Charles Campion: Real Food

The saga of the English cherry would make a good disaster movie. During the 16th century Kent was already famous for its cherry orchards and by the 17th century, the colonists left for the New World with two dozen different varieties of Kentish cherry in the hold.

Fast forward to the post-war period when between 1951 and 2003 we ploughed up to 95 per cent of British cherry orchards. That downward spiral continues: in the 1990s there were about 1,750 acres of cherries, but today we are down to our last 750 acres. It's a crying shame, as English cherries are a magnificent seasonal treat. Cheaper imports grown in southern Europe's balmier climes have gained a stranglehold in the supermarkets and British growers cannot compete. There are some hopeful signs; one of the major problems with the traditional cherry trees is their great height, something that not only makes them difficult to net (depriving the birds of their summer banquet is vital), but also makes cherries hard to pick – the hydraulic platforms that enable men to change the bulbs in street lights are justifiably known as cherry-pickers! Now shorter, more easily tended cherry trees are grown using dwarf rootstocks and the fightback can begin. Another welcome sign is that the indomitable foodie Henrietta Green has set up a campaign called Cherry Aid (the inventors of Band Aid have much to answer for) and have declared 19 July as British Cherry Day.

Daylesford Organic will be planting a cherry orchard; Raymond Blanc, Jeremy Lee and our own Mark Hix will be featuring cherry dishes on their menus; in Kent, New House Orchard will be hosting cherry tastings while the Brogdale Fruit Collection will be holding cooking demonstrations and orchard walks. But the success of this worthy campaign depends on you! When you see cherries in your local supermarket or greengrocer, don't buy them unless you can be sure that they are English. Foreign growers will flood the market to try to benefit from the increased interest generated by Cherry Day and sadly many people will end up buying inferior foreign fruit. This is one occasion when buying English not only gets you better cherries but also cuts down on food miles.

The ripe stuff

To learn more about Cherry Aid you can visit the foodloversbritain.comwebsite and click on the Cherry Aid logo; there you'll find more details of the numerous frolics that have been set up in aid of British Cherry Day on 19 July. Food Lovers Britain is rather like a foodie magazine on the web, there's a directory of over 2,000 specialist producers, events listings, plus topical articles and recipes. Look up the excellent cherry clafoutis recipe from Tom Kerridge – the chef proprietor of the Michelin-starred Hand and Flowers in Marlow, Bucks – and put some fine English cherries through their paces.

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