Lille in December?

Lille in December is this a good idea? Yes, the inner city shows itself in beautiful illumination at night. And people in Lille like to sit outside in cafés even in light rains when they got wet when seated at a table not fully covered. The beer culture reminded me of nearby Belgium with its wide range of choices including great local beers. Another phenomenon were all the people jogging in shorts this time of year left me a bit in in awe. I started to like the city.

The Halles de Wazemmes were in walking distance from this lively inner city.

Entering the Halles

The Halles de Wazemmes are spacious, the ceiling is high, there is enough space between the stalls to have a smooth walk around. The ambiance is rustic, it does not exude luxury but provides a large variety of quality produce and goods. There are enough places to sit down like in a beer garden to enjoy some food.

What to discover?

The Halles de Wazemmes have a classic range of produce including organic and gluten free selections. Classic meaning meat in all kinds and forms, cheese, fish, seafood, veggies, fruit, pastry, bread to name a “few”.

Selling meat also meant that the butchers still butchered on the spot displaying their business as a craft and not only as a fresh food counter. The cuts went far beyond what one can find in a supermarket. They included pork feet, offals, terrines as well as little meals to eat on the spot.

Local cheeses were very present. I learned that this region is producing quite a range of distinct cheeses. I was already aware of round pyramid shaped Boulettes d’Avesnes, the strongest cheese I have ever tasted, it is full of spices and garlic. I learned about the Maroilles with a orange-red washed rind and a strong smell. I saw a range of orange colored cheeses in different age categories called Mimolette. Of course there was more to see, but my eyes focused on those.

There was a lot of love in the display of fruits and vegetables. Presented in baskets they seemed to be curated to show the best the fields can offer. The large variety was similar to what I can find in my German home town, so there were no surprises as such. Cabbages in all shapes were not as dominant as I am used to during this season.

To my surprise fish and seafood were strongly present in the market hall. Lille is not a coastal town, but nor too far from the coast either. Local turf, nearby surf I would say. This was apparent in the restaurants as well which served a lot of fish dishes. At least the ones we visited.

What to eat?

We went to a butcher where we saw filled crêpes and got curious. It had home made bechamel sauce and cooked ham. Heated up at the counter and very delicious. The bechamel was full of muscat which gave a nice accent to the ham and the dough.

As dessert we had nice pastry served with a good coffee. Unfortunately I forgot the names of those little jewels.

And if you are thirsty, there is an impressive selection of beers available as well.

All in all

The Halles de Wazemmes are a great place to shop when you have the opportunity to cook in Lille. In the meantime enjoy the dishes available, you will not regret it.

A little link list

• The official website
• The version 2 of the official website – why?
• Documentary on YouTube from 2022

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Filter coffee

One of the first things I discovered in Helsinki was the dominance of filtered coffee over barista type of coffee. This was also the case in the Hakaniemen market hall (Hakaniemen kauppahalli) where I had my breakfast filtered coffee with a Karjalanpiiratat (Karelian pasty) and a cabbage puff pastry. A good entry into the Finnish cuisine.

It was my first time to be in the Nordics and I was looking forward to get to now the local cuisine. My expectations were partly set by the Helsinki edition of the Fare magazine which covers cities from a culinary perspective. It certainly was different to the hype around Copenhagen. Nordic means also some kind of cool and calm to me. I found this cliché kind of true for Helsinki but without the hipster stuff. And this means focus on good, old filtered coffee.

The Hakaniemen market hall

The Hakaniemen or Hakaniemi market hall was my entry point to the Helsinki cuisine. The red brick building dates from 1914. The two floors had just been renovated and everything was white and clean. Very white and clean, a contrast to its brick shell outside. The whiteness promoted a minimalist, concentrated ambiance which helped to bring more light into the hall and let the produce shine.

The ground floor had all the produce and streetfood, whereas the top floor all sorts of hardware and souvenirs in stock.

Difference

Discovering the unfamiliar in a market is what gets my attention. That meant that I had to calibrate my eyes to the merchandise. At first sight I saw only seemingly familiar meat, fish, vegetables, flowers and delicacies. Then I dug deeper and discovered the unfamiliar.

It started with the small breakfast where the bakery was not overloaded with croissants and sweet baked goods, but served a lot of rustic ones filled with meat, cabbage, egg and similar. I had never seen Karelian pasty before, so I took one. It is a rye based oval shaped pasty of roughly 12 cm open at the top and often filled with some sort of rice pudding. A classic topping is a mixture of butter and hard boiled egg called “munavoi“. I liked it, even though I would not call it a breath taking experience. The filtered coffee was filtered coffee.

Walking through the aisles it seemed that the market hall was mainly about meat and fish, not surprisingly when you consider that Helsinki is close to the sea, has thousands of lakes and quite a lot of surface for so little people in a rather colder climate. How did I get this wrong impression? Probably because I saw only one vegetable and fruit vendor amongst the 25 or so food stalls. At second sight I found also a few bakeries, spices, delicacies from Italy etc.

In contrast to the market halls I know in Germany, I did not see traders with a Turkish, Arabic, Persian etc. family history, something I surely missed. But it is hard to tell just looking at people. Having traders with such cultural heritage creates a different layer of ambiance, style of displays and conversations, meaning more variety in the market, something I appreciate.

What caught my attention?

Sandwiches

I like bread. A lot. I love baking bread as well. And I love open-faced sandwiches. Helsinki is a feast for those, especially in the Hakaniemen market hall. I am used to little variety in Germany: mozarella with tomato, gouda cheese, Gouda with ham or salami or similar. Sometimes there are a few more “Italian” looking ones. Here the variety was large variety based on Finnish (?) ingredients. Different spreads, fish, seafood, meat and more garnished with dill or other herbs. Not so much cheese.All very nicely placed on a slice of rye or wheat bread or half a roll. Different style and different tastes to what I am used to. I liked it.

Bread

Did I mention that I love bread?

I was aware that rye is often used in Finnish breads, but I was surprised that it did not really dominate. And I did not find a lot of sourdough based rye bread. I learned from a waitress that quick breads are more common. I looked at three bakeries in the market hall, but was not really observant enough to dig deeper into the existing variety. I bought a flat rye bread wheel wrapped in plastic which was more satisfying and with a longer shelf life than I expected. It was even appreciated at home. So i had to correct a little bit my assumptions.

In sourdough oriented bakeries outside the market hall, I also could not find the dense type of rye breads I am used to in Germany.

Game meat

Bear & reindeer!

I had never seen it before. And I had never tasted it before. And it was easy to buy both in the Hakaniemen market hall. Not only at one stall. It was mostly cured or smoked and not cheap. I shared a small piece of smoked reindeer with my Croatian friend at home. We both liked it. It had a smooth, almost elegant game taste, was salty in a pleasant way and lean. Good for visitors: it is vacuumed packed.

