Fine Fleur

Who's behind it

Fine Fleur butterhead lettuce comes from Koen Defevere and Saskia Vandewalle in Gits, in the heart of West Flanders. Koen took over the family business and chose one crop: butterhead lettuce. It grows under glass on about 7,500 square meters. The two of them can run that themselves, and it's enough to supply a kitchen all year.

Fine Fleur is the quality label of REO Veiling in Roeselare. It covers seasonal regional products from family businesses that helped write the specifications themselves. The rule: harvested at the right moment, delivered the same day.

Growing and harvest

The lettuce is planted in strips, with a few days between each batch. That way there's always a head at the right point. Koen uses different varieties for summer and winter. A winter head takes up to three months to grow, a summer variety is quicker. That keeps texture, flavor and color close together all year.

Harvesting is done by hand. The outer leaves are carefully removed so the inner head stays tight. The heads go six or twelve to a lidded crate and reach the kitchen intact.

In your kitchen

A head that arrives firm and fresh gives you crisp hearts, whole leaves to work with and a longer life in your mise en place. Feel free to put the origin on the menu: hand-harvested butterhead from Gits. Ask for the summer or winter variety depending on the season, and each month you'll get the head that's at its best.