Although you can often get involved in delivery box schemes with your local farmer or greengrocer, the two big guns of the muddy veg box world are Abel & Cole and Riverford.

Now, we like Abel & Cole, but we also like Riverford. But which is better? There’s only one way to find out…

FIGHT!

Local Food Fight

Abel & Cole is based in London, sourcing organic fruit and veg from around the world that can supply our seasonal needs. They don’t air-freight and all fruit and veg is sourced from as close to the UK as possible in order to keep food miles down.

Riverford is in Devon with its own farm and a collective of around 30 regional farms. You get your veg box from your regional farm and the company doesn’t air-freight.

Food heroes

Keith Abel, founder of Abel & Cole and Guy Watson, farmer and founder of Riverford, are both compelling figureheads. Keith has written an excellent seasonal cookery book that I use constantly, and the (sometimes quite grumpy) Riverford newsletter Guy writes each week is brilliantly written and a must-read for any slow foodie.

Riverford also has a cookbook, which I haven’t used, but I have sampled some of the free recipes you get with your box and they’ve all been delicious.

Riverford is also well known for its award-winning ethical restaurant, The Field Kitchen, which you can visit in Devon.

Organic box contents

Your box contents are chosen by Abel & Cole, based on the likes and dislikes you tell them about, meaning you’ll only get things you want. Plus you can choose the size of the box, depending on whether you want to feed yourself, you and another or an entire family.

All the fruit and vegetables in the boxes are seasonal, based on the recommendations of the farmers who provide the produce, and they are transported in as little packaging as possible.

Riverford, meanwhile, is less flexible: there is no picking of favourites or banning of celery (more’s the pity). Instead, you’re expected to switch boxes if you really can’t face another week trying offload sprouts onto neighbours.

Having used both systems I’d say it’s actually not so terrible to get stuff you don’t use. We either swap boxes or gift the grapefruit to someone with a taste for bitter.

However, it *is* nice to know you’ll never get sent another celeriac if you so choose.

Choice and quality

Both companies offer a wide variety of extras for delivery. Organic meats, luxurious breakfast cereals, Milk, pickles and all manner of other goodies all feature. Abel & Cole also offers things like eco-friendly cleaning products, which can be very handy if your local shop doesn’t stock them.

You’ll also find that you get a really good variety of veg types from both companies, all provided in the skimpiest packaging they can manage, with plenty of invitations to return packaging to the companies for reuse.

So which is better?

I started out with Abel & Cole and used them for about 10 years before switching last year to Riverford. If I was forced to choose between them, I’m probably plump for Riverford.

I left Abel & Cole because I felt we weren’t using up the veg and I felt like the choice was getting limited. Maybe it was simply just too long with the same scheme, but my Riverford box somehow feels more usable and enticing.

I once wrote an article about Abel & Cole for my local south London magazine (they were based in Herne Hill at the time) and the people there were so lovely that I’ll always have a soft spot for it. I haven’t cancelled my account with Abel & Cole, but for the time being I’m sticking with Riverford.

Image: [clayirving]

Do you prefer Riverford or Abel & Cole? We’d love to hear your thoughts on which one is better.

But no more. The most exciting food in New York, San Francisco and London isn’t happening in restaurants with Michelin stars, but on the streets. Independent producers fueled by both the economic recession and rise of local, artisan foods  have started producing exciting morsels to sell on the streets and at festivals.

Whether inspired by the food of their childhood – like Urvesh Parvais, who, with his mother Lalita Patel, developed Gujarati Rasoi to sell ‘traditional wholesome Indian food’ at three London street markets – or a love of a particular cuisine, you now can find everything from Vietnamese bánh mì to Mexican burritos during a stroll through your neighbourhood.

The young, educated and out-of-work seem to be the majority of vendors at Greenpoint Food Market, which is held on monthly Saturday mornings in Brooklyn’s Church of the Messiah. Each vendor pays $25 to $50 for a table, which goes to the church and the organiser. Any profit made on Korean dumplings or cupcakes is the vendor’s to keep.

Some products have already been snapped up by large retailers like Whole Foods. For dedicated food producers on a limited budget, this means they can develop a viable business without having to partner with a commercial food company which may not share their food values.

