Cornish New potato season was launched with a spud-tastic event at Stennack Farm, near Camborne, as part of the Seasonal Spuds campaign spearheaded by Tesco and potato supplier Branston.

Chef Marcus Bawdon of Country Wood Smoke and Branston’s Charlie Flack, known on Instagram as @CharlieBoy_BBQ, whipped up delicious Cornish-inspired recipes for guests ranging from Cornish potato growers to foodie influencers.

The pair shared top barbecue tips such as adding bone marrow to potatoes for extra flavour and using indirect heat when cooking vegetables.  

Thanks to the milder maritime climate, Cornish new potatoes are some of the earliest to appear on the UK mainland. Planted well before spring arrives upcountry, they’re harvested to order while still small and naturally sweet, with a delicate fluffy skin. 

Find them in Tesco stores until mid-August, with lots of recipes to help you make the most of them, from a smashed new potato salad to crushed new potatoes with chermoula dressing, via hasselback new potatoes in a BBQ vodka sauce.

Even the desserts were on brand, with development technologist Sam Dunn devising a tasty sweet potato brownie for dessert. 

FG Pryor & Sons is a major supplier of Cornish New potatoes, with everyone on the farm kept busy during harvest season in June and July.

Colwyn Farm has been run by the Pryor family since the late 1800s, with Philip and his wife Denise the latest generation growing around 1,300 acres of potatoes across Cornwall for Branston’s South West producer group.

They’ve been particularly focusing on soil health - moving away from intensive farming and working towards improving and maintaining long term sustainability. “I want to hand the land over to the next generation in the same or better state than it was handed to me,” says Philip.

Son Warwick and daughter Amy are actively involved in the farm and have been learning about working with the land from an early age. “They’re the future and it’s important for them to understand how to look after the farm and the soil we rely on,” says Philip, adding: “When you eat a delicious Cornish New potato, you’re tasting a little piece of Cornwall.”