I had tried bear on 10€ slice of bread a couple days earlier in the Vanha Kauppahalli (Old Market Hall), but was not overwhelmed. The very lean meat had the taste of a slightly gamy beef tartar. I did not see the need to bring it back home. Probably a mistake not giving it a second chance.

Fish

When a city faces the sea and has plenty of lakes in the “backyard”, fish should be common place. It was. And in a nice variety. A lot of it was smoked, cured or graved. I could not resist to sample a little and eat it in the hotel to get first hand experience. The choice was overwhelming and my stomach finite. I still have good memories of what I bought.

Of course herring, a common fish in the Baltic region was abundant in the market hall, but also salmon in a large variety of preparations. A small sweet water fish maybe twice as big as anchovies seemed to be a staple food which I also saw at the Kauppatori streetfood market. As I am not a fish expert and reading Finnish labels proved difficult to me – too lazy for a digital translator, I could not identify all of them, but I was impressed.

Else

Other stalls had also a very nice display of their goods, the owners put a lot of effort in pleasing the eyes of customers by displaying what I would call an orderly abundance. Abundance because the stalls were full of produce, no empty spaces, every square centimeter used, always the signal: there is plenty. Orderly because nothing got in the way on providing focus on the goods. No scale, other equipment or empty boxes were visible.

In Hakaniemen market hall meat, fish and bread were in focus meaning represented by more than one stall. Other produce categories were represented by single stalls only, thus clearly showing the focus here. Fruit, Mediterranean specialties, pasta, cheese, coffee, tea, flowers etc. ensured that pantries could be sufficiently filled.

All in all

I went a few days in a row to experience the Hakaniemen market hall. The hall is new and has a touch of class but somehow grounded, offering tourists a nice spot to enjoy Finnish food culture without being a souvenir place. With its produce it has a distinct character, I would not find something similar in Germany or France. I did not see extravagant offerings, but an own good quality which may represent the country pretty well. I had more fun with this market hall than with the more tourist oriented Vanha Kauppahalli (Old Market Hall).

When in Helsinki, it is definitely worth making a detour and visiting it.

A little link list

• Hakaniemi market hall on Wikipedia
• The official website and on Instagram
• A blog post from travel and lifestyle diaries
• An old post from eat-drink-man-woman-blog

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Toronto, I like you

Winters must be cold in Toronto. This is the impression I got from the St. Lawrence market hall in the heart of Toronto, Canada.

Lots of hearty products which fill you instantly with joy and energy to overcome any harsh weather conditions. It was warm at the time of the visit but the resistance to stuff my belly was rather weak.

The St. Lawrence market hall is conveniently located in downtown in this rather pedestrian friendly North American city. It is an old spacious building with two floors where sales happen and a partly covered outdoor seating place for consumption of the foods served inside.

But the market hall does not only serve meals, it has a wide range of produce available to cater for home cooking. Toronto is a multicultural city par excellence. Nevertheless the majority of the offerings seemed to target consumers with a rather European background, thus reflecting the neighborhood.

Diving into the St. Lawrence Market Hall

The peameal bacon sandwich is the thing to try in Toronto according to several guides. It is all about a juicy peace of bacon supposed to be rolled in ground peas. I could see that it was rolled in something but I could not taste any pea. It was rather disappointing when measuring it against the hype. Still a decent sandwich though.

That experience made me skeptical about the market hall offering, which in hindsight was not fair.

Comparing with US markets

As I have been a several times in the USA, I always compared my experience there with the one in the St. Lawrence market hall. There are a few commonalities and a few differences.

Meat

The meat selection is very broad in quantity and in terms of cuts. Emphasis is on beef but I found more game meat than in the US. The game was focused on deer and wild boar, I was hoping for more “exotic” meats. Maybe this is not the area for that.

I love the displays here, they are so generous as if space is unlimited for the merchants. you have to truly walk along a single stall to get an idea of the offering, just glimpsing form one point will not help. This is probably what meat eaters consider as paradise on earth.

Considering this large offering, one must assume that people are still cooking a lot. The meat merchants all had their little ready made food stand, like ribs, wings etc. but that looked rather tiny in comparison, indicating only a small portion of the clientele not wanting to cook.

Nevertheless a merchant complained that things had change over time, that they sold more in the “old days”, and that people were not cooking as much anymore. That would mean that all the meat would be left unsold in the stall. Of course this is not the case. I am aware that in the “Western world” I am living in, home cooking is on a decline, and I see streetfood becoming more popular. Still the stall displays showed a still persistent need for produce.

Fish

Toronto is situated at lake Ontario, not exactly seaside but seems to be full of fish and seafood lovers. Octopus, salmon, shrimps, squid, oysters, tuna, trout, halibut, swordfish, cod, lobster and much more on several stalls. I did not ask how often the fish mongers get new deliveries as they looked fresh to me. Strangely enough I did not see whole fish, only filet. That’s a pity.

Cheese

The cheese stalls surprised me the most. In the US these sections are rather small, focusing on more or less local production. Here I saw so many European imports from many countries and regions. The selection would make many cheese stores in Europe jealous.

I do not know where this is coming from, maybe because the French influence via Québec is quite strong. Or maybe the import regulations in Canada are more liberal than in the US?

Some of the cheeses were brands you may find also in European supermarkets, others were more artisan cheeses even hard to find in my home town. I had difficulties to spot artisan Canadian cheeses, being overwhelmed by the wide choices.

Vegetable & fruit

Generally speaking I saw similar choices here in Toronto in comparison to Vancouver and the US markets I have visited over the years. The share of stalls with vegetables was smaller but one could find all the seasonal products. Green asparagus, all the lettuce, topical fruit, a nice selection of potatoes etc. Of course, as convenience food is gaining traction, there were enough plastic containers with cut fruit or nuts to go.

I was impressed with a couple stalls showing a wide selection of mushrooms. They get my attention as they look good to me and I am still wondering how to best prepare them.

Being unfair to vegetables

When writing over vegetable on farmers’ markets I am lacking a bit of imagination and do not present them as something special. Which is a bit unfair. Yes colorful displays catch my attention without noticing the details too much. Probably this is due to my lack of having a deep enough understanding of their origins, quality and distinctions in aromas or taste.

When I see a tomato or a lettuce or an onion, do I have an idea if it will be a good or not? No.

I still have memories from my times as a student in Turkey when the tomatoes and other veggies really had taste. And they were not necessarily organic. The same was valid for the potatoes I ate during an internship at a Northern German farm, they were so lovely. For insiders the varieties were Linda and Granola. Linda, organically grown, has gained popularity in the meantime, whereas Granola is hard to find.

