THE LIFE CYCLE OF A STRAWBERRY MAN
Clarke’s Fresh Fruit supplies Simply Better’s Irish King Strawberries and Irish King Blackberries, grown on the farm started by the king himself, Pat Clarke, back in 1960.
Pat Clarke and Neven Maguire talk about the taste of summer
SHOP THE RANGE
STRAWBERRY FEELS FOREVER
On Clarke’s Fresh Fruit Farm in Stamullen, Co Meath, each and every strawberry is stem-picked by hand. Plucked from obscurity, the ripe strawberry can now complete its journey to your kitchen table. This glorious, fleeting cycle takes around four to six weeks and signals the start of the Irish summer in earnest.
From inauspicious beginnings, the business has gone on to claim numerous awards, not just for the fresh produce but for the management of the whole operation. Having won ‘Family Farm of the Year’ several times, Clarke’s Farm scooped Family Farm of the Millennium in the year 2000. As Alan remarks, “It’ll be a long time before anyone gets their hands on another Family Farm of the Millennium Award!” They went on to win ‘Fruit Grower of the Year’ eight times. Those accolades – as well as the produce itself – soon brought their hand-picked punnets to the attention of Simply Better, who realised there was a demand for freshly grown Irish fruit amongst a health-conscious public.
Clarke’s started producing their Irish King Strawberries for Dunnes Stores in May 2023 and they have been a runaway success. Sales of the Simply Better-branded strawberries have rocketed, fuelled by that essential PR device: word of mouth.
KING STRAWBERRY RECIPES
Delicious Neven Maguire recipes using Pat Clarke's very own King Strawberries
