Drinks maker Belvoir Farm thanks Peterborough volunteers for collecting record harvest
TV celebrity helps turn harvest into soft drink
Volunteer elderflower pickers in Peterborough have been thanked for bringing in a record harvest.
The praise comes from the boss of soft drinks maker Belvoir Farms, who says the business is celebrating its most successful harvest in its 40 year history.
And managing director Pev Manners says the company was helped by a record number of pickers who responded to an urgent plea for help after the wet weather accelerated flower growth and brought forward picking by several weeks.
The elderflowers, many of which were picked from the Peterborough countryside and collected at Sacrewell Farm for delivery to the Vale of Belvoir-based business, are the vital ingredient in Belvoir Farm’s signature drink, Elderflower Cordial, which is sold in many UK supermarkets and overseas.
The volunteers are paid for all the elderflowers they collect.
Mr Manners said: “This year’s harvest and all the 40th birthday celebrations that went with it have been superb.
“Our wonderful community came out in force once again and it’s this dedication from the hundreds of people who come on board each year to earn some extra income and help us pick every elderflower on the farm that’s kept our cordial going for 40 years.
"We’d like to thank everyone for taking part.
He added: “The secret of Belvoir Farm’s cordial success is the fantastic taste, which is developed as the freshly picked flowers gently infuse for 24 hours to be turned into the rich and fragrant drink still made to my mother’s original recipe.”
To celebrate four decades of Belvoir Farm’s elderflower cordial and community harvest, the company was joined by model and TV presenter Georgia Jones.
The former Miss England and wife to McFly frontman Danny Jones was seen mucking in, filling baskets with flowers and taking them back to the bottling plant, then helping to infuse them and turn them into cordial.
Georgia also hosted a vintage floral tea party in the company’s elderflower fields where she was joined by Great British Bake Off finalist Josh Smalley, from Leicestershire, who created an elderflower-themed celebration cake and afternoon tea menu for the occasion.