Loughborough to host Continental market...
Christmas event is this weekend
LOUGHBOROUGH will play host to the Continental Christmas Market this weekend (Friday to Sunday, November 23-25) when traders from all over Europe will be joined by top quality crafts stalls from the UK to hold a celebratory seasonal market which will fill the town’s Market Place.
The market will complement the Loughborough Christmas Lights Switch-on, the ceremony for which starts at 1pm on Sunday.
Large and colourful stalls selling a range of unusual culinary delights will be open throughout the day and into early evening. This shopping experience will be supplemented throughout the weekend by children’s rides and performances from local choirs to make this an enjoyable family day out.
Foods on sale include fine cheeses from Le Specialiste du Fromage, established now for over half a century and with a range of over 50 cheeses, sourced from almost every region of France; Terre et Mer sell sensational garlic prawns while French Comte specialises in saucisson, the finest cured meat and fuet representing the best artisan cuisine traditions of rural France.
The market is represented by its own French baker who prepares and bakes bread and morning goods in a large mobile oven fresh on site. You have tasted baguette, you’ve experimented with croissants and we all love a warm pain-au-chocolate. But this weekend how about a crunchy yet airy pain noix? Or a fresh and traditional tarte fraise ou citron? Or mille feuille the way it was supposed to be done?
From Spain expect what may be the best Paella you have ever tasted with various options including vegetarian, while Germany provides delicious Stollen and Lebkucken. Another stall offers a huge range of dried fruits and nuts an other products much favoured in the Levantine and Middle East.
Beyond the stalls that tempt the taste buds, the market has traders who showcase the beauty of international craft traditions. They include bowls and ornaments carved from Moroccan marble; Baltic amber set into handcrafted jewellery; finely woven Italian clothing; and rugs and throws from Morocco and Turkey.
One stall sells an astonishing 60 varieties of beauty bars and natural soaps derived from olive and argan oil, with one particular blend perfect for every type of skin.