Interview: Michelle Bowley, vegetable supplier

THE BIRTH of a first child can have different effects on different people. For some, it forces them to put down roots, to seek security; others are determined to achieve something dramatic that will make their children proud; others might revert to childhood themselves in an attempt to regain lost youth.

For Michelle Bowley and her husband David Herbert, it prompted a move from Devon to a derelict 50-acre farm in Dornoch, Sutherland, in search of what she describes as a complete life-change. “It was having our son that started it,” she admits. “Devon was starting to fill up with people so we moved north to get away.”

That was ten years ago. They have since added two more girls, now aged five and eight, to their family, as well as several animals. Their Good Life vision, meanwhile, of growing their own and being largely self-sufficient has turned into a thriving business that supplies top chefs, including Albert Roux and James Martin, and won product of the year at last year’s Scotland Food and Drink Excellence Awards.

“My background is management development,” says Bowley, “and I guess growing was a hobby; I’ve always dabbled in the garden. And how we’ve ended up with our own salad business is all down to one of our neighbours.”

They way she tells it, after using up all the salad leaves they could eat, they took some surplus to an elderly couple nearby, who suggested they give it to the local shop. They did. It sold. And a business was born. “One of our first clients was Skibo Castle. I don’t think we realised how impressive that was at the time,” says Bowley, still sounding incredulous.

The company didn’t even have a name until they were entering it for its first award – when it became Saladworx. “That is, I think, when we realised we were doing something rather good. I know that sounds a bit blasé, but until then we were so busy building up a rather rundown farm, having the kids, sorting out the animals ... the salad was just a very small part of that. When we won the first award we took notice.”

Scotland isn’t exactly renowned for its salad-growing weather, but Bowley says the conditions in Sutherland are perfect. “It’s the long days in the summer that help it grow. And because it’s protected from the wind and the polytunnels keep the heat, the season is quite long. We’re thinking about cutting our first crop now, and last year it went all the way through until 2 December.”

Last year they grew more than 90 varieties of edible leaves and flowers; this year they’re aiming for the 100 mark. “We have a chicory that is particularly nice. It looks as though it’s had a mixture of white and red paint splattered all over it. We have something called erba stella, which looks like grass but is very sweet. It’s an explosion of flavours.”

Saladworx doesn’t separate flavours. “If you go into a supermarket you can buy a crispy, crunchy salad that has maybe four varieties in it; ora hot and spicy that has three or five varieties. We put all our 90-odd in the same mix. We’ve gone back to how the ancients used to eat their salads – a true mix of seasonal treasures.”

The flowers are not in there to be trendy, she insists, but for the depth of flavour they bring to the mix. “Some flowers tend to be a bit bland so we stick to the ones that have a more distinctive taste..” There are nasturtiums, which have “a lovely peppery taste”, as well as blue and white borage, “a nice chrysanthemum” and tiny marigolds.

Now developing a website, launching a new range of dressings and with dips and sauces also in the pipeline, their hobby has turned into a bona fide business. All this and the children are home-schooled. How does she find time? “I don’t finish until late in the day and get up very early,” she laughs. “Either we’re completely bonkers or just very driven. Life’s too short.” n

RUTH WALKER

• Saladworx (www.saladworx.co.uk); The Scotland Food and Drink Excellence Awards 2012 are on 24 May (www.scotlandfoodanddrink.org)