My Food Filled Visit to The Urban Food Fest

Last Saturday I paid a little visit to the lovely people at The Urban Food Fest. If you have never heard of it, it is London's newest street food night market and number 1 on Time Out London's Hot List. It features some of the best street food traders, a fully stocked bar, plentiful seating area with live music and entertainment also thrown into the mix.

It’s given me the hunger and I will defiantly be visiting again, this time on an empty stomach! Here are some of the lovely street food traders that kept all the eager, hungry and maybe slightly tipsy foodies happy. 

The next Urban Food Fest is taking place on September the 7th. Check out our events calender for the full low-down of market action. This is a taster of what to expect!

 

The Crumbery

The Crumbery makes and creates  handcrafted Pastries, Macaroons, Cakes and Confectionery.  Some conventional… some not so conventional. Unfortunately by the time I arrived most of what the Crumberry crew called conventional had been snapped up (rightly so).  I ended up faced with a Wasabi and Passion fruit macaroon. Now, I do not enjoy and therefore consume either of the ingredients, but after a few convincing words from there master-chef Vincent, which mainly consisted of “pretend it’s not passion fruit and wasabi.” I decided to go for it and you know what, it wasn't half bad! 

Golden Sunshine

This family run business keeps to its traditional roots mainly selling rice and jerk chicken. Luckily they still had some remaining for me to try! The jerk sauce came with an amazing kick. I was being polite and just took a small portion, and yes… I live to regret the politeness. True home style cooking turned street food! 

Comptoir Gourmand

Comptoir Gourmand is a fast-growing traditional French patisserie company. They supply around 25 cafes around London, in addition to having 3 cafes of their own. Yet despite this they still have stalls in markets all over London including Borough Market, Spitalfields Market and Venn Street. When I popped to their stall the choice was impossible. After a lengthy decision, breaking the ‘oh no it’s still sunny in September diet’ and holding up the queue, I opted for a Vanilla Slice.  A decision I will never regret. Now I just need to visit and see them at the market for more tasty treats.

Streetzza

First thing to say about Streetzza is WOW! This monster/horse box/wood-oven was rolling out non-stop amazing pizza all night long. There was nothing but queues of hungry people constantly all waiting to taste the delights that a wood oven in a horsebox can make! 

Portena

Portena, Portena, Portena… my favorite of the whole evening. I was lucky enough to arrive in time to a fresh batch of chicken and beef empanadas. To be entirely honest in my naivety, I wasn't entirely sure what I was eating. But I sure am glad I did. It was the most prefect, flavorsome easy to eat street food. My boyfriend insisted to go back and buy more! Also, to make my day even better the lovely chef told me they trade at Borough Market, YEY! As the I Love Markets are situated just down the road. 

Busan Korean

The Busan BBQ is an AmeriKorean food trader. They specialise in marrying American street food classica with Kaorean marinades to make awesome favour combinations. When speaking with them about their food and how it was made, these flavorsome feats sound enitrely unique to Busan. I'm still dreaming of trying their spiced pork belly burger now, i will be hunting them down at the next Urban Food Festival in hope of trying one!  

Mooshie Food

Mooshie is a new concept of Gourmet Street Food which showcases various types of Wild Mushrooms. If you are a mushroom and burger lover, Mooshie food is your dream. However not so much mine! Personally I am not a fan of mushrooms, however the Urban Food Fest people obviously were as they were fresh out when I arrived and their chef was on the run trying to sort out a delivery of more stock! Obviously an unusual and popular choice!

Soho Flea Market 2013

Design and lifestyle blogger, Geraldine Tan visits the Soho Flea Market and shares her stand-out stall holders!

Today, after work, I was determined to have a daughter-mother day. Especially since my dear daughter had only just returned from her one week holiday to Mallorca with her best friend and family.

We decided to explore the Soho Flea Market together. This is an annual Summer market selling vintage furniture and new designs in London’s Dean Street. The weather was looking up. Summer had arrived at last !

My daughter’s eyes lit up when she saw the Meringue Girl’s stall. The stall was run by Alex and Stacey, both trained chefs who have catered for major celebrity clients like Vogue and Alexander Mc Queen.

The Meringues came in a range of infused flavours such as Pistachio/Rosewater, Lavendar, Passion fruit, Raspberry, Lemongrass/Ginger, Matcha and coconut.

My daughter had an Ultimate Eton Mess which comprised of the meringues combined with fresh strawberries, vanilla cream, coulis and freeze dried raspberries. It was so delicious, she had a second helping.

The next stall that caught my eye was Roam which sold bespoke 100% Scottish cashmere blankets and knitted accessories.

We bought the blue bear and pink bird, after feeling how soft and comforting they were. The blankets were also heavenly.

As we strolled down the street, there were amazing bursts of vibrant colours. I love how these shades of blues and greens combine to stunning effect.