Since then I have not been overwhelmed by the commercial produce. But the homegrown carrot from my colleague I got recently truly had a great taste.

I need to kick myself into my rear to get a little more exploratory here.

What else?

Toronto is a truly multicultural city. I had been walking through Portuguese, Chinese, Indian and Pakistani influenced neighborhoods. On some other spots I saw many more different cultures without having seen their respective centers. This is somehow also reflected in the St. Lawrence market hall, I observed it mainly on the food level, not so much on the produce level.

Salsa & guacamole

I go the biggest joy out a Mexican stall where I bought homemade salsa and guacamole. Eating them at the hotel was a real feast! So much flavor, nice acidity and a little trip through so many aromas. No idea how it had been created, where all the necessary ingredients imported? I doubt it.

Ukrainian bakery

The Ukrainian bakery called “future bakery”. The family fled from Ukraine to Canada with the outbreak of second World War. The name “future bakery” expressed their wish to look forward into a new future. Still the products have their roots in the former home of the family.

More goodies

The St. Lawrence market hall is not small and therefore offers a wide array of goodies which caught briefly my eyes.

A wide choice of honeys

A surprise; truffles!

Italian Pasta: fresh and imported

Of course maple syrup

Wine as well and so many other specialties.

All in all

Is it worth to have a look at the St. Lawrence market hall? For sure. When you are hungry it is good place to find yummy street food and small items to eat on the spot.

When you want something to bring home for cooking it is a great place to find a large variety of produce often of very good quality, still in a laid back fashion. Not snobbish for sure, but it would not harm to have a better display of all the goods, currently it is rather squattered and confusing. That could elevate it to very fine place.

It would be a shame not to visit the St. Lawrence market hall when in Toronto, it gives such a good introduction of what people eat here, I assume predominantly for buyers with some European heritage.

A little link list

• The official website
• The Instagram account

Map to the St. Lawrence Market Hall

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Approaching Catania

The fish market in Catania on Sicily island in Italy is quite known and was part of our last destination on this trip.

We came from the North Coast via Bronte on the slopes of the Etna volcano to Catania. It wasn’t exactly a pleasant day. The rain did not make things better.

The start was promising. We left Cefalu on a Sunday drove up a beautiful mountainous landscape where I was unhappy not to have enough time for a hike. The stop at a local bakery Biscottificio Miraglia in San Fratello with the most beautiful sandwiches one can imagine. Wonderful thinly sliced mortadella, prosciutto and cheese in tasty wheat rolls. Basic food in perfection.

Then the rain started and everything got truly gray. Bronte is famous for its pistachios, but nothings seemed open on this rainy Sunday. Only at the outskirts one old guy sold them out of his little old car.

And then the “trash highway” started, trash everywhere, as if the garbage collection was on strike. All the way from Bronte to Catania. I have been living or working in poor countries on the African continent but I had never seen something like that before.

On top of that we had to take a detour on the highway as the right exit was closed, leading us through not so nice industrial and commercial areas.

We finally arrived just before darkness at the hotel in downtown next to the fish market.

While it was still raining, we made a walk through town, the old architecture made the city look nicer than at the beginning. Unfortunately the fish restaurant where we wanted to eat was fully booked. I texted back home to a chef friend and got a good recommendation. Peace of mind was back.

Starting early at fish market day

We started early on Monday. At 8 o’clock we stepped out of the hotel, passing the beautiful “Fontana dell’Amenano”to enter the fish market and saw:

Nothing

Well almost.

Just a few improvised stalls and a few people.

It was so quiet that an octopus had the chance to jump out of his box full with his comrades to start moving a bit on the ground. This was probably the most lively scene yet.

What was supposed to be stalls was still empty. Was this the fish-less season? Are fish mongers getting up late? I never found out.

So we decided to stroll over to the main market to come back later. This was the right decision. The main market was very lively, big and worth a visit but this is for another post.

A couple hours or so later we came back and the stall had filled up.

The octopus was of course back in his box, and we saw many other fishes and creatures of the sea. I am not too familiar with this type of food, but it was easy to identify the mighty swordfishes, remarkable animals and to my surprise plenty at the market.

Being a tourist at a fish market

Being a tourist is a disadvantage when you are interested in fresh produce hence farmers’ markets. Some produce cannot be eaten fresh so easily, and sometimes the transport time without cooling is too long for an unspoiled produce experience.

So I feel rather like a spectator of a sea world zoo or a streetfood festival visitor than a fully embedded market visitor, especially as I am not speaking Italian or Sicilian (yes this is considered to be a separate language).

Opening my eyes, observe, trying to get good shots, this is what I am aiming for then.

What the fish market exudes

It is worth opening those eyes as I do not experience that many open fish markets in my life.

This market exudes robustness. We are not in a hipster world here. No fancy signage or displays. Lots of ice to cool down the produce. Surprisingly no shouting. Many people coming by without buying.

As the market is not one single plaza but is spread around various spaces under or next to the surrounding buildings and alleys, each corner has its own distinct set of merchants. The stalls were some times only a camping table with a few boxes, giving the impression that the gradient from hobby fishermen to commercial trader was rather fluid.

I loved the unpretentious ambiance of the market, despite being a tourist attraction life seemed normal and I did not spot any market souvenirs, neither bags nor mugs or stickers.

What the fish market offers

I have hard times remembering names. Even after decades of eating lots of great cheeses, I cannot remember their names. Okay Parmesan and mozzarella are fairly easy. But how does a Vacherin again look like? Embarrassing. Now imagine that with fish. No way. Especially as I almost only see fish filet and not whole ones.

Still it seemed that the variety was not very large, I doubt that there were more than 20 different species being sold. But all sorts of mussels and shrimps added diversity to the offering.

King of the market was the swordfish. A big fish. Some of them longer than my arm span. Its head with sword were on display quite frequently, almost like a show-off: who has the biggest. But it is also a great signage when your eyes are wandering around.

It was mostly sold as slices looking like round steaks, just that the meat was not as red, rather whitish with red tones. The muscles formed often a four leaved clover around the fish’s spine, and each “leaf” with several rings reminding of growth rings from trees.

Other fish were eel like (they looked a bit sad), some had the sizes of sardines, others were tiger like striped or looked like gilt-head breams. But as said, I am pretty bad at recognizing fish varieties and even worse at remembering their names.

Some of the mussels made us smile: in one box, covered with water the mussels seemed to burp as the infrequent air bubbles coming up to the surface indicated.

