Meet the Producer - JE Hartley
Meet the Producer - JE Hartley
Added 2285 days ago. 16 January 2018
JE Hartley has been growing vegetables since 1954 – today the company’s freshly frozen produce features in many of Wiltshire Farm Foods’ tasty meals.
Find out more about JE Hartley who have been supplying Wiltshire Farm Foods for over 12 years!
Field to Fork
The Good Stuff
Meet Tom Verity, whose family has been growing vegetables since 1954 – today the company’s freshly frozen produce features in many of Wiltshire Farm Foods’ delicious meals.
Next time you tuck into the vegetables that accompany your Wiltshire Farm Foods meal, you can do so knowing that they may have come from JE Hartley, a food producer which can trace 100 per cent of its produce from field to fork. Third-generation, family-owned JE Hartley is located in Yorkshire, and has supplied frozen vegetables to Wiltshire Farm Foods for more than 12 years.
The company was founded in 1954 and grew Yorkshire peas, carrots and potatoes for almost 30 years before it began freezing vegetables. Today the company is run by the founder’s grandson, Tom Verity, and works with a number of local farms to ensure that the vegetables used in Wiltshire Farm Foods’ meals are cropped and frozen in prime condition. The company guarantees 100 per cent safety in the food it produces.
Next time you tuck into the vegetables that accompany your Wiltshire Farm Foods meal, you can do so knowing that they may have come from JE Hartley, a food producer which can trace 100 per cent of its produce from field to fork. Third-generation, family-owned JE Hartley is located in Yorkshire, and has supplied frozen vegetables to Wiltshire Farm Foods for more than 12 years.
The company was founded in 1954 and grew Yorkshire peas, carrots and potatoes for almost 30 years before it began freezing vegetables. Today the company is run by the founder’s grandson, Tom Verity, and works with a number of local farms to ensure that the vegetables used in Wiltshire Farm Foods’ meals are cropped and frozen in prime condition. The company guarantees 100 per cent safety in the food it produces.
Unbeatable Quality
“We’ve not changed much in 50 years,” says Tom. “Way back in 1954, my grandfather switched from livestock to arable farming and started growing vegetables for a number of major UK food companies.
“Since those days, we’ve still got the same priorities, to produce the highest quality vegetables for our customers and theirs in turn. Our vision is to supply the best frozen vegetables in the world and we combine family-like care with a scientific approach to achieve this.
“Our heritage in the field and our Yorkshire-based, state-of-the-art freezing facility are the perfect combination to ensure that we deliver the safest food for Wiltshire Farm Foods’ customers.
“Since those days, we’ve still got the same priorities, to produce the highest quality vegetables for our customers and theirs in turn. Our vision is to supply the best frozen vegetables in the world and we combine family-like care with a scientific approach to achieve this.
“Our heritage in the field and our Yorkshire-based, state-of-the-art freezing facility are the perfect combination to ensure that we deliver the safest food for Wiltshire Farm Foods’ customers.
“The root vegetables and peas grown in Yorkshire soil are truly unbeatable, and we supply carrots, swede and peas grown here to Wiltshire Farm Foods.
“Throughout the season, we work closely with our growers to ensure that we get the best vegetables available. Crops such as carrots require plenty of water in hot weather, and when the crop is perfect it is harvested and delivered directly by tractor – there are no need for lorries as we’re just a few miles from the farm where the vegetables have been grown. Wiltshire Farm Foods’ customers eat vegetables in their prime, as they have been harvested and frozen in just 24 hours, which locks the goodness in and ensures that the nutritional value is protected.
Creative Partnership
“We understand what Wiltshire Farm Foods’ chefs want for their meals and have worked with them on many recipe developments to help them to achieve their vision for a particular dish. Whether it’s chunky cut or roasted vegetables, we work with them to produce the perfect accompaniment to their culinary creations.”
So, with a lifetime of experience of vegetable growing, what’s Tom’s favourite side dish? “I love peas!,”he says. “We do produce the best peas in the universe in Yorkshire soil, so I am biased, but another guilty pleasure are raw carrots. When I’m out walking in the fields I can often be caught munching on a sweet, flavoursome carrot. It’s an unbeatable tasty snack.”
So, with a lifetime of experience of vegetable growing, what’s Tom’s favourite side dish? “I love peas!,”he says. “We do produce the best peas in the universe in Yorkshire soil, so I am biased, but another guilty pleasure are raw carrots. When I’m out walking in the fields I can often be caught munching on a sweet, flavoursome carrot. It’s an unbeatable tasty snack.”
