Food Blogging Event London 2008 - Part Two - Borough Market and Roast

The second day  of the Nokia International Food Blogging Event , I have to confess to forgoing breakfast in the hotel . Still full from yesterday , arriving with the group at Borough Market we were all immediately distracted by Neals Yard Dairy who could not be attracted to a man standing amid wheels of stilton and offering you a taste . I  also enjoyed a bit of rubbernecking watching Oliver Rowe filming Market Kitchen ( I totally mistook him for Tom Parker Bowles – its the public schoolboy looks )

Eventually all the bloggers were dragged out of Neals Yard Dairy,  the excellent cheese shop and we began a gastro-tour with the effervescent Celia Brooks Brown  who  has been doing these tours for a  number of years and is an expert in vegetarian cookery  . Celia is able to give you a fantastic history of the market , its development  staggering  amounts of food knowledge  all  the  stall holders put on a good show with tastings.

Here is Celia blowing my mind with the news that carrots are not really orange,  but grown that way by  patriotic Dutch growers who bred the vegetable to make it less bitter than the yellow varieties, and then it was adopted it as the Royal vegetable in honour of the House of Orange  in the 16th Century .Actually we then had some heritage carrots in yellow white and purple for lunch

The market itself is heaven and I was heartened to know from the other international bloggers it competes if not surpasses even continental markets  , I tried to be smug but  did have to explain it is not the same in many parts of the United Kingdom though there is a resurgence of farmers markets . Borough itself is open Thursday- Sunday from

Highlights for me the following

This vegetable stall , packed with mushrooms of every description imported this time of year cultivated from the U.S , I was wondering if we could do the same here for year round gourmet fungi – sure they wouldn’t taste quite like those in the wild . Seeing the morels reminded me of course it is shortly their  season an  ever illusive fungi for me . Plenty of other  vegetables on the stall ,  I have never seen to track down and experiment with all . Happiness itself for me that the vegetables are displayed as they should be in piles without ten tonnes of packaging ( Moan over )

Shellseekers a stall selling for fresh dived scallops and other fish from the South Coast , the owners spend half the week fishing/diving and the other half up at  Borough selling their produce  . The other fish stall I note was Whitby- based and I was heading up there for the weekend. I though I would save buying any  fish and having it sit  through lunch and a two hour train journey.

Northfield Farm -  fantastic rare breads meat stall , where I stocked up on Jacob Sheep Lamb steaks for the weekend.Easter weekend it has to be lamb  and Jacob is my little brothers name  .  We also tasted pork and beef could have eaten a whole tray

England Preserves – Stunning Preserves stall and suitably graphic designy display – you could feel the vectors at work  – my committment this year will be to make preserves in the meantine these were perfection, Bought picalli , quince jelly , and two chutneys

A stall selling a massive range of game and other meats where I bought a Wild Duck , a  Patridge , tiny bullet black puddings

Brindisa – Spanish Foods – I feel bad for stocking up on spanish produce in a english market , but I find it impossible to find fresh chorizo at home and wanted Nick to try Spanish black pudding. Also safrron and paprika but mostly because the tins were so pretty.

Olive Oil and Vinegar stall , I bought Olive Oil and White Balsamic vinegar , like a taste explosion in my mouth . The balsamic vinegar seduced me into spending £13 on a bottle and now waiting a few months for strawberries to be in season for strawberries and black pepper salad

Sea Salt Stall – french sea salt seasoned with herbs or spices . This is acceptable “Cheats” food for seasoning meet etc. taking a small bag camping saves a lot of space.

I finished up  Neils Yard Dairy for Stinking Bishop Cheese from close to my home  and Nottinghamshire Stilton ( close the the boyfreinds home )  for the Bank Holiday  weekend

I am certain there is lots I missed , I was highly overexcited but I promise recipes using Borough ingredients soon plenty .

Walking aound the market our tour guide bumped into Lawrence Keough the chef at the restaurant where we would be eating lunch Roast which sits above the Market is owned by Iqbal Wahhab ( founder of the Cinamon Club ) who popped over at lunch to say hi . And here endeth the name dropping .  Roast uses many ingredients from the Market especially  the fresh vegetables for seasonal British Cuisine

I ate Warm duck liver and bacon  salad with chicory bacon and grain mustard  ,Nine times our of ten I order a warm salad , I just like the word warm salad .. its onomatopeaic warm like a hug that salad the sticatto spikiness. This did not disappoint very tasty with tonnes of duck liver salty bacon and a peppery dressing

For my main I had baked celeriac – one of my favourite vegetables , it came as half a whole celeriac roasted half the size of a football ,which I think was halved baked the  the centre scooped out and mixed with butter seasoning and maybe some cheese, it was topped with a poached egg , served with pea shoots and wild mushrooms  . Only time I have ever not finished a restaurant meal it tasted lovely and is probably a recipe I will be borrowing with a smaller celeriac .

Lugging a tonne of purchases, I had managed the forsight to take a large number of cotton shopping bags  and with a train to catch up North apologies to anyone who shared the tube/train carriages with me and my smell cheese and slightly leaking pheasant. I had a happy journey gently craddling my purchases to begin a Bank Holiday weekend in another foodie pilgramage site Whitby, Yorkshire .

For now bye bye Borough , promise to be back soon

See also Foodblogging Event London 2008 – Part One
Girl Interrupted Eating Gets Mobile

About these ads