Christmas veg are straight sprout of an Angus farm
A HUNDRED sprout pickers are working round the clock at a farm near Arbroath in the final countdown to Christmas.
The staff will supply more than 40 million Brussel sprouts to grace Christmas tables across the country.
Boss Peter Stirling, sole supplier of prepared sprouts to M&S, said: “We work day and night for a 12-day period leading up to Christmas to process and package the sprouts for customers up and down the UK. It can get very hectic but sprouts are one of the heroes of the traditional Christmas dinner.
“My team and I are humbled M&S customers across the country get to enjoy our product on one of the biggest days of the year.”
He owns the 400-acre Seahills Farm in Angus and has been supplying M&S for the last 19 years. At Christmas his 100-strong team harvest 25 per cent more sprouts than during the rest of the year.
Mr Stirling said the specimens he and his team produce offer a milder and sweeter tasting product than other varieties.
The farm’s location, next to the sea, offers a distinctive growing environment that results in healthier and blemish free sprouts, with double the shelf life of other varieties.
Katie Squire, product developer from M&S, said: “Producing a good sprout isn’t easy, from growing to harvesting.”