Wendy WilliamsBy Wendy Williams
A FORMER British Masterchef finalist is looking for a farmer in Spain to help him in an exciting new citrus tree venture.
British chef Andy Oliver, 29, is looking for a business partner to help him grow the rare Kaffir limes, which are regularly used in South East Asian cooking.
“I am really passionate about South East Asian food, but it can be really challenging to find good ingredients in Europe,” explained Oliver, who is currently working at London’s Nahm, which is the first Michelin-starred Thai restaurant in Europe.
“Fresh Kaffir leaves are an essential ingredient for Thai green curry, but they are very hard to find.
“It is what separates a really good curry from a bog standard one. But you cannot import the trees into the EU in case parasites infect our citrus stock.”
According to Oliver there are very few suppliers of these leaves in Europe and he believes there is a good opportunity to start a business.
“You generally only get them dried or frozen, which is not the same and I think there is a great opportunity to grow them in Southern Spain.”
He continued: “I know there is a good market and people are interested, so a partnership with someone who can grow them efficiently is the solution.”
Oliver is looking for someone who is ideally already growing citrus trees to help him launch his business.
Anyone who is interested can email him on: oliverandyj@gmail.com
