Melissa Blease meets some of the food hero traders at Bath Farmers’ Market who’ll be supplying us with fresh produce for our Christmas tables
Wye Valley, Winchester, Stroud and London’s Borough Market – certain farmers’ markets have earned near-legendary status in foodie circles. But the original – and, many would argue, the best – is here in Bath under the glass roof of Green Park Station.
Bath Farmers Market was formally established at Green Park Station in 1997, making it one of the longest-running farmers’ market in the UK – one of many reasons we’ve chosen its traders and producers as our Christmas Food Heroes. Bath Farmers’ Market, part of the Ethical Property Company portfolio, sees more than 2,000 people pass through at peak times, browsing, tasting and, of course, shopping from a wide selection of traders, most of who are based within a 40-mile radius of Bath.
There’s a wide range of vegetables, meat, fish and bread; cheese, pate, wine, beers, eggs, pies and, on my most recent visit, fresh oysters, offering a selection of largely organic, seasonal produce every Saturday morning. There’s a buzz and a friendly atmosphere far removed from the bland, vacuum-packed experience offered by your average supermarket.
Laura Loxton, who is the market director and manager says: “A number of our traders have been with us since the very beginning, namely Keith Goverd (who specialises in apple juice), Phil Collins (a vegetable grower from Bromham, not the rock star drummer) and Chris Rich (a market gardener from Batheaston). Alongside them, many of our stallholders have been with us for several years – we’re quite a close-knit family these days.
“When the market was originally established we traded once or twice a month, but due to customer demand we made a huge commitment to trade once a week. We’ve worked hard to maintain our founding principles including sustainable, ongoing development, and encouraging and promoting small local businesses. Our traders have longstanding relationships with their customers, who have become friends to catch up with on a Saturday – we know their names, and even their dogs’ names.
“We understand what they want and, even more importantly, enjoy the benefits of listening to them. I’ll often hear Phil Collins telling his customers that the carrots they’re buying were pulled late on Friday afternoon. And those carrots won’t be packed in a chilled container or wrapped in polythene; they’re just fresh, and local, like real food should be. They may not be all the same size and they sometimes still have a bit of soil clinging to them, but my goodness, they’ll be delicious.”
But as popular as the market is, maintaining the initiative as a local commercial and social gathering place doesn’t come without challenges, including attracting new local traders who comply with the market’s standards and keeping ahead of corporate changes in and around Green Park Station.
Today, Green Park Station hosts a variety of markets. There’s Bath Artisan Market on selected dates throughout the year and the Vintage and Antiques Market on the first and last Sunday of every month. The Green Park Brasserie has recently introduced the Bath Pizza Co, which offers pizzas made with produce sourced from neighbours (such as the three-cheese pizza topped with cheeses from Homewood Artisan Cheese), creating a unique collaboration between local businesses.
Meanwhile, a smart row of cabins now lines the main corridor stretch of the former station itself, providing a permanent home for vendors such as Tunley Farm Butchers and Smokehouse, the Chilli Hut, Eberico, the Thai Hut, Wolf Wines and Manna from Avon. The latter offers a tantalisingly array of Malaysian and Balinese exotic treats made on site every day from locally sourced ingredients, dished up at bargain prices.
“The location, the diversity of the customers and the camaraderie among traders – that’s what makes the market such a very special place,” says Timothy Douglas, who runs Manna from Avon with his partner Stephanie Body. And Timothy’s neighbour Samuel Shaw of Wolf Wines agrees: “It’s fast becoming an upcoming street food destination, in a similar fashion to Borough Market. I enquired about a Saturday stall, but it turns out I approached at the perfect time, just as the cabins were being built. ”
Regular shoppers, too, have much to say about why they continue to choose the market over the convenience of a nearby supermarket.
“By controlling prices and driving independent traders out of the high street, the supermarkets think they have the biggest influence on the way most of us tend to shop today,” says shopper Emily Foster, who I started chatting to in the Lovett Pie stall queue.
“But the way I see it, we’re going back to basics again – even celebrity chefs are keen to promote themselves as champions of farmers’ markets. While lots of people think they’re getting bargains in the big shops, I know that I can buy fresh vegetables, fresh bread and fantastic meat and fish here for a fraction of the price I’d pay if I only ever shopped in the supermarket.”
Taking inspiration from Emily, I did a bit of checking; and as far as quality and freshness goes, I know where I’ll be stocking up on my festive feast ingredients and it won’t involve having to faff about for a pound coin for a trolley. And even though many supermarkets are keen to promote ethically sourced meat or vegetables from local suppliers, or even offer you tasters proffered by folk wearing brightly coloured aprons and cotton caps, they’re never going to be able to replicate the shopping experience of a farmers’ market.
Supporting sustainable development and environmentally-friendly practises may well be today’s hot potato dinner party topics, but such policies were at the heart of Bath Farmers’ Market’s aims almost two decades ago, proving that the heritage city’s foodie heaven leads where green pretenders can only claim to follow. Why not join the Green Park party, and discover a shopping experience worthy of celebration.
Visit: bathfarmersmarket.co.uk
Pictures courtesy of the Bath Pizza Co and Mike McNally
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