Saturday Shopping: Brockley Market

Brockley Market has quickly established itself as one of the London’s leading showcases and outlets for artisan and small producers, with a reputation which extends far beyond our lovely  patch of South London.

Researching this piece I was struck by the ingenuity and originality of the vendors who come together every Saturday in Lewisham College’s car park on Lewisham Way, and the prestigious list of their clients they supply.

The roster of traders reads like a who’s who of the movers and shakers of the slow food revolution, with a cast of colourful characters as engaging as the produce they sell. Argentinean brothers who hand make ice cream (The Ice Cream Union – try the gin & tonic sorbets), an Anglo-Austrian paring of a love of food and all things Austrian (Fleisch Mob) and a desire to initiate the unenlightened into the joys of ox tongue and cheek (Tongue and Cheek), to name but a few. This is Street Food Theatre. 

Skip breakfast & skip along to Brockley this morning, where you should arrive peckish to say the least.

Snack on street food and marvel at the myriad of delights. Forgo the supermarket this weekend in favour of the joy of meeting the people who make, grow and raise what you are about to eat. After a chicken from Fosse Meadows or steak from Perry Court Farm you will never want to eat supermarket meat again. Veasey and Sons Fishmongers actually catch the fish they sell! How cool is that?! Buy farm fresh, organic and unpasteurised milk (Hook and Sons Raw Milk), perfect to wash down a whoopee pie from Kooky Bakes. Or stock up reserve preserves such as jarred Greek mezze products perfect for that impromptu picnic from Olive Branch Foods. 

Look out for some rising stars too; Nathan Mills (The Butchery) is one of a new breed of craft butchers spearheading a resurgence in this threatened trade, reinventing it for the 21st century and advocating it to a new audience. Mike and Ollie are one of the best and most happening things to happen to home catering since unsliced bread. Take a look at the duo’s imitable style - whose forays into foraging spill over unto their stunning table settings - at their website here. And whilst you are planning your party tuck into one of Mike and Ollie's delicious flat breads; pan fried mackerel, slow cooked lamb or deep fried aubergine. 

Below is a useful list of vendors should you want to plan your weekend menus in advance, I know I am! 

Baked Goods
Aston Bakers	@astonsbakery	Organic bakery
Kooky Bakes	@KookyBakes	Small batch bakery
Sugar Grain	@Sugargrain	Free From artisan bakery
Fruit & Vegetables
Cookoo Box Chillies	@cookoobox	Fresh herbs and chillies
Wild Country Organics		Organic vegetables
Meat Fish & Diary
Veasey and Sons	@FishmongersFR	Fishing fishmongers
Fosse Meadows	@FosseMeadows	Free range poultry
Hook and Sons Raw Milk	@HookAndSon	Organic, unpasteurised milk
Jacobs Ladder	@JacobsLadderFms	Organic meat and eggs
Moons Green Chacuterie	@MoonsGreen	Charcuterie
The Butchery	@NathTheButcher	Free range meat
Norbiton Cheese	@NorbitonCheese	Fine cheeses
Perry Court Organic	@PerryCourtFarm	Organic meat and vegetables
Little Greenwich Smokery	@SmokingSalmon	Smoked fish
Oils & Preserves
Olive Branch	@OliveBranchFood	Olive oil, vinegar and mezze products
Vadasz Deli	@VadaszDeli	Pickles
Miss Stoneham's Preserves		Handmade, small batch preserves
Street & Prepared Food
Dosa Deli	@DosaDeli	Asian inspired street food
Flavours Of Spain	@FlavoursOfSpain	Spanish delicacies
Fleisch Mob	@Fleischmob	Austrian inspired street food
Horse Powered	@horsepowered	Smoothies and soft drinks
Ice  Cream Union	@IceCreamUnion	Artisan ice cream and sorbets
Mike and Ollie	@MikeAndOllie	Artisan catering and filled flatbreads
Mother Flipper	@MotherFlipperUK	Burgers
Pasta Grazia	@pastadiGrazia	Fresh pasta
Perry Court Farm	@PerryCourt_Farm	Fruit crisps
Spit and Roast	@SpitandRoast	Rotisserie and fried chicken
The Honest Carrot	@TheHonestCarrot	Vegetarian food
Tongue and Cheek	@TonguenCheeks	Ox tongue and cheek dishes
Tea & Coffee
Dark Fluid Coffee	@DarkFluidCoffee	Artisan roasted coffee
Good and Proper Tea	@GoodProperTea	Single estate teas
Wines
Mr Lawrence	@MrLawrenceWM	Speciality wine merchant

Lawrence's monthly shopping column appears in the SE Magazines group of publications. Click here to read online.