absolutely to die for – delicious. It’s varied produce just needs to be championed a bit more.”
The idea of Farmers Market month is to persuade more people to come and shop for local produce at their farmers’ market. Many markets will be running special events and they will be linking with Open Farm Sunday so you can visit a local farm to actually see how your food is grown.
Visit our website, www.kfma.org.uk for information about Farmers’ Markets and events.
