THE MARKET BEFORE THE MENU.

Some suppliers are chosen because of one exceptional ingredient.

Others become important because, quietly, they support half the kitchen.

Collins Fresh belongs firmly in the second category.

Based in Northampton, Collins gives us access to fresh fruit and vegetables, herbs, dairy, bakery products, and many of the everyday ingredients that sit behind a Greek Tings menu. Some will become the centre of a dish; others may only appear as a spoonful of purée, a handful of herbs, the milk in a sauce, or the bread beside the table.

They all matter.

CLOSE TO HOME

Collins Fresh operates from Moulton Park in Northampton, making it particularly useful for us as a supplier close to one of our operating bases.

The company has supplied the commercial catering trade since 1989 and remains a family business. Its Northampton operation runs around the clock; fresh produce is packed overnight ready for morning deliveries.

For a catering company, that matters more than it might sound.

We do not cook the same menu in the same kitchen every evening. One weekend could involve a private dinner; the next might be a wedding, corporate event, afternoon tea, BBQ, or a completely bespoke menu.

The ingredients we need change with them.

Having a supplier nearby with a broad fresh range gives us the flexibility to buy according to the event rather than forcing every menu through the same fixed shopping list.

FRESH ACTUALLY MEANS SOMETHING

Fruit and vegetables are at their best when they are allowed to follow the seasons.

Collins carries everything from everyday vegetables and potatoes to berries, mushrooms, baby vegetables, salads, fresh herbs, micro herbs, and more specialised produce. The company receives fresh deliveries daily and deliberately avoids holding excessive stocks of perishable produce.

That suits the way we prefer to cook.

A tomato in August should not be treated in the same way as one in January. British asparagus has a season. Strawberries have a season. Herbs, mushrooms, brassicas, roots, and soft fruits all change through the year.

Where British produce is in season, available, and right for the menu, it will always be something we look for.

But traceability also means being honest. Not every ingredient in a British wholesaler's warehouse was grown in Britain, and we do not believe in describing something as local simply because it arrived from a local supplier.

The important part is knowing what we are buying, asking where appropriate, and making the best choice available for the dish in front of us.

BEYOND THE VEGETABLE BOX

One of the reasons Collins has become useful to our kitchen is that its range does not stop at fruit and vegetables.

It also brings together dairy and bakery products from established British producers.

The fresh milk listed by Collins includes Cotteswold Dairy, an independent family dairy based in Tewkesbury, with additional depots including Shrewsbury in Shropshire. Cotteswold works with more than 40 dairy farms and manages the journey from farm collection through processing and distribution. Its conventional fresh British milk comes from independent family-run farms close to the Tewkesbury dairy; those farms are Red Tractor assured.

Milk is hardly the ingredient most guests ask us about.

But in a professional kitchen it can become béchamel, custard, bread, pastry, ice cream, sauces, purées, batters, and countless other components.

An everyday ingredient deserves a known origin too.

BREAD WITH A BRITISH STORY

The same applies to bread.

Among the bakery products Collins carries are loaves from Roberts Bakery, whose story began in Northwich, Cheshire, in 1887.

More than a century later, Roberts still produces bread from Northwich; the company traces four generations of family baking history back to founder Robert Roberts and his first shop in the town.

It is a useful reminder that supporting British food does not always mean finding a tiny producer around the corner.

Britain has longstanding dairies, bakeries, growers, farmers, and food businesses whose products move through professional supply networks every day.

The challenge for us is to know who is behind them rather than allowing the wholesaler's box to become the end of the story.

WHAT COLLINS BRINGS TO OUR KITCHEN

There is no single "Collins ingredient" at Greek Tings.

That is exactly the point.

Depending on the season and event, an order might contain fresh vegetables, fruit, herbs, milk, cream, bread, bakery products, or ingredients needed for a completely different menu a few days later.

Its range stretches across fresh produce, bakery, dairy and chilled products, dry goods, and frozen ingredients; for us, its greatest value is being able to bring several useful supply lines together without losing sight of the products inside them.

That flexibility is particularly valuable to an independent caterer.

We can buy differently for a relaxed sharing menu than for a multi-course dinner. We can change a garnish when the season changes. We can source a particular vegetable when it is at its best, rather than designing food around what happens to be sitting permanently on a shelf.

THE EVERYDAY PART OF TRACEABILITY

Traceability can sound impressive when discussing hand-dived scallops, fine chocolate, rare wines, or specialist produce.

But a kitchen is built just as much from the ordinary things.

The milk.

The bread.

The herbs.

The vegetables being chopped at seven in the morning.

The box of fruit waiting to become a compote.

Collins helps us connect those everyday ingredients to a wider network of British dairies, bakeries, growers, and producers; its Northampton base also keeps one important part of our supply chain relatively close to home.

Good sourcing is not always about finding something rare.

Sometimes, it is simply about knowing a little more about the things you use every day.

And making sure the market comes before the menu.