London’s restaurants are to be offered fresh year-round herbs after an East Yorkshire specialist transformed an industrial unit into a sophisticated indoor farm.
Deliveries to the top eateries in the capital will be made within hours of being picked, thanks to horticultural engineering firm CambridgeHOK.
It was appointed by Harvest London to bring forward the expansion of an initial add-on to the research and development lab.
Now more than 150 sq m of grow area has been established in Leyton.
Jason Tether, project manager at Newport-based CambridgeHOK, said: “It has been a very rewarding to work with a grower dedicated to ensuring food is grown much closer to customers and the point of consumption, helping uphold the quality of product and reducing food wastage.
“Our team provided a full turnkey service from design and build to handing over a fully-functioning grow room and associated control systems. It was pleasing to complete on time, and under budget.
“On each and every vertical farm project we face different challenges with regards to the property being used and the product being grown, but this helps us develop new ideas and concepts which can benefit future clients.
“It was fantastic to work with a collaborative client like Harvest London.”
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As well as the grow room, over four levels, the East Yorkshire team constructed a harvesting room and production management area, where crops will be processed and made ready for collection and delivery.
Automated climate and irrigation systems aid production and maximise growth, using energy-saving LED lighting, with analytics provided to ensure constant learning.
First produce off the racks will be basil, of which the farm can grow around seven tonnes a year.
Matt Chlebek, chief agronomist at Harvest London, a company dedicated to overcoming difficulties in sourcing herbs and vegetables 12 months a year, said: “This is a really exciting development for us and a huge step up from our initial facility, which we established on the back of our own research and development two years ago in Walthamstow.
“We started the business having spoken to local chefs about providing freshly grown herbs just a few miles from their kitchens, thereby reducing the distance and time from production to consumption. This was something they were excited about.
“We have worked with a number of restaurants in London over the past two years who have become excellent customers and as a result of that success we wanted to improve further and become more sophisticated in what we are doing. That is why we turned to CambridgeHOK, and we are delighted that we did.”
The project was taken from concept to completion within 12 months, with Mr Chlebek praising the knowledge and understanding.
Keen to add restaurant clients, the plan is to demonstrate the increasing demand at the facility and secure further investment to create more, larger vertical farms across London.