Over 100 friers and trade suppliers travelled to Ely Cambridgeshire for the 8th annual Isle of Ely Produce an Chippy Chat open day. It was to be the first chip shop industry event since the start of the pandemic 

The event put on by John, Oliver and Claire Boutwood and hosted by Chippy Chat Publishing Editor Austen Dack highlights the journey the potato makes before it hits the chip shops. It is the culmination of their ‘field to frier’ platform, which this year also included the story of the potato seed too.

The day, although dedicated to the potato, in recent years has taken on the mantle of being a showcase for what’s also best practice in the fish and chip industry. Some of the best fish and chip shop owners presented during the day from a £12,000 AV stage show set up in one of IOE’s potato storage sheds. 

Our thanks to Mark Petrou from Petrou Brothers, who told us about his journey through the pandemic, and the launch of his new SpudGuru platform! We also had many service providers on the stage too offering up tips and ideas from online to on the farm! 

Alex Moore from Agrico also presented on stage talking about how important it is to involve fish friers with the testing of new breeds.

Highlight of the day was John Molnar from the Cod’s Scallops the current UK champions. He showed us just why they are the best in the UK with benchmark activity in a thrilling keynote video delivery, direct from the judging room of the National Fish and Chip Awards. 

Back to farming our featured farmer this year was once again Pete Legge of Legge Farms. He took the owners to his farm giving them a running commentary as they approached the farm before jumping out to see the potato growing process first hand.  Pete was a great speaker and the group all complimented him on his fantastic tour. 

Other highlights included tasting the new Pukka Pie brand, tastings from Agrico (babylon), and the legendary cake selection all free to attendees.  

In the evening over forty people dined and drank into the night in Ely all reflecting on the day itself. 

We are already planning next year’s event. Pencilled in for 11/09/2022. If you would like to attend as a frier or supplier and want details of tickets and/or sponsorship please email austen@chippychat.co.uk 

Press release from Isle of Ely Produce

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The contest, which is organised by Isle of Ely Produce with the help of over 30 local potato farmers, sees teams racing to the Market Place and back to the end of the High Street, near Ely Cathedral.

The race, which requires each competitor to run with a bag of potatoes on his or her back, is said to be the only city centre street potato race in the world.

Oliver Boutwood, director of Isle of Ely Produce, said: “It has been a difficult decision – but more than 1,000 people line the streets, and with the course being narrow, we couldn’t see a way of running the race safely for competitors and spectators alike, especially if new measures come in”

The race fits in nicely with the company’s campaign which highlights the journey the Fens potato makes from field all the way to the chip shop and in 2019 they even gave away free chips. It also brings agriculture into the city, and people love to watch the races.

The event was to coincide with Ely Cathedral’s Harvest Festival and usually features a school’s race.

The races will be back in 2022 with organiser Austen Dack promising a bumper day including a brand-new race on the day! He added, “Spotted in Ely have done so much for this race over the years, with Mark and Alison providing a live link from the races across the world which have been seen by over 20,000 people! With Mark’s passing we wanted to mark his commitment to Ely and these races, by naming a heat after him on the day.”

Oliver Boutwood said “This is a small way to show our appreciation for the continued support from the Spotted in Ely team and their commitment to Ely and our unique event.”

Press release from Isle of Ely Produce

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The annual relay race which celebrates the humble potato has been postponed for the first time in its eight-year history.

The contest, which is organised by Isle of Ely Produce with the help of over 30 local potato farmers, sees teams racing to the Market Place and back to the end of the High Street, near Ely Cathedral.

The race, which requires each competitor to run with a bag of potatoes on his or her back, is said to be the only city centre street potato race in the world.

Oliver Boutwood, director of Isle of Ely Produce, said: “Last year’s race was amazing – more than 1,000 people lined the streets, but with the course being narrow, we couldn’t see a way of running the race safely for competitors and spectators alike”

The race fits in nicely with the company’s campaign which highlights the journey the Fens potato makes from field all the way to the chip shop and last year even gave away free chips. It also brings agriculture into the city, and people love to watch the races.

The event was to coincide with Ely Cathedral’s harvest festival and usually features a school’s race.

The races will be back in 2021 with organiser Austen Dack promising a bumper day including a brand-new race on the day!

