There are so many delicious ways to enjoy these summer berries.

As excitement builds ahead of The Wimbledon Championships, there’s only one food on our minds…sweet, scarlet strawberries.

Watching thrilling serves and powerful backhands at the picturesque All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) in London with a punnet of sweet strawberries and cream in hand is hard to beat – and Wimbledon’s strawberries are the crème de la crème.

The British grass-court tennis tournament’s late-June to mid-July timing aligns perfectly with the peak season for British strawberries.

“We are in prime strawberry season right now, and the fruit we’ve been using onsite over the last week has been getting better and better everyday,” says Sam Morgan, executive head chef at AELTC.

“We’re very spoilt here at Wimbledon with the quality of our strawberries that we get which are hand picked for us. We look for the best of British, which the strawberries at Hugh Lowe Farms absolutely are.

“Once you’ve had a Wimbledon strawberry, it’s quite tough to get some from the supermarket.”

When on the hunt for the best strawberries, the colour matters.

“You’re looking for a lovely red berry and you want the tops to be nice and green and not dried out,” says Morgan.

As the catering team gears up for a busy tournament, Morgan has shared six of his favourite traditional and more creative ways to eat strawberries this season…

1. Stay traditional with strawberries and cream

You can’t go wrong with the beloved British summer treat of strawberries and cream.

“People vote with their feet and strawberries and cream is still our highest-selling dessert in any space,” says Morgan.

“We don’t mess around with it. They don’t need sugar or anything else on them. I think simply strawberries and cream is just what it needs to be.”

The combination of strawberries and cream provides the perfect balance of refreshing and indulgent.

“You’ve got the sweetness and the slight acidic nature of the fruit paired with the dairy that just neutralises any of those flavours and combines them really well,” says Morgan.

2. Pickle them

Pickling overripe strawberries is a fantastic way to rescue them.

“We’re using waste strawberries in a dish at The Centenary Restaurant this year and are pickling them in a Merlot vinegar,” says Morgan. “It’s a great way of utilising fruit that we already have, that is maybe a day past its best for retail, or for strawberries and cream.”

3. Use the tops

You can also cook with strawberry green tops so no waste is left behind.

“This year we have also used strawberry tops and have infused them in a ponzu. You would usually pair the traditional Asian-style dressing, that includes soys and mirin, with a yuzu or a citrus fruit, but we’ve used the strawberry tops and the surplus strawberries to give it that fruity element this year.”

4. Have them with basil

“Strawberries and basil is a really great combination,” says Morgan. “Basil brings a freshness, and I think paired with the acids of the strawberries, if you macerate them in a little bit of sugar, it brings out the juice which really pairs well with the basil.

“You can also use the basil as an infusion.

“Everyone associate tomatoes with basil, and strawberries have a lot of similarities to tomatoes and I think that’s where the flavour profile marries up really well.”

5. Add to a hot sauce

Strawberries make an incredible addition to hot sauce.

“This year we have another dish which includes fried chicken and hot sauce. We have a base of hot sauce that we are then going to infuse and blend the surplus strawberries through,” says Morgan.

6. Make a jelly

Homemade strawberry jelly is a delicious nostalgic dessert for the summer.

“Using strawberries in a jelly with an English sparkling wine or a trifle is a great way to get the full flavour profile out of the strawberry,” says Morgan.

“I’m quite traditional when it comes to the strawberries myself. You can be as creative as you want with them, but I think it’s important to make sure the strawberries remain the hero of your dish.”