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OCTOBER PLENTY AT BOROUGH MARKET

27 September 2007

After the summer 'that never was' we are now moving into autumn and let’s face it, there is no place better to sample the seasonal delights than Borough Market. 

October will usher in a plethora of unmissable treats, from multi-coloured mushrooms and bloomy plums to voluptuous pumpkins for velvety soups and old-fashioned English apples. The market, with its roots in Roman times, can lay claim to being Britain's oldest food market, mentioned by name in 1276 documents and granted its first royal charter in 1406. It moved from its nearby original location (on a long since vanished bridge built by King Canute) to the current site in 1756, where it thrives, and October looks like being its busiest month. 
Mouthwatering highlights include:

BIODYNAMIC FOOD FORTNIGHT
Saturday 6th - Saturday 20th October
For the first time there will be a special promotion of biodynamic foods, with stalls selling Demeter (biodynamic) bread, meat, cheese and a wide range of dry goods, as well as biodynamic vegetables from Fern Verrow that are available each week in the Green Market, situated beneath the railway bridges north east of Bedale Street, beside the Southwark Cathedral.

SPECIAL TASTING OF AUTUMN PRODUCE
Thursday 11th October
Borough Market's wholesalers are renowned for making special efforts to supply their clients with difficult-to-locate delicacies and drinks. Their gastronomic sleuthing results in London's widest variety of special ingredients under one roof and on Thusday October 11th the public are invited to a 'Celebration of Autumn Produce' at which traders will encourage you to taste and buy all sorts of seasonal scrumptiousness.

A CELEBRATION OF SPANISH FOOD
Wednesday 17th and Thursday 18th October
The market will be hosting Taste Spain, an extravagancia española to mark the British publication of Simone and Ines Ortega's 1080 Recipes, the bible of authentic Spanish cookery, so be sure to drop by to sample superb Spanish delicacies brought specially to the Market for the occasion.

APPLE DAY AND OCTOBER PLENTY
Sunday 21st October
October Plenty is an Autumn harvest celebration held annually in Southwark, starting by Shakespeare's Globe and finishing up at the market. It mixes ancient seasonal customs and theatre with contemporary festivity. Full details on page 5

NORTHUMBRIA LARDER
Thursday 25th - Saturday 27th October
A tradition that is still alive and well in Northumbria is producing quality food and drink. The food leans towards country fare, such as lamb, beef, pork, game, pies, cheese, bread, cakes and preserves. Salmon and trout are the two great freshwater fish to be found in the north of the region, while the North Sea is a generous source of prawn, crab and oysters. Northumbria Larder will be at Borough Market during the last weekend in October.

Nestled in-between Borough High Street, Bedale Street, Stoney Street and Winchester Walk, Borough Market is open Thursdays from 11am - 5pm, Fridays 12pm - 6pm and Saturdays 9am - 4pm. It is well worth popping by a bit earlier just to get a peek of the stall-holders setting up, and to whet your appetite at the sight of all the treats on sale. One of the best views can be had from Maria's Market Café on Stoney Street over a cup of English breakfast tea. Look round carefully before you buy - the Market sells some expensive delicacies but there are also lots of delicious cheaper cuts of meat and good-value seasonal fish, vegetables and fruit. Voted London's best tourist attraction, Borough Market in recent years has attracted a whole array of shops, bars and cafes around it.
We take a stroll around the market and pop into some of the best places …

HAVING EXPERIENCED the smells of Borough Market, Neal's Yard Remedies will really get your olfactory senses going, as they sell essential oils and herbal sundries, as well as homeopathic remedies, tinctures and many other complementary medicines.
Their newly extended therapy rooms offer a wide range of treatments from acupuncture to shiatsu and on Mondays they have a graduate clinic offering 1-hour treatments with newly qualified practitioners for £20.00.

WHILE BOROUGH Market is bursting with wonderful produce, it is busy and noisy, so there is a definite need to find some light relief and in a peaceful courtyard by Southwark Cathedral is La Cave.
A restaurant and wine bar, La Cave specialises in modern French cuisine and classic fine wines.
Absorbing the smells, sounds and tastes of its cultural and culinary environment, La Cave Restaurant serves only fresh, seasonal cuisine created with French style, taste and simplicity. With an extensive wine list from around the world, the Wine Bar offers a chance to wind down in stylish, relaxed surroundings whilst enjoying a glass of wine and savouring a selection of delicious French Tapas. 
 
Bank Chambers, Montague Close,
6-10 Borough High Street
Tel: 020 7378 0788
Fax: 020 7234 0954      
Email: info@lacaverestaurant.co.uk
Web: www.lacaverestaurant.co.uk

THE MARKET Porter is synonymous with Borough Market.
As the name implies, many of this pub’s customers work on Borough fruit and vegetable markets opposite. They make up the 'early shift', replaced later by office workers and curious tourists. It's a good place for a hearty breakfast or a leisurely lunch.
It is one of London's top real ale pubs, receiving awards from CAMRA, with beers changing daily.  
Beautiful food, mainly sourced from Borough Market, is served in an attractive 40 seater restaurant.     
There are several bars, each varying in character, but all timber-rich, be it panelling or beams. This gives the pub a very cosy atmosphere. It's a good honest local with a 'welcome', something that the big chains sometimes fail to deliver.

