soho foodlovers market

Today sees the launch of the Soho Foodlovers Market on Rupert Street, smack bang in the middle of Central London. Boasting a wealth of growers and artisanal food producers, the market is scheduled to pitch up on Rupert Street every Saturday from 9am to 4pm.

We got there at midday and it was buzzing, but not packed, so we managed to get a proper nose around the stalls, heavy with fresh British produce – like this sea of juicy cherries, cox apples and strawberries from Kent.

Apart from numerous fruit and veg sellers, there were several dairy producers peddling items ranging from organic eggs and cheeses, to raw unpasteurised milk, butter and cream (from Hook & Son).

On the meat front, there were pork products from Bringing Home the Bacon, which included their prize-winning bacon and sausages from Somerset.

As well as salt marsh lamb and mutton from Thoroughly Wild Meat Co. and a selection of homemade pâté and terrines from Market Gourmet.

On the lookout for something to bring for our evening picnic concert at Kenwood House, we headed over to Madame Gautier, lured by the hunks of 14-hour confit beef. We ended up buying one of the plump pot roasted chickens. I was unsure if I made the right choice after spotting the rotisserie chickens from Fosse Meadows Farm later on, but my fears were unfounded as the chook we bought was moist, fall-off-the-bone tender and came with some rather tasty stuffing and gravy.

To go with our chicken, B picked out some lovely round courgettes and a frilly head of lettuce from Wild Country Organics vegetable stand.

Although it’s really more a market to buy back produce and prepared food from, there were a few street food stalls including Arancini Brothers, which sold vegetarian and gluten free arancini risotto balls, served with salad, or rolled up in a chili or garlic wrap.

There was also the obligatory Hog Roast stall that also sold empanadas and pastis de natas (Portuguese egg tarts).

And although we already had lunch plans I could not help but be enticed by the smells coming from Happy Herefords & Tipsy Tamworths stall where they were grilling up some burgers, sausages and minute steaks (also on sale was fresh meat and the same raw sausages and burgers to take home).

The loosely-packed sausage was very flavourful, and the caramelised onions were a nice touch. Shame that the bun it rested in was a little hard.

For sweets there were gorgeous cupcakes and over-sized meringues at Bea’s of Bloombury, off on the side on Winnett Street, as well as organic ice cream from Helsett Farm.

I had heard lots about Outsider Tart, a store in Chiswick selling American style cupcakes, pies, tarts and other sweet treats. I was delighted to find they had a stand at the market, which saved me the trip to West London shop.

I chose a cinnamon sugar-dusted cake doughnut and an incredibly sinful gooey walnut chocolate fudge graham cracker brownie concoction, both of which I’ll be digging into after I publish this post (I snuck a bite of each earlier and they were both sensational)!

On the same side street as Bea’s was the Neal’s Yard Dairy stall (strangely left unmanned when I passed by), plus tables brimming with jams, chutneys, pressed apple juice and specialty bread.

There are so many great farmers’ markets dotted around London, and it’s brilliant to finally have one in such a central location just a stone’s throw from the bustling Oxford and Regent Streets. I look forward to visiting again, and hope to find even more on offer next time I do.

FoodLovers Markets Soho
Saturday 9am-4pm
Rupert Street & Winnett Street
Soho, London W1

~ by gourmettraveller on July 10, 2010.