Welsh Leek Week October 1st - 7th

Next Thursday sees the start of the 3rd Annual Welsh Leek Week – when Wales biggest Leek Grower, Really Welsh, and some of its key trading partners get all excited about our national vegetable.

“We introduced Welsh Leek week back in 2007” reports Richard Arnold of Really Welsh, “to shout about their fact that Welsh Leeks were back in stores, and our reliance on Dutch, or even Spanish imports was over. But things have moved on now, and our harvest started in August this year, not October – but we still think it’s worth continuing to celebrate in October, as directly drilled leeks start to crop, and there in chill in the air, all of which seem to add to the to the leek eating experience”.

“Sadly we’ve yet to get all retail outlets as excited as we are” notes Arnold, “with only Tesco 100% committed to having Welsh leeks throughout the season, so if you shop elsewhere for the moment at least, you will probably be picking up English, or worse still continental leeks that have travelled a few hundred miles just to get here”.

Photograph: Charlie Lightbown Leek farm manager salutes the Welsh Leek harvest