Press release from Austen Dack

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Isle of Ely Produce Launch Chip Ambassador Roles

To celebrate National Fish and Chip Day, Cambridgeshire potato merchant Isle of Ely Produce have launched a new platform to promote the great British Chip. Its aim will be to carry on the good work it has been promoting via their hugely successful open days, and the ‘Field to Frier’ award it sponsors at the National Fish and Chip Awards.

The Chip Ambassadors will become part of an UK wide group of shop owners and fryers who will promote best practice for potato buying, storing and of course frying. The chain will also include key growers too, as IOE looks to cement the relationships they have grown across the whole supply chain over the last ten years.

An important area where these new ambassadors will be utilised is to sample any significant new varieties that come into the marketplace. With this in mind Agrico have partnered with Isle of Ely Produce to bring two such varieties into the trade initially via our Chip Ambassadors.  The two varieties Babylon and Lugano will be sampled at some of the CA’s to back up the results of early trial successes.

One of the first shops to sign up to the scheme is Shapp Chippy, near Penrith. Matt Phillips co-owner said. “We are delighted to get involved with this as we have seen the good work Isle of Ely do at their open days, this will take that work into the chip shops themselves, where we can report on various issues we have with the potatoes and or varieties which in turn can be fed back to the merchants & growers.”

Oliver Boutwood Isle of Ely Director says, “We have met so many great chip shop owners over the years, all who have brilliant knowledge of what it takes to choose, store and of course fry a potato. We have supplied enough potatoes during that time to serve over 600 million portions of chips. This new scheme will give us even more information across the UK, that we can use to make sure we have the right variety in supply at all times.”

To help launch the scheme Oliver visited Shapp on the eve of National Fish & Chip day, to try Babylon for himself. He said “It was great to visit the Shapp team and see their knowledge and enthusiasm first-hand. To have our Chip Ambassadors trying samples and giving us valuable feedback is valuable for the whole industry. Babylon offers the customer outstanding frying and eating qualities that challenge Agria, whilst Lugano offers a sustainable future for the grower in the fight against potato cyst nematode (PCN), while producing excellent frying and eating quality for the customer.”

Alex Moore, Agrico UK Sales Manager said, “Our varieties have made up a large proportion of the potatoes supplied to the chip shop sector over the years. However, previously we have had very little interaction with the shops themselves. We are thrilled to be working closely with the Chip Ambassadors to launch two of our exciting new varieties. As a business we are always trying to breed better tasting and more sustainable potato varieties. In Babylon and Lugano we have both! We place a lot of emphasis on product management and this link with the Chip Ambassadors, Isle of Ely and the growers will help us ensure that each area of the supply chain know how to get the best out of Agico varieties, to give the end customer the best chips they can buy.”

Chip shop owners already signed as Chip Ambassadors for Isle of Ely Produce are Colin Cromer – The Fish Hoose, Kerry Brennan – Golden Union, David Henley – Henley’s, Richard Ord Jr – Colmans, Eric Snaith – Eric’s, Kelly & Tim Barnes – Krispies, Lauren Kellaway – Kellaways, Charlie Collins – Frydales, Fred Capel- Chez Fred, Matt & Ashley Phillips – Shapp Chippy, Malachy Mallon The Dolphin Takeaway, Richard Foster – Fish and Chips at Weston Grove, Emir Hikary – Hiks, Alan Shillingford – Shillingfords and Sarah Heward – The Real Food Café.  

Email austen@isleofely.co.uk if you too would like to become a Chip Ambassador.

Main Picture Oliver Boutwood and Matt Phillips, Shapp Chippy

Press release from Chippy Chat

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Farmers and Chip Shops Come Together for Huge Charity Push

Potato wholesaler Isle of Ely Produce who supply chipping potatoes to fish and chip shops across the UK from Ely, Cambridgeshire are today launching a scheme to help the NHS by raising up to £20,000 for our national heroes from its farming partners. In a recent survey (of what is best about the UK) 2,000 Brits placed the NHS at the top of the list, and Fish and Chips at Number 2 so they think it makes sense for them to try to help at this time of need.

They have teamed up with many of their Field to Frier Cambridgeshire partner farmers including AL Lee Farming Company , P J Lee & Sons, J Gilbert & Sons, Legge Farms, HG Bliss Farms Ltd and N Balcomb & Son (Kent) so that they can together give something back to the NHS & its charities.

