'˜World's only' ethical caviar farm set for TV glory

Father and son team John and Mark Addey have 284 female sturgeon at Premier Farm in South Milford, east Leeds, and say they are the only caviar producers in the world who don’t kill the fish in order to get the eggs.

The sturgeons’ stomachs are massaged once a month to naturally spawn around 30kg of caviar, which is then sold to some of the country’s top restaurants as well as to customers online at www.kccaviar.co.uk at £94.50 for a 20 gramme jar.

They have also signed up to sell caviar to a major supermarket chain.

John Addey, 65, and son Mark, 39, started company KC Caviar in 2012 and spent three years perfecting the humane process which enables them to extract the eggs without killing sturgeon, followed by a method of packing the caviar using a special formula of salts after securing a licence from a company in Germany.

The Addeys’ sustainable caviar farm has been attracting attention from national media.

It was featured on BBC2 TV show Back to The Land with Kate Humble last month and celebrity chef John Quilter was filming at the caviar farm last week for his Food Busker You Tube channel.

Last month Jimmy Doherty was filming at the farm for Channel 4 Show Food Unwrapped, which is set to be screened in August.

John Addey, said: “Jimmy thought the caviar was delicious and he ate loads of it.”

Mr Addey said the caviar has a “unique, earthy creamy mushroom taste,” adding: “I eat it almost every day. When I go and do demonstrations there’s always a bit left over so I have it for my tea.” He said a number of top Michelin Star restaurants are using their caviar, including the Black Swan at Oldstead in North Yorkshire.

“The ethical and sustainable idea is now gaining momentum with some of the country’s top chefs, not only in Yorkshire but also in London,” Mr Addey said.

“There are millions of people who have never tasted caviar and we want to encourage people to try this delicacy. It’s a healthy and nutritious product that tastes delicious.”