It was not clear to me where all the fish and seafood came from. Where they captured in the Mediterranean Sea or did they come from further away? Were they captured by small scale fishermen or by large fleets?

Some of the frozen fish in boxes for sale, indicating a diversity of origins. Next time I will look at the individual labels to get a better understanding of the market.

The other side of the market

imagine an inner circle for fish and an outer ring with vegetable shops, butchers, cheese mongers and a few rather unusual stalls. This outer ring complements the fish market in a very nice way. And it is worth exploring the beautiful produce!

Being October the fruits and vegetables were still very colorful almost summer like, not so many tomatoes, but prickly pears all around.

The butchers were of the rustic kind, cutting the animal parts in front of the customers, something I do not see this that often anymore. Nose to tail was not a trend, tripe, liver, pork feet seemed to be part of the local cuisine. I really love to see the animal being used in his whole entity and not being so abstract as in the plastic wrapped Styrofoam boxes in supermarkets.

The cheese mongers made it easy on me, they vacuumed some of my purchases, especially the smoked mozzarella was still great at home.

The local street food experience was great (no burgers!) and deserves another post.

Was it worth the visit?

Open fish markets are always fascinating to me, so far the most impressive one was in Athens but I also experienced one in Marseille.

When I see all the fishes I am always asking myself: how were the fish killed, how much did they have to suffer? Are the areas where the fishes came from over-fished? I never properly researched on those questions, probably of fear that I would not accept the way these animals are treated and eaten.

It is hard not to be sucked in into the beauty of the Catania fish market.

All in all: The Catania fish market is worth a little detour, its rustic ambiance and the fascinating offering and surroundings being the reasons.

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Waking up early, very early

We got up at 3 o’clock in the morning to catch the tour bus to the world’s largest food wholesale market, the Rungis wholesale market in Paris. Thankfully everybody in the bus was quiet at this time of the day, so it was easier to gear up in a smooth way.

After a 20 minute we entered the market which is basically a city in its own, 236 hectares (583 acres or 330 soccer pitches), larger than the Principality of Monaco. It is just gigantic. One German visitor who had visited the Hamburg wholesale market considers it now in comparison just as a little playground.

And there is no way that you can walk through the whole market area, it is just too big. There are also security considerations when groups are being transported around by a bus. There is just too many hectic lorries driving around.

Upon arrival we had to dress up a bit, we all got some white protective gear to wear during the whole visit. I had the impression it was less about the hygiene than rather for the guides not to loose sight of the visitors.

Francis – the basis of a great experience

The visitor groups were divided into the French and English speaking ones. The English speaking group was very small: 3 Germans and one Canadian. Lucky strike one. And Francis was our guide. Lucky strike two. He is working in the market since 10 years with a visible great passion. At least this how he guided us through the different halls. Always with a good portion of humor, full of knowledge and great envy to answer ALL the questions. Even though the tour was maybe 3 hours long, it felt much shorter.

The products

The Rungis wholesale market offers all types of fresh produce: meat including poultry, some game, fish & seafood, fruit & vegetables, dairy (mainly cheese) as well as horticultural products. Some produce categories even occupy several of the huge halls. Here a more detailed plan of Rungis as a pdf.

The Rungis customers

Rungis does not cater for supermarket chains, they have their own direct trade platforms. Its customers are independent retailers, restaurants and especially vendors reselling at the many open markets in Paris. The latter ones may even be the most important ones – something which made me happy as a market fan. Due to the high rents for shops in Paris, the prices seem to be lower at the markets.

Indeed 65% of the trade is being done in Paris, only 10% goes outside France, mainly high value products. It is estimated that Rungis feeds daily 18 million people!

The buzz

5000 trucks and 25000 vans per day plus one whole train from the South of France. Lots of merchants and supporting staff. All in a hurry. This is what is to expect in Rungis. It is a busy place where operation starts much earlier than our tour at 5am. Most of the merchandise has to roll out of the place before 6am to arrive in time for the shop openings in the different cities or to reach in time the ferry to the UK, which will not wait.

In the halls themselves most of the movements are fast, pallet jacks and forklifts are busy to put the orders into the right space. The merchants talking to buyers with their clipboards taking notes of the deals and prices.

I am surprised, despite being busy, how friendly the professionals were when one of us got into the way. But I also heard that some halls are off-limits for visitors to not disturb the operations.

Fish & seafood

We started at around 5 o’clock in the fish & seafood hall. The white Styrofoam boxes stapled on top of each other gave us the impression that we had entered Legoland, just with different content. And ultra fresh! Indeed the scallops in their shells looked better here than what I partly saw later in the shops.

“Where does the fish come from?” asked us Francis. After a couple seconds of silence he answered: “from the seaside”. We were relieved. “But also from the river side” he added.

Business was already winding down, making it easier for us to have close looks at the content of the boxes, with a large variety of different fishes, including not so common ones, e.g. shark steaks. We were wondering who would eat the latter one, especially as our Canadian companion mentioned that it is a rather tough meat.

Lots of fish comes from Norway as the 5m inhabitants “do not eat fish”. The country has a longer coastline than France and thus higher fishing quotas under the current EU rules, making it able to continuously supply in relevant quantities.

Not only fish is being traded in this hall, but also lobsters, langustas, crabs, shrimps, all kinds of mussels including oysters and scallops. Strangely enough, frog legs are also part of the seafood section but we could not see them anymore as they were already sold out to the restaurants. It is usually not a French product anymore, as the frogs are protected, they come now from other countries like Turkey.

The merchants know pretty well the types and sizes of fish which are in demand and have set up the supply chain accordingly. Tuna usually comes in sizes of up to 40kg. But if one customer wants a 100kg tuna, he will get it anyway if ordered in advance. Satisfying whatever kind of demand is a the heart of the merchants.

I liked how the boxes were labeled, besides the weight and origin of the fish, the scientific Latin name of the species was displayed giving it a very official status. I learned that Sparus pagrus is a red porgy (see also photo in the gallery). I might remember it …

Pricing

Francis put our attention to the fact that no prices were attached to any merchandise. It is all a matter of negotiation between buyer and seller. I have no idea how this works and how the two parties remember the numbers. Just consider that salmon is being offered between 15 and 50€ per kilogram.

The deal is done with a handshake, the bill comes later. Here again I do not know how this seem to work. There is not digital machine which records the deal, it is all on paper. But there are offices in the upper floors of all halls. I hope these employees can read the handwritten numbers.

Vegetables & fruit

The vegetable and fruit hall truly showed the diversity of produce in Rungis. Yes the usual staples like tomatoes, potatoes, onion, cucumbers, salads etc. dominated the space. High “towers” of full boxes gave this hall a very colorful look. Buyers and seller were busy talking with each other fixing orders. We had to watch out for all the pallet jacks putting things together.