It is something that Isle of Ely director Oliver Boutwood has been thinking about for a couple of weeks, and now he is happy it is happening.  He said “During this crisis we have seen chip shops giving discounted meals to the NHS across the country, and we wanted to help and show the NHS that our farmers are right behind them too. Our Field to Frier network has seen us open our farms to chip shops, create a national fish and chip award, and now we have joined together to help raise funds for NHS charities.”

“This initiative is open to all fish and chips shops and their wholesalers, who can all do their bit in helping to raise up to £20,000. Our farmers have committed a donation from every bag sold for this fund.”

Isle of Ely Produce provides over 2m bags of chipping potatoes to fish and chip shops across the UK via local wholesalers from ‘Field to Frier’ recommended farms every year. They can arrange continuous delivery of potatoes across the whole of the UK to all chip shops.

They are still recommending however fish and chip shops only open if they can follow the letter of the law and government guidelines.

This scheme will also be open to shops who open at a later date too (when conditions allow). It is also open to shops both big and small who can together through their wholesaler can all help to make a difference. The scheme closes on Friday 19th June.

Press release from Chippy Chat

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A bumper crowd lined the streets despite the rain as the teams smashed it over a half mile potato racecourse in Ely high st. The Ely Potato Race akin to Monaco is the most famous potato street race in the world, and one of the quirkiest events in the UK!

A two-man Atrium gym team were crowned worthy men’s champions running with 20Kg of Jonathan Waters potatoes, whilst the Divaa Girls stole the women’s crown (running with a bag of Divaa Potatoes), both taking home the trophy and £100 in prize money.

The eighth annual potato race is organised by Isle of Ely Produce to celebrate the region’s potato growers and the local harvest festival.

Isle of Ely produce director Oliver Boutwood said: “It was lovely to see so many people coming out to support the teams today. We are happy to play such an important part in the community and will continue to invest in these types of events in the future.

“The event underlines our pledge to support the journey of the potato from the field to the frier.”

New for 2019 was the addition of a mobile chippy ‘Pimp my Fish’ from Newmarket. They served fresh free local chips for the duration of the races.

More than £1500 was raised for local charities some of which will go to the Ely Hereward Rotarians who helped steward the event along the high street. The rest will be giving to the Ely Mayor’s Charities.

Alongside the three winning teams were twelve other teams who competed in what was hailed the most keenly contested race yet. Their were ambulance drivers, panto dames teachers and even a team all the way from Weymouth competing. 

The children’s race between St Mary’s, St John’s and Isle of Ely Primary schools saw the St Mary’s team lift the Olivers Potatoes Trophy.

Austen Dack, of organisers Isle of Ely Produce, said: “It was a fantastic set of races again this year with some great free chips to keep the crowd warm, we look forward to welcoming everyone back again next year.”

All competitors got to keep their potatoes as part of their entry fee.

Press release from Austen Dack

Photo credit Terry Harris

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The Ely Potato Race is close again to being under starter’s orders – with the team behind the event once again on the lookout for runners!

The annual relay race, organised by Isle of Ely Produce in conjunction with over 30 local potato farmers is being held on October 12 and will be officially started by Mayor of Ely, Mike Rouse.

The contest sees teams racing to the Market Place and back to the end of the High Street, near the Cathedral. It is the only city centre potato race in the world.

Each competior is required to run the race with a bag of potatoes on his or her back. It is a race for both fun and we also get serious competitors too.

Oliver Boutwood, director of Isle of Ely Produce, said: “Last year’s race was amazing – more than 1,000 people lined the streets.”

“The race fits in nicely with our campaign which highlights the journey the potato makes from field to the frier. It also brings agriculture into our city, and people love to see the races.”

The team – as well as calling for spectators and runners – are also looking for local sponsors. All money raised will go to local charities.

The race which also coincides with Ely Cathedral’s harvest festival which starts at 11.30am. A school’s race will also take place.

Places are limited. Each team consists of two people, either two men or two ladies, over the age of 17. Competitors are also encouraged to dress up too, last year they were joined by the KD panto dame on the track!

If you would like to enter a team (it can be a company or two individuals) please call 01353 658216 or email austen@isleofely.co.uk

Press release from Austen Dack

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A further £1,500 was raised which has already been given away to help support National Fish and Chip Day which is on June 7th 2019, and local schools.