Petra Barran of Choc Star, which sells chocolate treats from a converted Scottish ice cream van, set up the website Eat.St as an online hub for those who already run, or want to start up their own mobile food business.

And while the movement is still in it’s early days, London is already about to host its second annual street food awards (10 – 12 September) judged by prominent British chefs like Mark Hix, Thomasina Miers and Marco Pierre White. New York’s ‘Vendy Awards’ have been going strong since 2005.

With street food enabling young entrepreneurs to start a profitable, ethical venture and provide consumers diverse, delicious and affordable food, the movement is one where everyone wins. Except the greasy hot dog vendors.

Useful websites:

Gujarati Rasoi – www.gujarotirasoi.com

Choc Star – www.chocstar.co.uk

Eat.St – www.eat.st

Gourmet magazine’s street food guide – www.gourmet.com/food/street-food-guide

Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Underground suppler club, The Secret Ingredient, which is located in London’s Newington Green illustrates this perfectly. Musician and food lover Horton Jupiter serves up home-made Japanese delights every Wednesday and Thursday evening.

Total strangers – Londoners as well as visitors from around the world – share this unique dining experience and sit together in Horton’s living room as he serves a menu of vegetarian treats such as braised shiitake mushrooms, seared broccoli and fruit with white miso dressing. Diners can bring along their own drinks if they like.

From £20 per person plus tip.

To book a table and find out more join the Secret Ingredient Facebook Group.

For the tasting there will be 12 different beers selected from six Trappist breweries in the Low Countries.  Every brand is brewed adhering to the practices of second fermentation and bottling that make them so exceptional. 

Several of the beers are rarely available in Britain and nine were rated in 2000 by beer guru, Michael Jackson, as being among the 500 greatest beers in the world.  The other three are so recent he hasn’t yet had a chance to appreciate them! All beers splendidly demonstrate the centuries-old glories of monastic brewing.

Beer experts throughout the world unanimously acclaim the Trappist beers of Westvleteren as the greatest.  But the abbott refuses to increase production to meet massive global demand, producing primarily for the monastic community and selling only a small excess. Luckily Bill Green of Slow Food London has a monastic contact so he is in the privileged position of offering a tasting of the trinity of these adulated beers.

As well as Westvleteren, other superlative authentic Trappist monastic brews will be on offer. Complementing the beers will be a selection of artisan cheeses from La Fromagerie, famous London supplier and craftman’s breads freshly baked on the day.

When: Monday 24 May
Time: 19:00

Venue: Restaurant @ The Casino at the Empire
5-6 Leicester Square WC2H 7NA

Cost -  £12 members/ £18 non-members. Members only booking at present, so join Slow Food now!

Slow Food enthusiasts will be in for a real treat with a menu of eight Petiscos with eight Decanter-award-winning wines from Casa Leal, Britain’s leading Portuguese wine supplier. Miguel Leal, Casa Leal’s proprietor and acknowledged connoisseur, will guide the evening.

The Pesticos will be prepared by Dave Cambridge, the chef proprietor of the Dispensary and former private chef to the Rothschild Family.  Unfortunately there are no vegetarian alternatives as it is not operationally feasible, and culturally inauthentic.

Menu

Dressed monkfish cheeks
wine: Ex Libris Sparkling White

Poached salt cod with onion and potato accompaniment
wine: Gloria Alvarinho White

Grilled sardines with tomato compote
wine: Filoco Reserva White

Mediterranean prawns seasoned with chilli, garlic and olive oil
wine: Arca Nova Rose 

Peri-Peri aromatic chicken 
wine: Pousio Rose

Squid with shrimp stuffing
wine: Monte da Ravasquiera Red

Pork and clam medley
wine: Conde d’Ervideira Red 

Beef in madeira sauce
wine: Quinta das Cerejeiras Red

When: Tuesday 9 March 2010 at 18:45
How much:  £23 members/ £25 non-members. Please book by Friday March 5
Where: The Dispensary, 19a Leman Street London E1 8EN 

Nearest tube:
Aldgate East – District Line
Aldgate – Metropolitan Line
Liverpool St – Central Line