Looking for stall holders for a new market in Harringay!

My Saturdays are devoted to going to markets and I’ve nearly seen them all! Brixton, Ally Pally, Borough, Maltby Street, Hackney Homemade, Ridley Road, Brockley Market and Broadway Market, these are only a few of the markets I go to for my food shopping.

Since living in Harringay I’ve been wondering why there isn’t a decent market around here for people to do their food shopping, apart from Green Lanes with its mainly Turkish veg shops. Nothing wrong with these shops, but the thing is that a bit of variety won’t do any harm for the locals. I’m also getting a bit tired of the numerous kebab shops down Green Lanes and I’d like to give people an alternative, even though it’s only once a week.

And after weeks of pondering and discussing the idea of a local market with a few people, I decided it was time to set up Harringay’s own local food market. Since last Tuesday I’m looking for stallholders for this market which will feature local residents selling food, cakes, jams, bread etc. But hopefully also fruit and vegetables, meat and cheese. The idea is local food for locals in Harringay, but we’ll hopefully attract visitors from all over London too!

People in the area are really enthusiastic about the market, there’s a lengthy discussion going on on our local comunity website and people are very helpful too. I’ve already had a lot of people signing up for a stall but I’m still looking for fruit and veg producers, stalls selling organic meat, eggs and chicken, sausage makers, people selling hot food, ice-cream makers, beer and cider brewers, jewellery makers, artsy stallholders etc. As long as it’s homemade and you live in North London you’re more than welcome!

If you are interested then please send me an email on jessica@foxycooks.co.uk.

Details about the venue and prices for a stall are tba soon.

PS Check out this piece about me on the local community website Harringay Online

Camden Lock Market

Every Friday, from tomorrow, I’ll be serving delicious baguettes with pom, spicy bacalhau, sweet and spicy chicken with satay sauce and tempeh for you until 17.00hrs.

In a few weeks I’ll also start serving warm take way meals and your favorite home made ginger beer.

I’m very excited about it and I hope to see all of of you on Friday.

Do come and say hi!

Chatsworth Road Market

Every Sunday from 11-4 there is a small market on Chatsworth Road E5 in Hackney.

It’s not a very busy market and there aren’t a lot of stalls, but there is some pretty good food on offer here like Okonomiyaki, which I ate for the first time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other food stalls on this market, which I didn’t try as I was so full after my Okonomiyaki, are amongst others ‘Kimchi Cult’ and ‘What the Dickens’. There are a few stalls selling vintage clothes, bric a brac, cake, cheese, organic meat, bread and flowers.

 

 

Don’t forget to take a look at the deli on the corner (forgot the name) and the little coffee shops around the market.

I was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t a fruit and veg stall cause to me that’s essential on a market. To buy fruit and veg was also the main reason why I decided to go to Chatsworth Road yesterday in the first place.

Will I visit again? Probably in the summer when it’ll hopefully be a bit more lively.

 

 

Brockley Market

Is absolutely gorgeous!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I finally went down to the SE to visit this market last Saturday. It was a bit of an epic journey as I travelled 1,5 hrs from Harringay to the market (on an empty stomach!) but I have to admit that it was definitely worth it!

I discovered some new traders like Mike and Ollie and their amazing smoked mackarel wrap

Luardos’ Carnitas,

Mother Flipper’s hamburgers,

 and Red Herring (cassoulet) too and I had my first ever Scotch Egg which was actually very good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brockley Market started last September so it is still quite young and there are about 15 stalls selling hot food (burgers/ tortillas/ cassoulet etc), vegetables, fruit, potatoes (bought me some delicious La Ratte potatoes) and glutenfree goodies from Sugargrain.

There’s a nice vibe on the market, not very busy like Borough or Broadway, although there are quite long queues in front of the more popular food stalls. Not good if you’re very hungry!

Must say that I overheard a lot of people saying that they thought that the hot food was too pricey and I must admit that Brockley does attract a certain public.

 

 I’ll definitely be back soon (Mother Flipper’s burgers are calling my name!!!)

I heart Amsterdam

It’s been nearly a year since we moved from Zaandam, a small town near Amsterdam, to London, my favourite city in the world.

It’s been awesome and I’ve grown even more fond of London since living here.
Therefore I thought I wouldn’t be impressed by Amsterdam, when I went back last week. But I was wrong, so wrong, because now I see Amsterdam in a different light. It’s the place where I’ve lived 11 years of my life, the place where I met my husband, where I learned to cook and went to uni, but above all Amsterdam is the place where my friends and family live. The people I love and miss so dearly sometimes.

Amsterdam is my first love (citywise then ;) ) and will always be.
Amsterdam is also the place where I can find all the ingredients to make my favourite Surinamese dishes and off course I brought loads back to London.