Held in Ely’s High Street in October, the company have joined forces with Mayor of Ely Councillor Michael Rouse to help give the cash away.

Hundreds lined Ely High Street for the race to cheer on the teams as they sprinted the half-a-mile course – each carrying a 20kg bag of Fenland-grown spuds. It was the first race to be televised, plus over 20,000 people from all over the world also tuned into a Spotted in Ely live Facebook feed too!

Mayor of Ely Councillor Michael Rouse said: “I was honoured to be the official starter for the Ely Potato Race and saw first hand what a great race it has become.

“To raise over money for local charities and groups is the icing on the cake. I urge you all to come forward no matter how small.”

Oliver Boutwood, of organisers Isle of Ely Produce, said: “It was a fantastic race and we look forward to welcoming everyone back again next year.

“To raise more than £2,500 for good causes, and now we are looking for 5 local charities and groups to help spend it. We have now raised over £14,000 for local causes since the race was first ran.”

The event is put on annually by Isle of Ely Produce to celebrate the region’s potato growers and the harvest festival. Last year it included a Fire Crew, Panto Dame and even a Hot Dog!austen

To be in with a chance of receiving a share of the money, email austen@chippychat.co.uk explaining why your charity or community group should receive a share of the cash.

Austen Dack race event organiser says “We hope to make a difference to 5 local projects it can be a crucial piece of equipment, or to help pay for essential maintenance.”

Each successful group or charity will receive £300.

The event is the only potato street race in the world! This years event will be held on Saturday October 12th.

The closing date for nominations is April 27 2019. The nominations will be considered by the Mayor, and the directors of Isle of Ely Produce.

If you would like to run this year in the mens or ladies races, or would like to be a sponsor get in touch with Austen. email austen@chippychat.co.uk

Press release from Isle of Ely Produce

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A sprinkling of rain had caused a few extra nerves in the morning but it didn’t put off a healthy crowd who gathered up and down the high street.

The two-man team from the Atrium Gym(A), were crowned worthy champions, winning their heat before, in the final, powering away from runners-up Infinity Fitness in the dash to the line. Littleport Basketball Club came third. The Atrium were racing with potatoes from farmers AL Lee and Sons.

Also hotly-contested was the PJ Lee & Sons fillies 7.5kg handicap stakes. R&C Parson provided the potatoes, with the winning team coming from Kings School Ely.

A close fought children’s race between St Mary’s School and Kings Primary School, saw the Kings team lift the Oliver’s Potato trophy.

Austen Dack, of organisers Isle of Ely Produce, said: “It was a fantastic set of races. We had lots of great competitors this year including sports clubs & gyms all keen to grab the prize. We also had a racing hot dog, a pantomime dame plus two local fire fighters too.”

Donations on the day helped to raise more than £2,000 for local schools and charities from the event.

The event is put on by Isle of Ely Produce to celebrate the region’s potato growers and the local harvest festival held in Ely Cathedral.

Owned and managed by the Boutwood family, Isle of Ely Produce was established in 1994.

Director Oliver Boutwood said: “It was lovely to see so many people coming out to support the teams today. Isle of Ely Produce are happy to play such an important part in the community and will continue to invest in these types of events in the future.

“The event underlines our pledge to support the journey of the potato from the field to the frier.”

Some of the money raised will go to the Ely Hereward Rotarians, who did a marvelous job stewarding the event along the High Street.

The winning duo from this year’s two adult races received £100 cash prize and a trophy.

All competitors kept their potatoes as part of their £10 entry fee.

Press release from Isle of Ely Produce

Photography by Julie Cave

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Isle of Ely Produce is searching for charities and local organisations that could benefit from a share of £3,000 which was raised at its annual potato race.

Held in Ely’s High Street in October, the company have joined forces with Mayor of Ely Councillor Richard Hobbs to help give it away.

Hundreds lined Ely High Street for the race to cheer on the teams as they sprinted the half-a-mile course – each carrying a 20kg bag of Fenland-grown spuds. Over 7000 from all over the world tuned into Spotted in Ely’s live facebook feed too!

Mayor of Ely Councillor Richard Hobbs said: “I was honoured to be the official starter for the Ely Potato Race (which I shared with MP Lucy Frazer) and saw first hand what a great race it has become.

