July 28, 2025
Each Spring, an exciting seasonal event takes place in Jersey. It marks the end of the Winter period, the beginning of longer days, and usually falls around Easter. This is, of course, the yearly harvest of Jersey Royal potatoes – the first new potatoes available in the UK, renowned for their distinctive sweet, summery flavour. Their early production is due to the unique geography of the Island and its rapidly-warming, light and well-drained soils.
Surprisingly, the arrival of this much-celebrated Jersey crop finds its way into offices in Westminster, as well as kitchens, as each year the Jersey London Office presents a fresh bag – on behalf of the Chief Minister – to carefully-selected UK Ministers, Members of the House of Commons and House of Lords, and diplomats. This year’s delivery consisted of around 100 bags, highlighting the strong friendships and relationships that Jersey enjoys both in the UK, and with countries around the world. As well as showcasing Jersey tradition, this premium agricultural export illustrates the ongoing importance of Jersey’s agricultural sector.
The Prime Minister, Chancellor, and several other members of the Cabinet each received a gift of Jersey Royals. Also on the list was Lord Ponsonby, the Minister responsible for the Crown Dependencies in the Ministry of Justice, who made his first trip to the Island in February this year. In response, the Chief Minister received numerous letters of thanks, including from the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, and the Chair of the Channel Islands All Party-Parliamentary Group, Sarah Champion MP.
Embassies from EU member states such as France, Germany, Austria, Spain, and the EU Ambassador, H.E Pedro Serrano, received a bag, with the Spanish Embassy even taking to X to showcase their resident chef giving the Royals some Spanish culinary treatment. Ambassadors from the UAE, Thailand, Zambia, Canada and more, were also given a gift following many significant recent engagements between these countries and Jersey.
With this year’s Jersey Royals successfully delivered, we hope our Parliamentary and diplomatic partners enjoyed them, and that they will look forward to receiving next year’s crop as much as we do!