Shops in Sheffield are selling rare potatoes you would normally only find in top restaurants – and this is why

Thousands of tonnes of fresh potatoes have gone unused since the Government ordered cafés, pubs and other hospitality businesses to close on March 23, leading to a glut of the root vegetable.

The specialist grower Carroll’s Heritage Potatoes, based at Cornhill-on-Tweed near the border with Scotland, only supplies to high-end restaurants across the UK, working closely with celebrity chefs including Jamie Oliver and Tom Kerridge – but, from this week, four of the firm's 14 varieties of colourful potatoes will go on sale in branches of Tesco.

Three shops in Sheffield will stock the company’s produce – the Tesco superstores on Infirmary Road and Abbeydale Road, and the Tesco Extra on Spital Hill.

The Carroll's range includes the red King Edward 1916, which has a creamy taste; blue-skinned violetta and yukon gold, a type with a rich, buttery flavour.

Lucy Carroll, who founded the business with her husband Anthony 20 years ago and branched out into growing rare heritage varieties in 2005, told The Guardian: “These are not commercially grown heritage potato varieties, and we produce them for a niche but loyal market of top chefs and restaurants.

“We produce them twice a year, right now in mid-spring and then later in the autumn, so the pandemic could not have come at a worse time for us. Through word of mouth we made contact with the supplier Branston, which works with Tesco, and managed to find us a major outlet.”

Massive amounts of potatoes are usually required to satisfy Britain's fish and chip shops, not all of which have been open throughout lockdown. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board says there will be at least 95,000 tonnes of unwanted ‘chipping’ potatoes in storage by July.

People in Belgium have been urged to do their bit to reduce a similar surplus by eating frites – a twice-fried chip that is a famous national dish – more than once a week.

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