“To raise over £3,000 for local charities and groups is the icing on the cake. I urge you all to come forward no matter how small.”

Oliver Boutwood, of organisers Isle of Ely Produce, said: “It was a fantastic race and we look forward to welcoming everyone back again next year.

“To raise more than £3,000 for charity was fantastic, and now we are looking for 10 local charities and groups to help spend it.”

The event was put on by Isle of Ely Produce to celebrate the region’s potato growers and the harvest festival. It also gives £500 to local schools who compete in their own children’s race on the day.

To be in with a chance of receiving a share of the money, email austen@chippychat.co.uk explaining why your charity or community group should receive a share of the cash.

Austen Dack race event organiser says “We hope to make a difference to 10 local projects it can be a crucial piece of equipment, or to help pay for essential maintenance.”

Each successful group or charity will receive £300.

The event is the only potato street race in the world!

The closing date for nominations is January 31 2018. The nominations will be considered by Mayor of Ely Cllr Richard Hobbs, and the directors of Isle of Ely Produce.

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Isle of Ely Produce raised £2,500 with its popular potato race, held in Ely’s High Street in October and have joined forces with city Mayor Ian Lindsay and Spotted in Ely readers to help give it away.

Hundreds lined the High Street for the race to cheer on the teams as they sprinted the half-a-mile course each laden with a 20kg bag of spuds, all of which had been grown by farmers in the Fens surrounding the city.
Ian Lindsay Mayor of Ely says “I was honoured to be the official starter for the Ely Potato Race and saw first hand what a great race it has become. To raise over £2,500 too for local charities and groups is the icing on the cake. I urge you all to come forward no matter how small.”

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Fourteen teams battled it out in Ely this weekend over the quarter-a-mile course laden with a 20kg bag of spuds, all of which had been grown by farmers in the Fens surrounding the city.

The two-man  team from the Cambridge Ambulance Service were crowned worthy champions, winning their heat before, in the final, powering away from runners-up the Atrium Gym in the dash to the line. The Sylhet Restaurant Ely came in third.
The  winning team were racing with potatoes from farmers D Palmer and Sons.
Eleven other teams entered the race with action the most fast and furious as seen in the five years of the event!
Also hotly contested was the Pretoria Energy Fillies and Mares 10 kg ladies race. J Gilbert and Sons provided the potatoes with the winning ladies coming from Dawn Lamb Fitness.
A fiercely contested children’s race race between St Mary’s, St John’s and The Lantern primary schools saw St Marys school lift the Corkers Crisps trophy. The three schools will share the £500 prize for their endeavors.
Austen Dack, of organisers Isle of Ely Produce, said: “It was a fantastic set of races we could tell that all of the runners from local gyms,fitness clubs all are keen to win. A special mention to Widow Twankey from KD Theatre Company. She was in the main race promoting Aladdin Ely’s Professional Pantomime this year.”
Donations on the day helped to raise more than £2500 for local schools and charities from the event. Watch the replay of the whole below.
[fbvideo link=”https://www.facebook.com/SpottedInEly/videos/1278185448878902/” width=”500″ height=”400″ onlyvideo=”1″]
The event is put on by Isle of Ely Produce to celebrate the region’s potato growers and the local harvest festival held in Ely Cathedral. Over 2,000 people turned out to watch the action.
Owned and managed by the Boutwood family, Isle of Ely Produce was established in 1994.
Director Oliver Boutwood said: It was lovely to see so many people coming out to support the teams today, Isle of Ely Produce are happy to play such an important part in the community and will continue to invest in these types of events in the future. “The event underlines our pledge to support the journey of the potato from the field to the fryer.”
Mr Boutwood said more than £2500 was raised for local charities “some of which will go to the Ely Hereward Rotarians who did a marvellous job stewarding the event along the high street”.
The winning duo from this year’s feature race received £100 cash prize and a trophy. This was made even more special due to the fact one of the Cambridge Ambulance runners had actually been on the night shift and had had only one hours sleep.
All competitors got to keep their potatoes as part of their £10 entry fee

GALLERY

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On day one at their farm in Oak Tree Lane Littleport , MP for North East Cambridgeshire Steve Barclay met up with owners John and Oliver Boutwood and spoke at length with many local farmers, with the hot topic of conversation being what happens for farmers next after BREXIT

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