We got a closer look into the details. Suddenly we discovered on a few spots a merchant specialized in mushrooms: boxes of ceps in April (!) from South Africa, morels from Turkey and a few other specialities.

And then a small pallet of tiny tomatoes, called tomberry carefully put into transparent boxes. A buyer specialized on high-end restaurant even looked deeper into the matter and hand picked what he considered to be the best selection out of this quality item.

Strolling along I saw produce I had never seen before: radishes of all kinds of colors, sprouts unfamiliar to me, as well as salads where I needed a few moments to recognize at all what they were supposed to be. Happily enough I saw some cassava which reminded me of the my times on the African continent. Lots of discoveries.

Francis was pointing here and there and talking: this is top quality. As a German I am used to the term quality being used from a rather engineering perspective, meaning shape, size, color etc. But Francis comforted me, he was talking about superior taste when talking about quality. It fit exactly the cliché I have about French people

Nowadays we do not seem to have seasons anymore. Francis explained it via the cantaloupe. In the old days it arrived at the market from France only, then Morocco proved to be a good place for off-season growing but it was further stretched to Senegal allowing all three countries to have their own seasonal presence in Rungis.

Asking Francis what probably is the produce with the shortest season, he had to think for a while. Surprisingly it was a potato! A certain variety (I forgot the name), hyped by restaurants for its taste, has a season of 2 weeks only. Then the hype is over, it does not seem to be possible to grow it elsewhere for an extended season.

Horticulture

Before heading to the meat section we drove to the horticultural section. The hall was not as full and busy like the other ones. Another aspect also stood out: there were women working! In the other halls I did not remember having seen more than one, very much a men’s world.

The horticultural business in Rungis is declining, I believe to remember that half of the merchants closed their shops in the last ten years as the Dutch flower traders set up more powerful platforms. They have kind of a monopoly in Europe.

The merchants world

It is mainly a men’s world. And one where hard work dominates. In peak times, before festivities when revenues are at their peak, it is not rare that the merchants work 2 days straight without sleep. The urban legend says that they have less sleep in a week than a classic employee has working hours.

Pointing out at some fancy expensive cars in the parking lot, I was told that the shop owners do not have time to spend their earnings, so cars are an easy and pleasant way of doing so.

Meat – Beef and porc

The first thing which struck me in the meat hall was its cleanliness. Unbelievable. I am certainly not able to keep my home as clean as this meat hall. The cleanliness is also comforting considering that 18 million people are getting their food via Rungis.

The second thing which surprised me was the quantity of German beef especially Simmentaler Rind being sold. It has a reputation to deliver good quality meat . This one I have to check out when back home.

The third thing was the whole beef – except head and tail – hanging on hooks. Lots of meat jumping into our eyes. “What is this?” asked Francis showing on a row of big animals. “Beef of course” was my answer. I was completely wrong and I have should have known better. The meat did not have the red color of beef but more a light pink one due to being fed mainly with milk which does not have as much iron as grass. This is usually the color of veal meat. And it was a veal, a Limousin one. But it was huge, really huge, looked like an adult animal to me. Francis showed us the label: the calf was born on October 15th 2018 and was now 6 months old. I was baffled.

Food waste

The topic of food waste came up naturally. There is just so much produce in one single spot. There is a simple answer and more interesting one.

Generally speaking there is not a lot of food waste, below 1% if I remember correctly. How is this being achieved?

First it really depends on the product itself. Potatoes or cheese can be stored for a longer period, whereas fish, strawberries, salads perish quickly. The merchants also have some experience in forecasting the demand and not ordering too much from their suppliers.

Every merchant has some kind of refrigeration to store products not being sold. And they know which quality levels the individual buyers need which helps them to steer the stock a bit better.

Last section: cheese

We approached our last hall, the cheese hall. It was probably the quietest one, due to the advanced hours. But the whole goodness of France was to be seen.

Comté, St. Marcellain, Brie de Meaux, Sein de Nounou, Banon, real Camembert, Boulette d’Avesnes and so many more names which help you to bluff your way through a party. Many of them were raw milk cheeses, truly to my delight. And all so nicely packaged. No sampling unfortunately.

And we got to see (not taste) the best cheese in the world – a goat cheese from the village where Francis originated from, big promise! A similar looking cheese from neighboring village was of course only half as good, if at all. Always when going back to his parental home he went to cheese makers next door to buy this cheese, only to discover after a few years that he could get it cheaper in Rungis.

Religions and their demand

Religious holidays mean more business for Rungis. Easter and Eid al-Fitr mean high demand for lamb, there is a Jewish holiday with high demand in living carps, and Christmas means foie gras and oysters etc.

Then the days are too short for all the working hours needed to feed Paris and the rest of the remaining world. The merchants are prepared, have negotiated with the suppliers, but then the weather changes. Easter 2019 meant good weather in Paris, a reason to leave home, go to the country side an eat there. This meant less business for the Rungis merchants. We saw some less happy faces.

Happy end, also called breakfast

It wasn’t dark anymore, the tour came to an end. But a new highlight was presented to us: breakfast. A real one! Not only the coffee we all badly needed before going to bed again in the hotel. Not only a croissant with some butter or jelly. A full charcuterie and cheese board full of delicacies from the island of Corsica. Even for somebody like me who enjoys quality AND quantity it was a great final experience. I wouldn’t say that the breakfast alone would have made me get up at 3 am, but…

Will the Internet kill the Rungis market?

Rungis seems to be confident that the Internet will not kill its business. It is not easy at all to find enough space for all the produce a city like Paris needs. Rungis has a strategic spot. All the infrastructure and processes to deliver continuously high quality in big enough quantities to the consumers via the retailers is not easy to replicate. Rungis knows how to handle perishable goods and keep hygiene to the highest level. Does this sound like a good reasoning?

All in all: Rungis wholesale market is a must-see for all who want to learn more about produce, its huge variety, origins and how it is being traded. And the breakfast is great

A little link list:

• The official website of Rungis in English
• Rungis on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
• The booking site for guided tours
• David Lebovitz wrote about the market in 2010
• The Food Republic posted as well
• And not to forget the New York Times
• Probably the best guide to the other markets in Paris from Marjorie R. Williams

The post Gigantic – Rungis Wholesale Market, Paris / France appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

Scroll to the end for the map to find Albert Cuyp market

The Saturday weather was great, so the ice cream guy at the market was almost sold out but I was still lucky. And the refreshment was needed. The Albert Cuyp street with the market of the same name is very, very long. And lively. And huge. It is not a gourmet, hipster, vegan or organic market. Lots of non-food items like clothes and electronics are available. But of course I am focusing on the food part of this more than 100 year old market.

