A HAMPSHIRE farm shop owner appeared on a popular weekend cooking show, supplying a celebrity chef with the farm’s own watercress.
Rachel Peppiatt, owner of the West Lea Farm Shop, near Alresford, was thrilled to feature on the ITV programme James Martin’s Saturday Morning in the run-up to Alresford Watercress Festival.
The famous chef and presenter, who is also a Hampshire resident, used West Lea’s hand-cut watercress to create a watercress and potato soup with watercress bread and butter.
READ MORE: Alresford Watercress Festival to return to town in May
Rachel, who took over the shop in 2020, said: "As always his recipes were simple and incredibly tasty.
"I have to say that I was pretty nervous about appearing on national television in front of such a large audience but it was a great opportunity to talk about the quality of Alresford's watercress and explain why watercress is such a brilliant ingredient.
“We chatted about all things watercress and my shop and I hope that this gives a real boost to everyone's watercress sales. We should all be celebrating one of Hampshire's finest products, which is sold in shops and restaurants around the UK. The timing was particularly good with the Alresford Watercress Festival on the way."
The free annual festival will take over Alresford on Sunday, May 21. For more information go to watercressfestival.org/.
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