If you are looking for a colourful floral lampshade, then The Baobab Tree is the place to visit.

Set up by Heidi Awford, these bespoke pieces of home furnishings are made from collected vintage fabrics dating from the 1950s onwards.

I love signage and typography, so was instantly drawn to the Something Or Other stall. The clean cut lines of the black and white perspex alphabets above would be perfect for a Contemporary Scandinavian interior.

One of the vintage letters above would be perfect for styling a corner or used to create an interesting vignette.

These ties from Emma Ashford were so colourful and fun, I simply had to take a shot. They are designed by Emma Fenton Villar.

Hope my husband doesn’t read this, as my daughter has purchased the yellow Rosie Lea Goldfish silk tie with the teapots for Father’s day.

Well, my dear daughter didn’t leave the market empty handed. She got the Bear sweatshirt above from a wonderful brand Monster Threads that we so happily discovered. The designer for this item is Jan Avendano, a Canadian graphic designer from Toronto.

Monster Threads is an Australian art print apparel label. The illustrations for their clothing are created by a carefully curated group of leading Australian and international artists.

My son got the T-shirt above, designed by Patricio Betteo, an illustrator from Mexico City.

The prints from Eight Bear by Katie Viggers were also one of our favourite finds. I couldn’t decide between the bear or the bird print but finally settled for the bear. Which one do you like?

These blocks by Eight Bear are so beautiful. I think too beautiful to play with. I would display them proudly on a shelf. This is the prototype, they will be produced for sale in the coming weeks.

I hope you have enjoyed following us on our jaunt through the soho flea market. I can’t wait to go again next year. The great weather was the icing on the cake.

Wishing you all a wonderful week.x

Geraldine Tan, visit her blog, Little Big Bell.

LONDON has lots of fab weekly markets, click here to discover them.

See the I Love Markets events calender to see upcoming special market events!   

P.s, check out Made In Chelsea stars, Caggie Dunlop and Proudlock both stalling! 

 

If you build it, they will come?

So what makes a good market and what does a good market need to ensure success? I've been prompted to write this post after witnessing a few flops in recent months and it's always a great shame for the sad looking traders who have given it a go. The sellers are important, but even with desirable products for sale, if you cannot attract the buyers then your market will have a short shelf life.  

Markets are so hot right now, and there are new and exciting ones popping up everywhere, but as a trader how do you decide which markets to say YES to? To avoid getting burned here's our trade-safe checklist which should assist you in choosing wisely. Read!

The I Love Markets Trade-Safe Checklist:

How long has the market been promoted for?
A good market organiser will announce the market date and start to invite stall holders way in advance of the actual market event. If the market organiser is established, maybe 4 weeks before acceptable, but usually i'd say at least 6-8 weeks is much safer!  

Does the market have a strong online presence?
Any serious event organiser will recongise the importance and value of the online world in promoting their markets. Check is there a Facebook Page, twitter, if so how many followers do they have? Have they posted the event on sites like I Love Markets?

Does the market offer something different?  
 For me a good and successful market offers not only excellent produce for sale but also an excellent market experience. Visiting markets is just as much about absorbing the market culture as much as it is about shopping. A market's "buzz" can influence and indulge you're shopper's hungry eye. Also, something different means people will naturally be interested in attending and the press more inclined to publicise it.

Where is the market located?
Achieving the right market chemistry is a hard task. It relies on having both amazing produce with enticing stall holders and also passing trade to make the market thrive.  
A successful market is a living and breathing entity and passing trade is the like the blood needed to keep it alive. Ideally the market needs to be situated either close to a tube, near a popular shopping area or some other reason why there is likely to be a naturally good footfall.

Who are the market organisers?
We're not suggesting you hire a private investigator but it won't harm you to ask a few questions. How long have they been running markets for? Did they used to sell at markets themselves? (if yes, you know they have some expereince and knowledge) Is this their first event or are they experienced in organising other types of events?

What do you get for your money?
If the market is new then it might be fair for the event organiser to offer you a special deal on stalls whilst they build it's popularity. Don't be afraid to barter especially if you're signing up for a few dates. Generally it's safer to see how the first one or two dates go before paying up for longer stints.

Who are the traders?
Don't be fooled by sales lines like "last few stalls remaining." You have the right to know how many traders are already signed up and if that turns out to be incorrect then you have a good claim to make in getting your money back!

Which other markets/events is it in competition with?
It's always worth checking what other markets are running on the same date, in the immediate area. Will this affect the footfall? 

We hope that this assists you. Don't let your descision feel like a gamble. Play-safe and trade-safe with this check list!
 
For an up to date list of market events in London, click here to subscribe to our mailing list!

Best wishes,
Katie Ingham
www.ilovemarkets.com