When you wake up to a stunning day in London, you simply have to do something special. And as luck would have it, when I woke up yesterday to azure blue skies I knew just where I was going.
The Real Food Market is held on London’s Southbank every Friday to Sunday and offers a fabulous array of stalls spread out around the Festival Hall and along the river. The market’s goal is to feature small producers of fresh, high quality ‘real’ food at affordable prices. This couldn’t be a more different experience from going to the supermarket. Yesterday the market was bustling. It’s fabulous to be able to talk to the producers and let their passion infuse you, so you simply can’t resist buying. Stalls vary a bit week to week but there’s so much on show from curries, chocolates, crepes, cheeses, meat, wraps, bread and deli stalls from different countries around the world. I really can’t explain them all in detail, there’s too much – but here’s a little snapshot.
Even better, this week there’s an addition: The Streets of Spain. It’s a mini recreation of the world famous Barcelona food market, La Boqueria.
For me it’s an amazingly comforting feeling to be surrounded by Spanish produce and accents five minutes walk from Waterloo Station. The little market gave you a real feel for Spain, the stalls even seemed to be decked out in the national colours of red and yellow – all in their natural form of course. Cheeses, jamons and other meat, spices, chillis, chocolates, olives, yum!
The Streets of Spain is on until this Monday 6 May. The Real Food Fair is on every Friday to Sunday.
