Yorkshire dessert company champions local producer with rhubarb tart

As part of its commitment to buy and champion Yorkshire produce, Shipley bakers and pâtissiers, *Just Desserts* has selected Wakefield based family firm E Oldroyd & Sons as its supplier of forced rhubarb. Due to the resurgence in popularity of this traditional crop and to coincide with the forthcoming Wakefield Rhubarb Festival, Just Desserts has launched a new Rhubarb Franzipan using Yorkshire Rhubarb aimed at the specialist deli/retail, catering and foodservice markets.

A natural extension to its award-winning Raspberry Franzipan, Just Desserts was keen to bake more products using local produce with real provenance and using locally grown rhubarb from Oldroyds, which has 5 generations of experience of forced rhubarb production and PDO status, was a natural choice for the new product.

Commenting, James O’Dwyer, managing director, Just Desserts said: “We are delighted to be working with the High Priestess of Rhubarb to buy top quality, award winning produce. Our premium tart, baked to showcase Yorkshire produce and to capitalise on the rhubarb renaissance, is made with a butter pastry base spread with a puree of sweetened rhubarb and covered with a franzipan mixture and finished with batons of tender Yorkshire Rhubarb.”

“We have already seen keen interest in the product from our existing customer base and also hope to use our fleet drivers to promote the Rhubarb Franizpan to encourage local impulse buying, as the product launches at the same time as one of the first major events in the foodie calendar with the hugely popular Wakefield Rhubarb Festival,” continued Mr O’Dwyer.

Just Desserts was established by James O’Dwyer and his wife Carol in 1985 when they made their first handmade cake at the famous Salts Mill, Saltaire, Bradford and has since gained a first class reputation for providing the hospitality and food service industry with a range of high quality handmade desserts and quiche. The company now boasts 17 staff and moved to larger premises in Shipley in 1989 to meet demand, before expanding further in 2007, investing £50,000 to double the size of its base.