Some bloggers like “that food cray” and “ginger girl” took their time to check on the street food like stroopwafels, a thin waffle with caramel syrup, or pickled herring. I was rather strolling around to see what I could buy for cooking at home if I would live in Amsterdam.

So there is plenty of fresh fish, smoked fish and seafood. Basically I have never seen a Dutch market without lots of fish and it is often served on the spot fried in a batter with some kind of tartar sauce. Strangely enough I did not spot much cheese.

What is not to be missed on a Dutch market are the stalls with dried or candied fruit and nuts, I have no idea where this preference is coming from. Obviously there are fruit and vegetable stalls as well with a standard offering.

All the produce stalls were squattered along this street resulting in a pleasant exercise to see them all.

Even though the market is much advertised, it is not one where I would go for to find delicacies, but certainly for the daily produce it is good enough. But the vibe of the market is really great and makes a visit worthwhile. People of all kinds are strolling along worth to be watched when you are a curious person. The traders with their rather rough expression give it an authentic feel, and as it is not far from the more touristic parts one gets a touch of “real” Amsterdam. And if there is a need for a rest, all along this street there are cafés, restaurants etc. Do that only after having tried a smoothie at one of the booths.

All in all: A very lively market and a good opportunity to discover “real” Amsterdam off the beaten path

A little link list:

• The market homepage
• Description of the market by the Dutch market directory
• The Albert Cuyp Market on Wikipedia
• The market on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram
• 5 things to eat at the market by “that food cray“
• Ginger Girl Says has her view on what to eat
• A list of markets in Amsterdam published by the city
• A post with pictures from Wanderblogger
• My other posts of Dutch markets

The post Popular – Albert Cuyp Market, Amsterdam / Netherlands appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

Scroll to the end for the map

An accident

I just finished my visit of the Noordermarkt, a famous market in Amsterdam, when I tumbled across the Lindengracht market, just a little block away. This outdoor market stretched along in the middle strip of the Lindengracht street. At the beginning the friendly Theo Thijssen monument welcomes the customers. Theo Thijssen was a famous Dutch teacher coming out of this neighborhood called Jordaan not far away from the city center.

Contrast

The first thing which stroke me was the contrast to the Noordermarkt. I just had left it a minute ago with some hipster, urban and organic memories. And now at the Lindengracht I entered a world which I would call “classic”. The offering was more “usual”, somehow between hipster and supermarket. Still it got my attention, and the narrow, long stretched walking strip with stalls on the left an right created its own pleasant buzz. The traders had also a more robust appearance, and were used to a clientèle which was probably more focused on a quick shopping for quality then on elaborate explanations of each product – but maybe this is just my own cliché.

Having such a contrast of two markets next to each other, the question of preference comes to mind. It is a similar question to: “what is your favorite market?“. I tried to give an answer in an interview conducted by the food & market blogger Marjorie R. Williams. Markets have so many aspects which make them likable or not. This might be the location, buzz, offering, customers, community building, traders, opportunities to sit down and relax with friends etc. At the Noordermarkt I liked the quality of the food, and at the Lindengracht market the down to earth buzz. Therefore my choice will depend on my mood on any given day.

Offering

Even though I had not the chance to visit many Dutch markets, I found two distinct, characteristic elements often not available elsewhere in this quantity: there is always a large selection of fish and dried or candied fruit of all kinds. This was also the case at the Lindengracht market. And I discovered that vegetables chips are great as well, in this case carrots, green beans, parsnip and kohlrabi.

Of course the market had a complete offering as well, including flowers, bread, meat vegetables, cheese and the like. There was also a little street food, I saw a stall which was only orange: oranges in bags, fresh orange juice in bottles and cups. Fresh fruit pieces in transparent plastic cups were served as well, a product which has spread across European markets and is now widely available. Simple salads were made on the spot and ready to eat.

All in all: Peak into the Lindengracht market to have a contrast to the more hipster and famous Noordermarkt around the corner – it is a nice one as well

A little link list:

• An introduction to the market with all relevant data by Amsterdam.info – they consider it to be the best food market in Amsterdam
• A great photo gallery from Scenes of a Public Market – Check the other galleries as well, it is worth it
• A little Amsterdam market guide

The post Almost famous – Lindengracht market, Amsterdam / Netherlands appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

Following the Queen

In 2011 the Queen has visited the English Market in Cork, Ireland, so it was my time to do it as well with some respectful distance.

This covered market is in the middle of the shopping area along St. Patrick street and a bit hidden as it is not clearly separated from the surrounding buildings which have the same hight. So read the signs and look at the map, it is worth it.

First the meat …

The first thing you will notice is the amount of butchers, they are almost a dozen. The beautiful cuts are presented very nicely in the display cases. I have not seen so many (large) steaks, filets, lamb chops in one place like in the English Market in a long time. All parts of the animals are being sold, even more robust ones like corned crubeens (pig feet) or beef rumen. Other traditional products are a variety of sausages (e.g. pork with apple) at selected stalls and especially black & white pudding, sausages with pork and oatmeal being served as part of the Irish breakfast. Salami style of sausages were not common.

Pork seems to be mainly of free range origin, coming from Germany I am not used to that. The butchers get most of their animals from the slaughterhouse and process them further. One is still raising his own animals (farm to table).

To my surprise those who are selling poultry are not called butchers – honestly I do not even know how they are called. The offering is mainly about chicken in all variations: whole, parts, pre-cooked, ready-made, etc. Whole chicken was cheap: below 5€. I have no idea how to produce a tasty animal at this price. Free range? No idea, should have asked.

… then breakfast …

After having seen all this meat I took some breakfast. There are several opportunities, I chose Café Anraith which looked very simple and cozy and is managed by a lady since some years. More famous is probably the Farmgate café located at the gallery, providing a good view on traders and customers from the top. I had a full Irish breakfast which was of good quality and very Irish. Fried egg, sausage, black & white pudding (contains meat as well), bacon which looks like ham to me, a few grilled tomatoes, toast, butter, raspberry jelly and a generous pot of tea. I felt good afterwards, the quality was better than what I experienced before in Dublin.

… and more food

The food temptations in the English Market are everywhere: grilled sausages, cheeses, cakes, sandwiches, soups, salads, sushi rolls and more. I made my way through them, could not resist and I was nicely rewarded at this cold day. Grilled sausage being served on a stick was new experience to me, I managed to eat it without losing any piece – I was happy with this achievement. At noon it got busy, the crowds were taking some lunch back into the office or ate it on the spot, giving the traders a good run. It was good to see that there is a desire for quality food in a country where supermarkets offer a wide choice for meals as well.

