Kentish Express Ashford & District - What's On
Make this the year you try Stir Up Sunday - and get the family involved
Tradition & the festive season go hand in hand, so we’ve plenty to get your hands on, plus a modern foodie’s paradise.
Borough Market is arguably the most famous food market in Britain.
It sits in the belly of London Bridge, a network of railway arches and overhangs, full of winding pathways, with narrow roads to cross - hopefully without being squashed by delivery vans and crates of cheese - and the smell of baking bread and spices in the air.
Yes, it’s the oldest market in London - people have sold produce in one form or another at Borough Market since the 12th century - but in a sense it is representative of any market you’d find in any town in Britain: There is food, lots of it, and the producers really know their stuff. Most recently, Borough has been in the news less for its multicoloured cauliflowers and artisan coffee, and more because of a terror attack on the area in 3 June, 2017 when eight people were killed, and almost 50 injured.
But food writer Ed Smith, author of the new Borough Market cookbook, a celebration of the producers, stall holders and soul of the market, is clear that, more than a year on, it’s business as usual.
The book itself charts a year of shopping and cooking using Borough produce, but its core principles really revolve around seasonal eating - so you can apply the logic - and recipes - to what you find at your own local Sunday farmer’s market. The 36-year-old trained chef and foodie, who writes the blog Rocket & Squash, is a former lawyer, turned food writer and trained chef. And now something of a Borough Market expert.
Like many independent food markets, it’s a gateway to foods that are grown or produced using traditional methods, rather than mass produced and to new innovations. Legend has it that Borough grocers Turnips introduced Britain to rocket: “Twenty years ago it was unheard of,” he says. “Yes, it can be more expensive, shopping from independents, but it’s undeniably worth it.” Visiting a market and engaging with stallholders directly, you can’t help but get a sense of where your food comes from, and what’s gone into getting it to you. And sustainability is crucial - traders offer recyclable packaging wherever possible, leftover food is distributed to charity, or recycled.
The Borough Market Cookbook by Ed Smith is published by Hodder & Stoughton, priced £25.