Borough Market

I wish I was one of those women who shopped glamorously. Whose attention to detail spanned even the apples she chooses and the width of the cut of her Italian cured meats. Women like that carry old fashioned shopping bags that usually have a baguette sticking out of them and go shopping for food dressed in an ‘outfit’—she’s put herself together even to do the groceries! And will finish her shopping expedition with the purchase of a bunch of flowers. Those kinds of women find their sustenance at the Borough Market. As do people who like to eat organic or locally grown produce, foodies and wanna be foodies, and people looking to prepare a special dinner party menu—I don’t know many places in London where you can buy hand-stuffed wild boar sausages or so many different varieties of cheese or olive oil and the bakery stalls are way above par.

I’m not a big meat eater but I’ve been with people who’ve managed to ingest ostrich, deer and pheasant in the same meal—that’s quite a feat. In my own way, I contributed to the record breaking feast by eating a brownie, a blondie (white chocolate brownie), a cheesecake brownie and a raspberry and dark chocolate brownie. If I could have handled the sugar over dose, I could have got stuck into another couple of varieties.

If I was planning a perfect dinner party, I would definitely come here for ingredients; from cherry and plum tomatoes that taste like they’ve been in the ground—there is a difference trust me—to the balsamic you’ll want to toss them up with, the fresh fish and shellfish, meats sold to you by the men who raised it, cheese made by French nuns, the breads and wines you’ll want to serve it with and the Monmouth coffee and handmade chocolates you should be serving at the end of the meal. You can even buy locally made ales or sparkling wines if that’s your tipple of choice.
One of the best things about shopping at Borough is that you get to taste and natter. In a lot of cases, it’s the producers who’re standing behind the counter, so looking mildly interested is enough to encourage them to offer you a taste and give you a run down about how it’s done and why it’s the best. And personally I enjoy that—it makes me feel like those glamorous shopping ladies. And complimentary tasters are always welcome.