From Field to Fork: Getting to Know Our Supplier, Rushtons

We believe that exceptional food starts long before it reaches the plate. The quality, seasonality and provenance of the ingredients we work with all play a huge part in how we design our menus, which is why our relationships with trusted suppliers are so important.

One of those suppliers is Rushtons, London's renowned "Chefs' Greengrocer". Based at New Covent Garden Market, Rushtons has been supplying some of the capital's finest kitchens for more than 20 years, working closely with growers to source exceptional seasonal produce.

We recently spent some time with the Rushtons team, exploring their warehouse and seeing first-hand the incredible British produce currently in season. It was a great reminder of just how much inspiration can come from simply being surrounded by beautiful ingredients.

We spoke to Hannah at Rushtons to find out more about their approach to seasonality, what makes exceptional produce, the importance of supplier relationships and the ingredients they're most excited about right now.

1. For those who may not know Rushtons, could you tell us a little about the business and what you do?

Rushton's is a fresh produce supplier based at New Covent Garden Market. We've been supplying London's finest kitchens with exceptional produce for over 20 years.

We source and deliver seasonal British produce and premium Italian specialities to some of the capital's most celebrated restaurants, hotels and bars, with twice-daily deliveries and genuinely trusted relationships with our growers. We're often known as "The Chefs' Greengrocer", which I think sums up exactly who we're here for.

We're also proud to be part of the S. Thorogood & Sons Group, a family business that's been growing and selling the finest British produce since 1922. That heritage really matters to us. We're one of the only wholesalers still keeping our fingers in the soil, with the family farming today at Thorogood Asparagus in Essex. That seed-to-sale perspective shapes how we think about everything we supply, including at Rushton's.

2. How important are relationships with chefs and caterers like Caiger & Co?

These relationships are everything to us, honestly.

What we love about working with teams like Caiger & Co is seeing produce actually come to life on a plate. There's something really special about handing over something we know intimately where it's from, how it was grown and then seeing a chef's creativity take it somewhere new.

It's a genuinely collaborative relationship, not just transactional. We learn a lot from chefs about what they need, and hopefully they learn a bit from us about what's coming and what's worth getting excited about.

3. What makes this time of year particularly exciting for British produce?

Honestly, you can't beat a British summer for produce. It's a genuinely brilliant time of year.

Right now, we're loving British berries, strawberries from Annabel's, raspberries from Hugh Lowe and blueberries from Wye Valley alongside summer vegetables like courgettes, fresh peas and salads.

We've got beautiful tomatoes coming through too from Isle of Wight Tomatoes, as well as some gorgeous stone fruit: greengages, Victoria plums and cherries. We're also just starting to see the first of the season's cobnuts coming in, a wonderfully delicate wild find that always feels like a proper seasonal treat.

We've got some beautiful European stone fruit as well, including nectarines and peaches in both blood and flat varieties, which honestly can't be beaten for flavour at this time of year.

Looking ahead, we're already starting to see the first signs of autumn produce too. We've already had some fantastic organic squash through from Bedlam Farms.

4. How important is seasonality to the way you source and supply produce?

Seasonality is genuinely at the heart of everything we do. It's not just a nice-to-have; it shapes our whole approach to sourcing.

For us, being truly seasonal means working with what the growers are actually producing at its best, rather than chasing consistency all year round regardless of what nature's doing.

It means accepting variation. Produce doesn't always look identical week to week, and being honest with chefs about that, rather than pretending everything's uniform.

It also means genuinely understanding our growers' calendars and challenges, not just placing an order and hoping for the best.

5. What do you think makes really high-quality produce stand out?

For us, it comes down to provenance and genuine care in how something's grown, not just how it looks on the day.

We look for produce with real flavour and character, not just visual perfection, and we place huge value on knowing exactly where something's come from and who grew it.

We also focus on growers who take a genuinely regenerative approach, farming that actively improves soil health and biodiversity rather than just sustaining it. It's incredibly important for the future of our soil and our food security, and it's likely where the most resilient, best-tasting produce will come from in the years ahead.

A lot of our best relationships are with growers we've worked with for years, sometimes decades, and that kind of trust and track record tells you a lot about consistent quality.

6. Are there any seasonal ingredients you think are underrated?

Definitely.

Fresh British salads often get overlooked in favour of more exciting-sounding ingredients, but really good British leaves, peppery, crisp and full of flavour. They deserve so much more attention than they get.

British corn on the cob is another one. There's a real difference between properly ripened, freshly picked corn and anything that's travelled, and it's such a simple, satisfying thing to cook well.

And radishes. They're incredibly versatile: sliced raw for crunch, roasted whole for something sweeter and more mellow, or even their leaves used in a pesto for a zero-waste approach. Most people only ever think of them as a garnish.

I'd also throw in Tokyo turnips and patty pan squash. Both are a little less obvious, but genuinely lovely, delicate, versatile and not nearly used enough.

7. When you see Rushtons' produce being turned into dishes and event menus, what do you hope chefs and customers take away from that connection?

We hope it's a real sense of the journey.

What's on the plate isn't just an ingredient; it's the result of a grower's hard work, often over generations, and a genuine chain of care from field to fork.

We'd love people to walk away with a bit more appreciation for where their food actually comes from, and for the relationships and effort behind something that might otherwise just look like "a nice bit of squash" on a plate.

A huge thank you to Hannah and the Rushtons team for sharing an insight into their world with us, and for supplying the beautiful seasonal produce that continues to inspire our menus.