Like my favourite hot kecap manis from Helen which I use to marinade chicken and meat, as a dip sauce or as a basic ingredient when I’m making stir fry dishes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I ate fresh herring with onions and pickles at the herring stall on Albert Cuyp Market.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Friday night I had dinner at Indonesian restaurant ‘Kantjil en de Tijger’ in Amsterdam and I’m still dreaming of the bami Kantjil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And of course I had a Surinamese roti with vegetable and chicken curry, one of my absolute favourite dishes in the world! The best roti is obviously the roti made in Suriname, but Rooprams in Amsterdam is the best roti shop in the Netherlands! I even brought P some roti cause if I didn’t he wouldn’t let me in the house. That’s how crazy he is about this roti.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I bought ginger cheese, my absolute favourite, at famous cheese shop Reypenaers in Amsterdam.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Saturday I had a food stall on the Dutch Underground Farmers Market in Amsterdam which was absolutely lovely! I met some wonderful new people and I saw all my Twitter friends again.
A lot of them were selling their home made xmas cakes, cookies, raw food truffles, vanilla sea salt, pulled pork wraps, emapanadas, pork and fennel bangers and loads and loads more absolutely delicious stuff!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was really impressed by famous Dutch foodwriter Gert Jan Groothedde’s margarita ice cream with a salted shortbread cookie and his Xmas eggnog ice cream. It was too good ;)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Off course I took pictures of everyone’s stall but mine, but I had a great evening, wonderful response to my baguettes filled with Pom, pickles and hot sauce, which was sold out by 10.30pm.

I had a great, but very short, 5 days in Amsterdam and I cannot wait to go back. I cried my eyes out when my plane departed.

But I’ll be back in 6 weeks time for an insect dinner party where the main ingredients will be cockroaches, worms and larvae. Yum!

The Underground Farmers Market in Amsterdam

I’ve been busy lately. Busy looking for a new home (which I already found, thank the Lord), busy looking for new markets to set up my stall, busy writing my thesis, entertaining guests from Amsterdam and now I’m leaving for Amsterdam tomorrow too.
I’ve been asked to take part in the Underground Farmers Market in Amsterdam huzzah!
That means I’ll be having a long weekend filled with food, food and food!!! And oh yes friends and family too.
I seriously cannot sleep, that’s how excited I am ;) Thinking whether I should dig in to a kroket, bitterbal or haring first.
See you guys next week!

Bonfire Underground Farmers Market

This weekend I was part of the magical and infamous Underground Farmers Market at Ms. Marmitelover’s fabulous Kilburn home.

I had been looking forward to this event for so long and finally the moment arrived for me to introduce London foodies to Suriname’s cuisine.
The UFM was a wonderful foodfest with probably some of the best streetfood London has to offer, delicious cakes and cupcakes, an oysterbar, Paul.A.Young selling his delicious chocolate, booze, music, bonfires and even fireworks! And best of all: I was a part of it!

The response from customers about my food was overwhelming. It’s really the best thing ever to hear from people that they like your food! Hearing from Ms. Marmitelover, Kerstin Rodgers, that she LOVED my vegetable curry almost made me cry! For a girl who lived on takeout whilst studying until she was 22, that is a huge compliment!
I adore Kerstin, she is such an inspiration and I loved her book. And for her to tell me that she thought my food was gorgeous was simply breathtaking. I almost died!

Afterwards it’s funny to hear that so and so blogger or journalist bought my food. Ladies coming up to me on the market asking: ‘Where’s the gingerbeer lady?’, or someone asking me if I would open a restaurant, or if my gingerbeer was available at Tesco. Hilarious no?

You know the thing is, I enjoy cooking. I cook for my husband, family and friends and I’m happy when they enjoy it. But after the UFM I know for sure that I’m going to pursue this dream of a food market stall and have everyone enjoy a taste of what I make. Last weekend’s compliments were a huge boost for me.

On Friday I sold out, on Saturday I didn’t. But that gave me the chance to do food swaps with other stall holders which is one of the exciting pluspoints of being a stall holder.
I drank an unusual tasting Marmite cocktail and Elderflower Champagne, ate delicious roti and other snacks from my UFM neighbours Mauritian Streetfood, pumpkin and toffee apple ice cream from Peck Peck Peck and the most delicious vanilla cheesecake from The Art of Puddings.

There is still a stash of deliciousness in my fridge and cupboard: toffee apple ice cream, cannoli from The Hungry Wolf, Damson ketchup, summer piccalilli, a pumpkin chocolate truffle from Paul.A.Young and Jerk Marinade from Foodstories.

Words fail me to describe the fabulousness of the market I’m afraid, but imagine this:
A two bedroom flat filled with stalls selling cakes/marinades/jewellery/, a kitchen where food demo’s were held, a Dragon’s Den on the balcony, a bar in the bath tub, a shed filled with chocolate and jewellery, a garden smelling of the most delicious food ever, and people chatting, drinking cocktails and eating food everywhere! 

             

After experiencing the UFM there’s two things I know for sure: The English can cook! And they sure know how to party!

And last but not least: A big thank you to Kerstin and everyone who came down to the UFM. You really made my weekend!

The Underground Farmers Market on Bonfire Weekend!

Do come by my Surinamese food stall on Ms. Marmitelover’s Underground Farmers Market.

I’ll be selling Pom, Rendang and Soto Ayam, a delicious and heart warming chicken soup. Perfect comfort food for the cold weather outside!

For more info and tickets, click here.

See you there!