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Spuds up

Without doubt the potato has staying power and is constantly proving its worth in the Foodservice sector. This year the potato product category looks even more promising. Sarah Allen reports.

Enduring, endearing and ever popular, the potato is arguably one of the most versatile veggies on earth. Just ask Mr Potato Head.

But in the immortal words of one Paul Weller formerly of seventies band The Jam: "The public gets what the public wants," and apparently, the public wants potatoes in all their glory.

Foodservice operators are doing their best to meet these needs but, as the nation's penchant for potatoes grows, with that comes a challenge for food suppliers; that is, how to create a tempting offering from something that at first glance looks so plain in its raw state.

The industry has responded to the challenge with gusto as new product development has been stepped up and more products are in the proverbial pipeline.

For example 3G Foodservice has added a jacket potato filled with cheddar and loaded potato shells with cheese and bacon to cater for this growing trend.

It has also introduced individual portions of mashed potato to its jackets, mash and roasts selection. Made with light seasoning, the company says the portions are convenient to use and offer a healthier alternative to chips.

Marketing manager Tim Shearer comments: "Potatoes are definitely being used in more innovative ways nowadays with filled potato skins, strips and shells now regularly appearing on menus as starter or snack options."

Aviko too has a comprehensive range of chilled and frozen potato products. Its latest launch is a range of individually frozen potato gratins, steamed and available in five varieties: creamy gratin; with mushrooms; with broccoli; with Italian herbs, tomato and mozzarella cheese and with salmon, and these gratins can be oven cooked or combi steamed.

Its Super Mash range, available in bubble and squeak, butter and milk, carrots and swede, and homemade 'just like mum's' varieties, is ideal for caterers pushed for time who need consistent, high quality results.

Prepared traditionally with fresh butter and milk, the mash is quick frozen to lock in flavour and vitamins and then frozen in individual cubes for caterers to make the necessary quantity, ensuring minimum waste and portion control. The product can also be prepared in the microwave or combi steamer.

Last year North Antrim Foods, a subsidiary of Northern Ireland based fresh potato businesses Glens of Antrim Potatoes, launched a range of value added ready meals for retail and foodservice, which includes crushed potato with butter and sea salt, spring onions with roast garlic, and Savoy cabbage with mushrooms.

But although many companies are trying to come up with new ways of using potatoes, others are convinced that it could be a safer bet to stick to what you know arguing, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'.

However the nation's obsession with chunky sticks of potato is far from over. Aviko learnt this when it recently collaborated with ICM Research to conduct an independent survey with 200 UK consumers in which 76% said they 'love eating chips', with 82% saying they 'expect to eat chips' in pub restaurants.

The company says its Super Crunch mega fries have been a big hit with consumers and impressed those from the survey, three-quarters of which thought the fries were 'just right' in terms of crispiness and crunch; 71% of the participants said good chips should be crispy. Aviko suggests the chunkiness of a chip has a visual impact on the plate as it gives the impression of being able to satisfy hunger.

Following the recent launch of Lamb Weston's Britain's Pride range of chips, it too has added a chunkier 18x18mm chip to its range.

The chunky chip is made using grade A British potatoes that are blanched and pre fried to a crisp, firm finish at the company's factory in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, and is recommended to be served on its own or as an accompaniment to meatier dishes such as steak, mixed grills or casseroles.

Meanwhile Farm Frites says it offers "an all encompassing range for caterers, whether the priority is speed and convenience or nutrition and health", and understands the importance of coming up with new and exciting developments in potato products. However it tries to adopt this in its approach to classic products. It has improved its rustic traditional chips, the thick cut, golden chip it specially developed for UK pub chains in 2008.

This year's version is slightly longer with a crispier shell and fries in up to five minutes. The company promises that the chip, however, will still have piping hot potato inside that will be as fluffy as ever.

The chips are now freeze chilled meaning they can be stored in two ways: 730 days at 18°C or seven days at a maximum temperature of 4°C.

"This emerging technology means our chips can be stored at deep freeze temperatures until required and essentially our chips can be fried from frozen or chilled giving pub chefs more flexibility," says marketing manager Nic Townsend.

Farm Frites says its Nature's Goodness range was the first in foodservice to use the Food Standards Agency's traffic light system, highlighting fat, saturated fat, sugar and salt content and is now also made with 100% sunflower oil.

"Sunflower oil is one of the healthiest oils there is," says Townsend, "low in saturated fats that can be bad for the heart while high in polyunsaturated fats, which keep hearts healthy."

Farm Frites promises more product launches this year.

However, it's not all about tasty fillings and crunchy, chunky chips when it comes to potatoes as some companies are actively encouraging creativity from chefs.

For example this year McCain has teamed with the Craft Guild of Chefs to launch the first McCain signature dish competition, where budding young chefs will have to create their own signature dish using quality ingredients as well as, of course, products from the McCain Signatures range. These include 'restaurant style' chunky cut gourmet chips, brewers ridges and rosti.

Recipes will be judged on their innovation and originality.

Provenance is still a priority for caterers and consumers, with more manufacturers showing awareness of the value of locally sourced produce.

With McCain, the work begins before the potatoes are processed at the Whittlesey based factory, as associate director Adrian Greaves explains.

"We grow seeds we've developed for our products in Scotland because of its purified air. We're the only manufacturer to have a potato seed business.

"We also work with around 300 farmers across the UK, some of them for three generations, so we know our farmers well. All our farmers work to assured food standard guidelines."

McCain is the largest frozen food manufacturer to join the Red Tractor scheme, with the logo displayed on all its packaging, and it has gone to great lengths to ensure the potatoes it uses are in optimum condition.

"We have an automated system which, through photography, finds defects and slices them out. We've invested a lot of money to ensure defects are removed automatically," says Greaves.

McCain has also invested £15m in two main renewable energy initiatives. "We're doing lots to drive down energy consumption. The factory has three wind turbines costing £10m, so it gets a lot of strong wind that provides 60% of the factory's energy supplies. We sell electricity back to the National Grid, which all helps keep costs down."

Investment has gone into an aerobic lagoon as well, which the company sees as a way of 'giving back' to nature.

"As we wash and blanch potatoes, water collects potato starch and suspended solids.

"We pump waste water into the lagoon – which is the size of two football pitches – and siphon off bio gas, providing 10% of the factory's energy. Gas is then collected, filtered, aerated and returned back to the river," says Greaves.

McCain's efforts to protect the environment haven't gone unnoticed as it was crowned best consumer goods company of 2008 at the Green Business Awards last October.

Lamb Weston is another company doing its bit to satisfy the public's growing desire to know where their food is from.

"We use British farmers who grow British potatoes on British soil before they are cut, blanched and pre fried at our premises in Wisbech," says sales and marketing director Nigel Phillips.

"For some reason it just tastes better if it is British."