North East pub and hotel chain chooses Northumberland potato grower to keep food local

North East pub and hotel chain The Inn Collection Group has teamed up with a fellow regional firm to help boost its use of local produce.

The Newcastle company, which has a portfolio of 30 hotels around the North East and further afield, has signed a partnership with Northumbrian vegetable growers Particularly Good Potatoes. The Wooler firm will produce around 450 tonnes of Ramos, Markies and Accord variety potatoes for Inn Collection.

The contract builds on Inn Collection’s existing arrangements with schemes like Red Tractor Assured and SALSA, and ensures it uses local produce rather than importing potatoes.

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Inn Collection’s head of food Tom Adlam said: “Mark and the team at Particularly Good produce a fantastic product here in Northumberland. As a company that started in the county, I’m delighted that we now have our dedicated potato field with them.

“The demand we have for potatoes is growing ever higher so to have that certainty of supply is important and to secure that with a family firm that has had potatoes their point of speciality for 30 years ensures quality too. Particularly Good’s processes ensure freshness too and I am sure our relationship will continue to grow.”

The hotel group will use the Wooler potatoes in a range of dishes. The potatoes are vacuum packed on site and refrigerated, giving them a shelf-life of five days from the day of production, with delivery on the day of processing to ensure the longest-possible use.

Farmer Mark Robson, from Particularly Good Potatoes, said: “Tom and the chefs across The Inn Collection Group need a lot of potatoes to satisfy their customers and we’re thrilled that they now have a dedicated field in Wooler to meet this demand.

“A Northern pub group serving Northern potatoes to its customers is a great story for us as we are committed to producing our products in as sustainable and environmentally friendly way as possible. That we can have potatoes from Northumberland into a pub and being enjoyed by customers in a matter of hours offers a freshness that we’re proud of and are delighted to be trusted to provide.”