Ah, the glory of the French food market. Fresh produce, glorious flavours, bright colours, the smells of the fruit and lack of smell from the fish.
As the heart of gastronomic France, you would expect Lyon to have a very good one, and it does. In fact it has several, but time was restrictive on my two night Eurostar trip their last week, so I chose one in the heart of the city by the Rhone, the Quai St Antoine Food Market.
It winds along the river gently. Starting at 4 or 5 am and running until midday in the heart of the city, it’s a very popular and well sourced market. Everything was fantastic, the selection was varied, and better than all of that, in the main it was local.
All kinds of tomatoes begged to be picked up, flat peaches radiated perfume and I swooned at the first bite. Bounties of herbs, garlic and fresh beans. Bright pink radishes with their green leafy hat, baskets of saucisson and legs of ham. Dripping gravy brown rotisserie chickens, turning seductively, challenging you not to buy.
Best of all were the prices. So reasonable, there is no need to grace your strip lit supermarket here. That’s the way it should be. Why don’t we have such markets here?
The weather is challenging, I know, and the costs of London markets for stallholders are prohibitive. Add to that the waiting lists for markets at Borough, but London could house so many more.
We have so many spaces in central London that could house indoor markets – community halls and abandoned spaces. It would make so much sense to support small producers and create a cost effective space for locals to buy quality everyday produce. Not cupcakes or truffles or big chains that we see in all the markets now. I want to buy good tomatoes, salad, fresh eggs, vegetables, meat and fish from the people that grow or produce them. A good rotisserie chicken!
Normal every day food from a normal every day market. Can’t we have one soon?
Amazing! I bet you wished you had a trolley to bring everything home. I know exactly what you mean about normal everyday food… if only.
I’d love to be able to visit a market in the morning to get food for the day. Especially nice vegetables and fruit as they are so nice and fresh when bought from a market!! Lovely photos :) What’s on that cheese by the way? The dark bits I mean…
We are lucky here, we have a weekly normal market and a twice monthly farmers market. I can fill a carrier bag with veg from an organic local grower for £5. Some of the meat is more expensive, but the quality is fantastic.
Agree 100% on more real markets in London (but not only in the centre!) with real food at real prices! (And I, too, must make that trip to Lyon!)
Great photos Niamh. I dont believe it’s just a case for more markets on London. Cities in England are pretty poor for farmers markets in general. I live in Sheffield (4th largest UK City) and there is naff all. A poorly promoted, represented & therefore supported farmers “market” (basically 4 stalls) once a month. I know a local retailer who refuses to attend because its so bad.
As a contrast – the “European Food Markets”, every 3 months in the city centre, are well supported – but these are extortionately priced.
Give me some good local stuff, regularly & reasonably priced. Of course that wont include lovely flat peaches!!
Kevin
this all makes me so “homesick” for france. everything is so much better there, especially the markets! such a feast for the senses. and you’re right – it’s nothing special per se; just really good, simple produce at great prices and done really well. we could learn so much. enough to put the likes of morrisons and asda out of business? i hope so.
Wow look at all that fresh produce! It would be my ultimate ideal to always buy food from the markets, produced by the local growers!
What is so frustrating however, is that people are still in the main, not prepared to pay for quality local produce.
As a farmer/producer myself I speak from experience & certainly my colleagues have bemoaned that this year whilst there have been Food Festivals aplenty in our region, people expect plenty of free samples but are not necessarily prepared to dip their hands in their pockets for the actual goods themselves.
This week was a case in point. One of only twelve food producers from Wales to be selected to meet HRH Prince Charles as part of the ‘Start Wales’ Project (an initiative encouraging us to all become more environmentally aware & active) we were honoured and excited to be involved in such a spearheading initiative.
We all showcased our local produce in the form of a mini Farmers’ Market (thanks to inspirational Welsh Chefs Hazel Thomas and Simon Wright for their support and organisation behind the scenes).
On the first day, with the Prince of Wales in attendance, business was pleasingly brisk (and he loved our Honeycomb Gelato, by the way!); however the second day proved disappointingly quiet in terms of trade, with people generally just drifting past and giving us scarce a backward glance.
I actually felt extremely frustrated and on occasion promoted us by calling out ” Come & have a taste of the finest, freshest, local produce you could wish for – low food miles; ethically & responsibly-raised foods…if you don’t support your local produce it won’t be able to support you…!”
Health; nutrition; the environment; sustainability…delicious local produce means so much more than just filling one’s belly.
But if we as small, struggling, independent local producers don’t get the support we need from the purchasing public, we will frankly cease to exist.
And if something were to happen which meant our sole food source must be gleaned from the soil of our island nation rather than the major multiples’ worldwide importation schemes, tummies would be rumbling by teatime…because at this rate, with such a lack of support from the purchasing populace, there won’t be many – if any – of us left. :o(
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My favorite market in the whole world!! next time you have to visit le marché de la Croix Rousse and Les Halles Paul Bocuse!
http://vintagelustcy.blogspot.com/2012/03/les-marches-lyonnais.html
Have been to all and I am sure I wrote about them too! Found Bocuse good but a bit clinical.