MEET THE TEAM

Bill

Brothers, Bill and John started the business together in 1995 to be able to serve the biggest retail customer directly.

Prior to starting the business both were actively involved on the family farm. Today, Bill takes responsibility for the running of the packing and procurement side of the business while John looks after the growing.

Kev

Kev, joined the business at its beginnings in 1995, moving down from Lincolnshire where he was in a similar role at another packhouse.

Kev knows the business inside out and has been part of its growth since the days of packing 5,000 ton a year up to its current 65,000. Kev looks after the daily production and all the staff, keeping a tight ship that runs smoothly.

Mick

Mick has also been with the business since its beginnings and like Kev knows it like the back of his hand.

Mick works closely with Bill and Kev to ensure the right onions are in the right place to be packed at the right time. Mick overseas all of the packhouse maintenance to ensure everything is working at its best.

George

George joined the family business in January 2013 after a few years working elsewhere in the produce industry after leaving Reading University where he studied Agricultural Business Management.

George now looks after our main customer, matching up their requirements with our production.

Ben

Ben joined the Stourgarden family back in October 2016. He comes from a background in agriculture, from livestock farming to fresh produce. He now looks after the procurement of all onions and most importantly office coffee! Working closely with the growers in both the UK and abroad, Ben assures the right onions are in the right place at the right time.

Christine

Christine (aka ‘Peanut’) has been working with Stourgarden for over 11 years now, starting on the packing lines, Christine is Kev and Micks eyes on the ground and is brilliant at getting this done and keeping everyone in line.

Looking after packaging stocks, checking labels, sorting small staff issues and overtime all sit with Christine

Jonathan

Jonathan joined Stourgarden in 2009 as Technical Manager and has moved on to become our Operations Manager involved in many areas of the business. Fresh produce is in Jonathan’s blood having grown up on his parent’s tomato nursery and has a degree in commercial horticulture with great knowledge of the whole process, from growing crops where it all starts, through to the packing, processing and marketing.

Jan

Jan joined Stourgarden in 2008 as Office Manager. Working closely with Julie, Jan is the backbone of the Stourgarden office and keeps everyone in check.

From payroll to invoicing, Jan deals with a little bit of everything.

Julie

Julie joined Stourgarden in 2017 to manage the Finance function, only the second person to hold this position since the company began! Julie’s career to date has been mainly in manufacturing, publishing and business support.

Her most important role on a daily basis is to laugh at Kevin and Mick’s bad jokes!

Kavita

Kavita has a great technical and quality experience of working in the food industry. She has recently joined Stourgarden family and works alongside Vicki, Jim and Tristan to maintain the highest production standards in our prepared factory. Kavita is a specialist in microbiology and loves to share her knowledge with all members of the team.

Tris

Tris joined the business in September 2014 to take on the running of our new Prep factory from the beginning.

Tris oversees the smooth running of the factory and operations and makes sure all regulations are adhered to and staff are well looked after.

Chloe TechIOSH

Chloe joined the Stourgarden team in 2018 to help improve the company’s current Health, Safety, and Environmental performance, whilst advising directors and managers on both strategic and operational issues.

Chloe has 5 years’ Health & Safety experience within the Engineering & Energy from Waste sector. Chloe ensures that the company stays compliant and ensures that all staff members go home safely.

Vanya

Vanya joined Stourgarden in 2014 as a Line Operative and shortly became a key member of the QC team in our Prepared Factory.  A few years later she progressed to become QC Supervisor leading the QC team in the Prepared Factory and ensuring the highest quality prepared onions. In 2020, Vanya joined the Technical Team and works closely with Vicki, Kavita and Adetokunbo to maintain the highest production standards.

Adrian

Adrian joined Stourgarden in August 2015 to assist Tristan manage our Prepared Factory.

Adrian has 7 years’ experience in food industry and looks after daily production and all the staff to ensure smooth running.