9 Stoney Street
Tel: 020 7407 2495
Web: www.markettaverns.co.uk

SO HAVING sampled Borough Market and the shops, bar and cafe surrounding it you could have fallen so in love with the area that you want to be in the neighbourhood.
We contacted Kalmars in nearby Bermondsey Street to find out how the property land lies. The family firm, headed by Richard Kalmar, has just celebrated its 40th year of being in business and has seen the once rundown area become a prime location in the capital. Nearly all of their properties are within walking distance of Borough Market and they also do commercial property for anyone wanting to expand or set up a business in the area.
Jonathon Miller, the branch manager, told the Weekender: “The main pull for buying is within a rectangle with Borough High Street in the west, Tower Bridge Road in the east, Long Lane in the south and Tooley Street in the north.” New developments are always popping up around Borough Market, Mr Miller said there will be new developments in Union Street and Borough High Street next year. Giving us a ‘top prop’ he chose the prestigious MyBase1 development (picture) in Southwark Bridge Road - just a stone’s throw from the market. This development, designed by Glas architects, is due for completion in spring next year but a lot of the property has already been sold. Kalmars have a two bed apartment here on their books for £520,000. 813 square feet in size, it comes with a balcony two bathrooms and underground car parking. 

Bermondsey Street
Tel: 020 7940 7980 
Email: residential@kalmars.com
Web: www.kalmars.com

TONY ALLAN opened fish! in 1999 in the heart of Borough Market.
The impressive glass and steel pavilion, just next to Southwark Cathedral, stands out from the Victorian wrought ironwork of Borough Market.
Where  possible they try to use local suppliers from within the market, allowing them  to see the quality of the goods before purchasing them. The restaurant, originally designed by Julian Wickham, was revamped by Paul Daly, with deep clashing rich browns and darkwoods along with 'Hermes' orange to achieve a comfortable yet stylish effect. The glass pavilion retains its bright, airy interior which wraps around the open kitchen, where diners can watch the chefs at work.
And weather permitting, the 150 seater restaurant opens out onto the terrace. Open daily from midday to 11pm, it is a great spot to sit enjoy good fresh fish and watch the hustle and bustle of the market. 

Cathedral Street
Tel: 020 7407 3803
www.fishdiner.co.uk

AMANO ON Clink Street is somewhere to spend downtime after you’ve finished shopping at the market, with a coffee or a cocktail.
From a business breakfast to meeting work friends for an after-5 drink; or your better half for an impromptu, casual evening dinner, it's a cool, friendly space to sip, slurp, nibble or nosh your way before, during, after… or instead of work!

THE RAKE is the smallest bar in London but offers one of the best beer selections in the capital.
Standing in the shadow of Southwark Cathedral, the tiny bar (13 feet long by seven feet wide), was founded by the people behind Utobeer, the beer
specialists who have been in the market for seven years.
They have 100 bottled beers, cask ales and draught beers from across the globe. From Austrian Samichlaus -
purportedly the strongest beer in the world at 14 per cent - to Ukrainian Etalon wheat beer (5 per cent), there are
offerings from almost every country that produces the amber, brown, black, red or white nectar, including Australia, Corsica, Argentina, Indonesia and Mozambique. Specials change seasonally, but it is not just beer - selected spirits, wines and snacks from some of Borough Market’s best traders are also on offer at The Rake.

14 Winchester Walk
Tel - 020 7407 0557

A NEWCOMER to Borough Market is Shipp’s Tearooms, where they love “taking tea”.
This is a must for visitors to Borough Market - it is as English as you can get and the poor weather of late must surely mean that appreciation of hot beverages is on a high. 
If you have never taken afternoon tea then you should try it at least once. Afternoon tea, in case you wondered, is basically a meal eaten between 4:30pm and 6pm, and it traditionally includes sandwiches with the crusts cut off, a pot of tea, and scones served with clotted cream and jam.
At Shipp’s tearoom the leaf tea is simply wonderful and because they are in a privileged position at Borough Market they readily stock up with locally sourced supplies. The freshly baked cakes of Ann Martin & Decadent cakes are out of this world!
Renowned for their friendly atmosphere they also do birthday cakes, tea parties, business meetings and are even taking Christmas party bookings.  They are open 10am to 5.30pm Monday to Thursday, 10am to 6pm Friday and Saturday and 11am to 6pm on Sundays.  

Shipp's Tearooms
4 Park Street, London
For bookings call: Margaret: 07946 180 564,
John: 07976 323 047 or Ines: 07760129509

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