A small batch of carefully reared, grape-fed Essex turkeys are set to go on sale at luxury London retailer Harrods in time for Christmas.
Paul Kelly of Danbury-based premium turkey producer Kelly Turkeys said he was “thrilled” to announce that a limited number of his grape-fed KellyBronze turkeys will be available exclusively at the flagship department store this winter.
He got the idea after learning that about 5% of the UK grape crop goes to waste as fallen fruit - the equivalent of about 500kg an acre.
After discovering his turkeys were partial to the fruit, he decided to release a small flock of 200 to roam among the vines at Roundbush Farm for a fortnight.
“I felt there was a terrible amount of produce going to waste at the vineyards, so I had the idea to let a flock of our turkeys run under the vines to consume the leftover grapes, and it worked - they literally gobbled them up,” he said. “I’ve come to recognise that when the turkeys love a certain type food, it’s a very good sign. It goes a long way towards their overall wellbeing and ultimately, the quality of the meat. This has been previously proven with the inclusion of certain oats in our turkey feed, which improves the fat and flavour of the birds.”
Meanwhile, Paul’s online Christmas sales continue to grow rapidly.
• Premium turkey producer’s Christmas sales hit new highBut the producer has previously warned of problems for the poultry sector if Brexit chokes off its supply of labour and hits access to markets.
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