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Media centre /
Press releaseMAXIMISE VEGETABLE AND MONEY YIELDS AS GLOBAL GREENHOUSE HOTS UP03 July 2008Find out how to cook garden veg of the future at the Growing Tastes Cookery Theatre NS&I is alerting people that they can save money by growing and cooking their own vegetables and that produce grown in Britain could soon be very different to what we grow traditionally. As global warming increases and Britain’s average temperatures rise, the vegetables we can take from ‘plot to plate’ are likely to take on a more traditionally Mediterranean feel. In summer, melons, chillies and aubergines and hot climate herbs such as coriander grown without the need for a greenhouse or hot and sunny windowsill could be as common in the south as the good old spud. Traditional ‘biggest leek’ or marrow competitions could soon be joined by the tallest basil or hottest chilli challenges. NS&I will be encouraging people to think about growing and cooking their own vegetables more this coming week, as it sponsors the Growing Tastes Cookery Theatre at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show (8-13 July). Visitors will be able to see top chefs demonstrating how to make the most of vegetables people can grow themselves - including traditional Mediterranean produce, which might soon be as commonly grown as carrots here in the UK. The scientific community has largely reached a consensus that global warming is a reality, and there is no doubt that it will affect people gardening in the ‘global greenhouse’. Temperatures may increase by 3-4°C in summer and 2-3.5°C in winter by the 2080s. Summer rainfall is also predicted to fall by 20-40 percent1. This will make temperatures more akin to those in the South of France and the Mediterranean - the equivalent of Britain ‘moving south’ by about 600 miles. Chris Warwick, Head Chef at Colette’s Restaurant at The Grove, is experienced at working in climates ranging from London to Los Angeles and Dubai. He explains; “Growing your own vegetables is an extremely fun, rewarding and money-saving pastime. Just as we, in our kitchen garden at The Grove, need to think about what plants will thrive in different conditions, people growing their own vegetables need to think about how warmer temperatures will affect their crops of the future. We will probably find people growing and cooking more Mediterranean foods such as peppers, tomatoes, chillies and even melons!” Tim Mack, Head of Marketing and Communications at NS&I commented; “As UK’s temperatures increase we will be able to grow more exotic vegetables which tend to be more expensive to buy. By incorporating them into vegetable plots we can take advantage of the warmth and really extend what we take from plot to plate.” This year’s Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) Grow Your Own Veg campaign is sponsored by NS&I. For more information on which vegetables suit which conditions, visit the dedicated website at http://www.rhs.org.uk/vegetables/ or visit www.nsandi.com/rhs. The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show is from 8-13 July, for more information visit http://www.rhs.org.uk/HamptonCourt/2008/index.asp. 1 http://www.rhs.org.uk/climate/climatefacts.asp ENDS For more information regarding the Grow Your Own Veg campaign, please contact: Georgie Webb at georginawebb@rhs.org.uk or call the RHS press office on 0207 821 3044. About Chris Warwick and The Grove Chris Warwick is Head Chef at Colette's Restaurant at The Grove, London's country estate. Chris has worked in numerous restaurants around the world, including the acclaimed Galvin at Windows in London, French Laundry in Los Angeles and Verre by Gordon Ramsay in Dubai. He won the coveted Acorn Award in 2007. Chris, who is passionate about fresh produce, works closely with The Grove’s gardeners on the choice of fruits and vegetables to be grown in the kitchen garden. Originally created in the 1870s in the old Walled Garden, the kitchen garden would have been an integral part of the original Grove Estate. But when the present owners bought the property some 12 years ago, it had not been in use since the Dig for Victory campaign in World War II. Over the past five years, since the hotel opened, a magnificent restoration programme has transformed the Walled Garden. Now, almost a quarter of the three and a half acre site is used for fruit and vegetable production, thus ensuring that The Grove really is reducing its food miles and bringing true meaning to the much-used word ‘traceability’. Contact The Grove: Chandler’s Cross, Hertfordshire WD3 4TG. Telephone 01923 807 807. Growing Tastes Cookery Theatre at Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2008 Let your nose and taste buds lead you to the Growing Tastes Cookery Theatre in association with NS&I. At this new feature, you can meet experts from the gardening world who are working alongside top chef’s to bring the concept of ‘plot to plate’ alive, using an array of Asian, Mediterranean and British produce. The Hampton Court Palace Flower Show offers an abundance of ideas to take home. With edible delights to help you grow your own, a host of gardening products to purchase, and fun activities for children, all the family can soak up the great outdoors and be inspired at this feast of a show. The show runs 8-13 July and for more information visit http://www.rhs.org.uk/HamptonCourt/2008/index.asp. About NS&I NS&I (National Savings and Investments) is one of the UK’s largest financial providers with 28 million customers and over £84 billion invested. It is best known for Premium Bonds, but also offers Savings Certificates, Direct ISA, Guaranteed Equity Bonds and Children’s Bonus Bonds in its range. All products offer 100% security, because NS&I is backed by HM Treasury. NS&I products are available over the telephone, internet, post and by standing order. They are also available through a network of 13,500 UK Post Office® branches and customers can pick up brochures for our Premium Bonds, Inflation-Beating Savings and Income Bonds at retailer WHSmith in 400 of its High Street stores and 155 of its travel stores. About the RHS The RHS believes that gardening improves the quality of life and that everyone should have access to great garden experiences. As a charity they help to bring gardening into people’s lives and support gardeners of all levels and abilities; whether they are expert horticulturists or children who are planting seeds for the very first time. To find out more about the RHS Grow Your Own Veg campaign visit www.rhs.org.uk/vegetables. RHS membership is for anyone with an interest in gardening. Support the RHS and secure a healthy future for gardening. For more information call: 0845 130 4646 or visit www.rhs.org.uk. RHS Registered Charity No. 222879/SC038262
Media team The numbers below are for media use only. Customers wishing to contact NS&I can find details here.
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