Devon Vale Foods

Devon Vale Foods began in a farmyard near Totnes when we realised our neighbours wanted summer flavour in midwinter without buying tasteless imports flown halfway round the world. We had good land, skilled pickers, and a flash-freezer small enough to sit beside the packing shed — so we built a business that freezes at source rather than shipping fresh produce until it fails and calling that convenience.

Flash-freezing is not the same as the slow chill of a domestic freezer or the bulk tunnels that turn raspberries to mush. Fruit and vegetables are prepared, laid on belts, and frozen quickly at peak ripeness so cell walls stay intact and flavour remains honest when you cook. We source from our own fields and from Devon farms we audit personally, prioritising varieties that freeze well without needing syrup or salt to rescue them.

Our range follows the calendar: broad beans and peas in early summer, berries at their brief best, kale and leeks after frost sweetens them. We also prepare simple cooking bases — soffritto mixes, soup packs — for people who want real ingredients without endless prep on a weekday evening. Labels say where and when because we are proud of both.

We upgraded our cold store with efficient refrigeration, employ pickers from nearby villages, and test thawed samples weekly so texture never slips quietly past us. Frozen food only deserves shelf space if it still tastes like the day it was picked.

Today Devon Vale Foods supplies Maxwells with frozen fruit, vegetables, and cooking staples that behave properly in the pan. Devon is generous country for growers; freezing lets us share that generosity beyond the short weeks when each crop is perfect. We are not pretending frozen beats fresh in season — we are making sure out-of-season cooking still has integrity, and still tastes of Devon fields.

Values: Flash-frozen at source