Slow Food and Living Market, Holborn
Pioneered by Rosewood London’s executive chef, Amandine Chaignot, the Slow Food and Living Market has offered a marketplace within this central spot since March 2015. Held in the beautiful courtyard of the hotel and spilling out onto the front entrance, stallholders include Gastronomica for a brilliant selection of meat and charcuterie; Bath Soft Cheese Company and Ellie’s Dairy for dairy; Olivier’s Bakery for bread; Moonroast Coffee and Lalani & Co for coffee and tea and The Tomato Stall for fruit and vegetables, among many others.
There’s Mark Marmont, of Hackney-based 58 Gin, who eagerly offers a sample of his micro-distilled gin to incoming guests, while explaining its botanical content, and Hansen & Lydersen, a third-generation salmon smoker, also based in Hackney, offering slithers of delicious buttery salmon.
Naturally, there’s a focus on local and sustainable produce, with meats, cheeses and vegetables, mixed with argan oil, chocolate, bread and cakes, and the more unusual offerings such as honey beer and goat’s milk soap.
What stands out about the Slow Food and Living Market is the care and attention to detail that has gone into the quality, over quantity, of stalls and their produce.Located on High Holborn, this Sunday market is free from busy crowds, allowing visitors to browse, sample and buy with ease.
TheHolborn Dining Room and The Mirror Room, separate dining areaswithin the hotel, bothcomplementthe market by offeringbrunch menus featuring produce directly sourced from the vendors outside. Amandine Chaignot’s menu featuresdishes using the very best south-east England produce inThe Mirror Room, featuring Hook & Son’s fresh eggs from East Sussex and oysters and other shellfish from Essex’s Maldon Oysters. WhileTheHolborn Dining Room’s separate brunch menu features dishes such as the corned beef hash with a fried duck egg and the crab hash with basil mayo.
Slow Food and Living Market, from 10am to 3pm every Sunday,
Rosewood London, 252 High Holborn, WC1
Druid St Market, Bermondsey
Just around the corner from the buzz of Maltby Street and Borough, Druid St Market is London’s latest arches-based food market in the heart of Bermondsey.
Long before the market arrived earlier this year, Druid Street’s arches were already home to some much loved London food retailers, notably St John for donuts and bread and Jack O’Shea for arguably the best meat you’re likely to find in London (for those north of the river, Jack O’Shea opened a butcher’s in Primrose Hill last year).
With a mix of gourmet vendors, artisan crafts and a selection of some of the finest produce around, highlights include Decatur’s Louisiana-inspired dishes, such as gumbo and their tasty chargrilled Essex rock oysters (topped with a delicious combination of lemon, hot sauce and parsley), and Emily Dobbs’ Weligama stall, offering the Sri Lankan specialty of hoppers. Made from a fermented batter of red rice flour, coconut milk and yeast, Emily then cooks them in a ‘hopper’ pan before topping with eggs—Clarence Court, of course—lime and homemade pickles and chutneys, among other delightful sweet and savory toppings. There’s also the standout ice-cream sandwich vendor, Blu Top Ice Cream, selling nostalgic and sweet combinations, such as coffee and donuts and the brown toast and jam ice cream.
Pick up some saltedcaramel peanut butter from Fatties Bakery, artisan ceramic goods from London Borough of Jam, a selection of sushi from Yoshino Sushi and, when you’ve finished grazing over the goods, take a seat and order a glass of Anspach & Hobday’s Bermondsey-brewed beer.
Druid St Market is local, laid back and with a real sense of community, with a revolving weekly stall promising to showcase London’s food start up scene every Saturday.
Druid St Market London,every Saturday from 9am – 4pm.
126 Druid St, London SE1 2HH
BEST OF THE REST
Broadway Market, Hackney
A firm favourite on the London food scene for over 10 years, get your fill of farmers market goods with a strong mix of fashion.
Broadway Market, every Saturday, 7.30am – 7pm.
Shepherd’s Bush Market, Shepherd’s Bush
First opened in 1914, Shepherd’s Bush Market is still going strong today and brimming with fruit, vegetables, fish, meat and bread, not to mention plenty of character.
Shepherd’s Bush Market, open Monday to Saturday, 9am – 6pm
IMAGES: Slow Food and Living Market©Nicolas Buisson.