A new kid on the block is the Maki sushi rolls stall, managed by a couple with some experience from Berlin. The sushi rolls were almost as long as wraps and looked nice, I had pleasure with a vegetarian one where the asparagus sticked out of the roll like a funny haircut. As I had not seen much sushi around I am curious how this stall will do.

Even with all these food temptations the market hall does not look like a food court, it still has the character of classic produce market.

Continuing  the discovery

The butchers dominate the picture of the market, but the offering goes far beyond this. Fruits & vegetables are including organic ones are available, the choice though was not very wide. The Alternative Bread Company had a large, diverse offering on breads, different to the everywhere dominant toast bread. Wine, chocolate, cakes, olives, canned and packaged specialty foods  were available as well. Still a few stalls caught my eyes.

The fishmongers had beautiful displays with a sense for real design (see picture gallery on top). Many fishes seemed to come from not so far shores, but the Atlantic is big. They were complemented by farmed ones and those from other seas. Oysters and other mussels were not prominent but available.

The oriental food stall impressed me by having Nigerian beans, and everything else needed for Asian, Arab or African cuisine, including large bags of rice. Beans and cereals were presented in open large bags, thus reminding indeed of “oriental” food markets. The owner of the stall is of Moroccan origin  and to make it easier for customers he called his shop “Mr. Bell’s oriental food” as his last name “Belmajoub” is a bit more difficult to remember.

The deli stall “On the pigs back” had what I am always looking for: local artisan cheeses. I got myself a nice sampler and experienced that the Irish know cheese as well. In addition there was a truly good selection of French charcuterie, and cheeses including home made patés. No surprise: this stall is owned by a French lady. Not only that the Huguenots settled in Cork, there seems to be an active French community and a French cultural center “Alliance Francaise“. A good starting point for a loyal customer bases and probably the reason why I heard several traders speaking French.

Mary Rose and what I learned from her

For the after lunch coffee I stopped at Coffee Central. What I knew only afterwards: that was the decision of the day. Not only that I got a good coffee, but the owner Mary Rose, who began at the market in 1969, took time for an extensive chat. We did compare house prices in Ireland & Germany, energy efficient houses, Angela Merkel and also the impact of the German retail chains Aldi & Lidl in Ireland – not so good for small businesses and produce markets.

She told me the story of the market, how things changed within her market life time – she switched her business from meat to coffee. I got to understand how a part of the covered market was rebuilt after a fire incident, a reconstruction she approves.

She saw businesses leaving the market. And she saw new ones coming up, established by “outsiders”, like the oriental food stall (Moroccan gentleman), the olive one (Englishman) and the French/Irish delicacy stall (French lady). She showed a high respect for these entrepreneurs who truly enriched the English market and attracted new crowds with great, some times year long endurance. The owner of the olive stall started in the market but apparently manages now the import of olives to Ireland as well, a produce apparently not known here for so long. Mary Rose noticed also the new sushi roll stall, she did not seem being a fan of sushi itself, but she looks at every new business from an entrepreneurial perspective, observing the constant struggle for success.

She praises the English market traders of whom she knows all their little and big stories for their entrepreneurial spirit. She sees how difficult the business is, and appreciates the young butcher who recently finished his apprenticeship, the first one after many years, to continue shaping the future of the market. And the traders come to her place as well: for a tea, a coffee and a chat, it seems to be like a village: everybody knows the other.

Mary Rose impressed me on how she welcomes changes and innovation even though she can look back to a long life, usually a stage were people often want to keep things as they are. I learned that the future and attractiveness of market cannot rely only on existing traders as “product innovation” is necessary and often comes from “outsiders”.

Leaving the market

I left the market after a few hours with the feeling of having gotten an excellent introduction in Irish food, traditional and modern one. The friendly traders helped me a lot. And they are easy to follow in social media.

All in all: The English Market is an Irish food icon and worth more than one visit

A little link list:

• The official website of the English Market – recommended before visiting it
• English Market on Twitter
• Recommended book: “Serving a city – the story of Cork’s English Market” – available in Cork bookshops
• The market hall on Wikipedia
• A nice post of Pink Julep
• An introduction to the cuisine of Cork

The post Irish icon – English Market, Cork / Ireland appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

This market is huge, really huge – and busy.

Intro

The Maastricht treaty is probably what makes this city sound so familiar. But it has more to offer, especially style and good shopping opportunities in a very nice historic setting. The Friday market adds its share to enhance the shopping experience. And it is very large, according to official sources up to 300 stalls. This alone is impressive. I am not sure, but I guess the produce and food section represents more than half of all these stalls, the other ones were more into clothes, textiles, bike spare parts and equipment etc.

What was impressive?

This Friday market exudes a real buzz. Even in the earlier hours people queued at some stalls for their shopping. The vendors are very communicative in many languages (Dutch, English, German & French) to attract their clientele and serve them with high efficiency. The supply never seems to end. All produce, be it fruits, vegetables, meat, fish etc.  are piled and busy hands make sure that those piles never get to small to impress potential buyers.

In the meat and fish section, it seemed that there is a zero waste policy. All parts of the animals were being sold. You will find minor fish cuts to make a fish soup of fish stock. I am not sure what chicken feet are good for, but there certainly will be a recipe somewhere in this city.

The fish stalls are something worth visiting. First there are plenty of them, each with a wide choice. Most of them are clustered at the Northern side of the market making comparisons very easy. Not being familiar enough with fish I would not be able to name them, but it is certainly overwhelming to see the different shapes and colours. It seemed that most come from the North Sea. I even found oysters, which always makes me happy. The further offering consisted also of smoked fish and street food, often seafood in a batter and then fried. I am not sure how one chooses her favourite fish stall, but all looked great.

The meat stalls were selling mainly chicken and some pork as well as convenience food. Chicken was rarely sold as a whole but each butcher seemed to have a big pile of each of the chicken parts: breast, wings, drumsticks, heart, feet, you name it. Next to those chicken specialists who reminded of wholesale business, there were more traditional butchers with a larger variety of animals and often meals for taking home like goulash etc. Lately I seem to suddenly “discover” rabbit on each market, this market not being an exception. The whole rabbit I saw came from France (see picture gallery). The sausage choice was rather limited comparing to what one will encounter in Germany.

When in the Netherlands it is a must to buy some cheese – Gouda is certainly the most known one, still the country has more to offer. Strangely enough, I saw only a few stalls in comparison to the meat & fish ones and they were distributed across the market. One of the characteristics of Dutch cheese is that it is being sold in different maturity groups, from young to very old. The older the cheese the more concentrated is the flavour, the young ones are very mild. I got a few: an old gouda (approx. 18 months, one with cumin, a young cheese and a Limburger (the one with distinct odour). Happiness back home!

