It seems Gordon Ramsay is getting all hot and bothered again, this time it is not over the cleanliness of commercial kitchens but about seasonal produce. Ramsey is speaking out about the benefits of restaurants serving in-season and locally sourced produce over out of season fruit and veg that is flown in from other countries.

Here at welovelocal.com are all for supporting local seasonal produce, buying locally always has fantastic benefits to the local economy, and buying seasonal produce really does help globally as air miles are reduced, thus lowering our countries carbon footprint.

However after reading the BBC article and watching the clip of a very fired up Gordon I can’t help but wonder if what he is suggesting is possibly taking it a little to the extreme? Fining chefs who do not have seasonal produce on their menus, outlawing out- of -season produce from restaurants and creating government legislation to make it all happen!

Whilst it’s true that seasonal produce is far tastier, sustainable and imaginative we need to be educating both consumers and chefs alike about the importance of this produce as opposed to outwardly banning the use of anything else. The National Farmers Union pushes this point further - that education is key as so much of farming is already tied up in legislation.The suggestion is that we need to focus on educating consumers about menu transparency and its benefits in order to move forward.

There certainly seems to be a huge move towards menu transparency today with restaurants priding themselves on their local offerings. It seems now, more than ever eating establishments are using their local and seasonal credentials as a unique selling point.

So it seems as a nation we are taking the steps in the right direction, but I suppose Ramsay wants us to take the final leap. It certain is understandable, but is such government action necessary, can we not make the right decision alone?

What do you think?

Tip: in season at the moment are; tomatoes, salad leaves, courgettes, berries and yummy apricots!

Photo by Becca G over on Flickr