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Pupils from Bel Royal primary school are top of the crops this year – beating off competition from thousands of other green-fingered primary school children to grow the biggest crop of Jersey Royals.
St Lawrence School were runners up in the Genuine Jersey Potato Growing Competition and won a prize for their potato project work as well as a special award for the highest average weight of their buckets. JCG prep grew the most tubers with Janvrin's Nursery class coming a close second.
All the children have been nurturing their spuds in buckets since February as well as learning how plants grow and where their food comes from. They’ve also been finding out the history of the Island’s famous spuds.
Judges have been going round the schools weighing the potatoes and counting up the number of tubers all week and the winners were revealed at a grand weigh-in at St Mary's Parish Hall this morning.
St Clement Constable Len Norman proved he could cultivate the biggest crop in the Constable's competition whilst St Saviour Constable Sadie Rennard grew the most tubers.
Connect Magazine journalist Gwyn Garfield-Bennett retained her title for the heaviest spuds for the second year running in the media round. ITV Channel's Niamh Hannon pipped the Bailiwick Express' bucket to take the prize for the most tubers.
The event is part of Jersey Tourism’s Jersey Food Festival which not only celebrates Jersey Royals but also the Island’s dairy products and seafood. It runs until Monday 26 May and there is plenty to whet your appetite over the weekend.
This afternoon locals and visitors, including a number of German journalists, are heading off on a Genuine Jersey tour to meet some of the Island’s producers and get a taste of what Jersey is famous for.
CEO of the Genuine Jersey Products Association John Garton said all those going on the behind the scenes tour will get to find out about the shellfish industry, see Jersey Royals being dug up, and learn how the dairy industry has changed over the last few years.
Mr Garton said: “The interesting thing will be the people talking about their products, people who are passionate about their product. They are not presenters or trainers, they are the real McCoy.”
Mr Garton hopes the journalists will go away and write about all the food, produce and local restaurants and encourage people to come and taste what’s on offer for themselves.
Local restaurants have also got on board and several are offering 100% locally sourced menus over the weekend. But if you’d rather go back to nature, you can even go foraging for wild, edible and medicinal plants with Kaz Padidar.
You can find out more about the Food Festival at http://ow.ly/wZTAh
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