The Netherlands are a hub of the global flower trade. Alsmeer is the location of the world’s largest trading centre for flowers and plants. Maastricht market makes a show case out of it. Many stalls offer flowers, bouquets and more in all kinds of colours. Enough to make the right choice for a loved one.

The fruit & vegetable stalls were a plenty as well. They looked like wholesale business going retail. Boxes and boxes full of what the greenhouses, fields and orchards across the planet are able to offer in large quantities. The prices were low, which also explains why so many people were doing their purchases here.

Besides all the produce, many street food stalls serve the market: fish & chips, all kinds of Asian ones, filled donuts and much more. Trying a mixed seafood platter – with batter and fried, accompanied  by a remoulade was rather disappointing. The donut filled with apple was a winner.

By the way: the Maastricht Friday market has been awarded best one in the Netherlands in 2014.

What was less impressive?

Despite the wide choice, especially when it comes to fish, this market offers rather commodities than specialties or gourmet stuff. Being familiar with European markets, there will be no real surprise. To a certain extent it is a huge outdoor supermarket – for feeding people in an affordable manner it is the place to be.

Some of the street food would have deserved a more sophisticated twist, it would make them truly unique. This is especially valid for the fish food.

But the market still fascinates me, my thoughts are coming back to all what I saw. There is some attraction I cannot explain. Probably it is the impressive buzz at the market, it gives me a great incentive to cook more often with truly fresh stuff.

All in all: A market which is attractive because of its sheer size and buzz. The large choice and quantity of fish is remarkable.

A little link list:

• The official site of the city with market information
• A small but nice post with beautiful pictures from the Crème fraîche blog
• More pictures on my photo site

The post The big one – Maastricht Friday market / Netherlands appeared first on Food & Farmers' Markets.

Düsseldorf has the reputation to be a posh city. The market at the Carlsplatz reflects this as well.

The setting

Strangely enough the Carlsplatz market is not listed in the city’s directory of markets, despite the size and downtown location (see map below), which makes it also interesting for tourists. But the market has it’s own website at least, so it is fairly easy to get some information – when you are ready for German.

The market consists of approximately 60 permanent stalls covered by a glass roof which makes it easy to do purchases or having a snack independent of the weather. The offering is very diverse from local to international/exotic produce and delicacies. This makes it easy to find the right ingredients even for unusual recipes. For serious cooks of the area certainly a must go.

So what is the offering?

Basically everything to be eaten. I found so many items which are rare to find, be it because they are truly exotic, rarely used in the kitchen or just out of season. The latter is not necessarily to my liking, but …

So I will focus on the stalls which got my special attention. And I will start with simple potatoes.

The potato stall

The potato stall impressed me the most on this market. I love potatoes with character and flavour and they are not always easy to find. Therefore it was revealing to find probably more than 40 varieties coming from the potato country of origin (Peru), Scotland, France, Netherlands, Germany … you name it, resulting in a large range of types of starch and colours, from white to even blue. I am not sure if I saw Idaho potatoes though.

The vendor offered this large choice for the first season and seemed to be happy with the success. It took him some time to find whole sellers who could deliver in consistent quantities all the varieties. For me it was worth the effort. Hopefully the vendor will continue next season with the same offering as well.

What TV cooking shows do to us

The spice stall had such a large offer, ready for any kind of cooking book. As it is still in fashion, many types of salt were available, the same was true for peppercorns. So I asked the lady about the current hip stuff. She told me that TV cooking shows have the largest influence. She can predict which spice mixe will be in demand the next day. Currently Ras El Hanout and Garam Masala are en vogue. She questioned the preferences of the fashion at times, but it still means business.

The pasta lady

The fresh pasta being sold in all kinds of colours, shapes and fillings comes from Berlin. The owner explained that they are made by former Michelin star chefs who preferred a – hopefully – less stressing lifestyle. The fillings of the pasta are really unique: ricotta with honey on red beet pasta, Zucchini with raw ham to name a few.

I was wondering why the pasta lady did not offer some meals to attract more customers. Well, as the city wants to keep the market as a produce market and not a street food market, she did not get a concession yet, despite other stalls offering food. She noticed that on days where people eat at the market, she sells less produce, therefore making such an offering tricky for her.

Family business: basket maker

To my surprise there was a basket maker booth. The fairly young basket maker was in the process of fixing a chair for a customer, when he explained why he was doing business at this place. He preferred to go where the customers are instead of them having to look for him. Customers usually want to have some chairs or other furniture fixed, often heritage items or new designer furniture. Repairing on site helps him to get the trust of the clientele as they can watch him working his craft (see picture gallery). The gentleman took over the stall from an old man who had died some 5 years ago. He explained that the craft of basket making is something which needs to be learned over a long period of time, therefore it is often a family business. He hopes his son will continue the family tradition.

Street food

Yes there is plenty to eat on the spot: from local to international. On the local side there is the obligatory Bratwurst, but also Reibekuchen, a potato pancake or fritter which is often eaten with apple sauce (you don’t have to – see gallery for close up). Then you have shrimp rolls, oysters, antipasti, Iranian specialities like yoghurt with rose petals, tartlets, … The cuisine is Asian, Bavarian, French and where ever from. Coffee is being roasted on the spot and the result is truly delicious (Kaffee Reich).

Be aware that the queues are getting long around lunch time.

What else?

Well, all kinds of local and exotic vegetables and fruit are available. There are some butchers, an organic one as well, but it seemed to me that the choice was not as good as at the Rodenkirchen market in nearby Cologne. Saying that: do not forget that Düsseldorf and Cologne live their rivalry with great passion. There was quite a lot of US beef available, which is mostly better than the German one. In Rodenkirchen there is one shop near the market with Argentinian beef

The cheese stalls are good, though not overwhelming. I was surprised by one stall focusing on true Dutch cheese, not the cheap and tasteless stuff you get usually in Germany. A piece of 3 year old Gouda is now in my possession with great pride.

Home made Italian style antipasti caught my eyes and taste buds. I forgot to buy the famous Persian nougat – but at least I made a picture (gallery). The last time I ate it was in my childhood and I still remember it. Next time I probably buy some geese eggs, as I never tasted them.

Well 60 booths have more to offer than you can discover on a single morning.

All in all: the broad offering and the many discoveries of rare produce make this market stand out from the crowd. For me the potato stall would be reason enough to visit it again. Still there is a lot to discover.

A little link list

• The official website of the market with a gallery and vendor listing – German
• The semi-official website – German
• Listing of Düsseldorf markets – German
• More pictures on my photo site

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