From sights to foods, all the sensory feast from London's Borough Market

Surrounded by sights and smells of artisanal foods from across the world, Neeta Lal indulges in a sensory feast at Borough Market in London

London’s atmospheric food markets — brimming with fresh, luminous produce sourced directly from farmers and producers — are a sensory treat. Geography, economics, agriculture and multiculturalism coalesce here to create an invigorating cocktail. Berwick Street Market, Broadway Market, Brockley Market, Camden Lock Market, Chapel Market — the choice is mindboggling.
 
My favourite, though, is the over 1,000-year-old Borough Market located next to London Bridge. Mecca for all things culinary, it is one of the world’s most famous food markets showcasing top-notch cheeses, wines, fruits, vegetables, seafood, poultry, artisanal breads and more. Heard of chorizo-flavoured crisps, chorizo frozen pizza or chorizo mac and cheese? Well, you will at Borough Market. And also, Herdwick lamb, zebra steaks, Croatian honey, dried ancho peppers, beetroot powder. There is also food for thought here: the market regularly hosts discussions helmed by renowned chefs, food writers and thinkers.  

The market first started trading in 1014 and has survived mainly because of a 1754 Act of Parliament, which ruled that Borough Market will remain “an estate for the use and benefit” of the local community “forever”. It is currently owned by a charitable trust and governed by a board of volunteer trustees.
 
To get to the market, I take the tube to the London Bridge station, walk a few metres and then cross a road. Soon, I’m enveloped by the sounds, smells and sights of a bazaar that hosts a remarkable community of highly knowledgeable and passionate traders who grow, cook or source the food they so proudly sell.
 
One can spend hours browsing through Borough Market’s hundred stalls. Given its rich smorgasbord, it attracts a diverse clientele too — tourists, top chefs, epicures. My first stop is Maria’s Market Café, a tiny place where the cherubic Maria Moruzzi is serving her popular bubble and squeak (a fried mixture of potatoes and cabbage, so named because of the sound it makes while cooking. Moruzzi tells me that she has been part of the fabric of Borough Market since 1961. “My hearty breakfasts have tickled the taste buds of everyone, from market porters to Hollywood film stars,” she says.
 
I next veer towards the greengrocers’ section where mounds of luminous vegetables and fruits greet me at Turnips’ Fruits and Vegetables. Latin American potatoes in quirky hues, leeks and roots jostle for space with startlingly vibrant berries, apples and Chinese dragon fruit. Over at Tony Booth’s Mushroom Company, exotic mushrooms are handpicked with care by everyone, from visiting tourists to Michelin star chefs.

At Wyndam’s House Poultry, plump pheasants, turkeys, geese and ostrich embellish the tables, while butchers like Wild Beef and the Ginger Pig carve beautiful slabs of lamb, beef and pork. Boars and wild rabbits are displayed at the stands waiting to be sliced and diced into dinner. Smoked streaky bacon, Spanish serrano and Joselito ham is sliced right off the bone. Fresh fish, hauled from the Brighton coast, lines the shelves at Applebee’s Fish and The Hand-Made Fish Company. Unctuous eels, gigantic squids and blue lobsters lie ensconced under crystalline shards of ice.
 
“The reason why Borough Market is so unique is because everyone here cares deeply about food,” a greengrocer surrounded by cartons of asparagus and artichokes from an organic farm in Suffolk tells me.
 
At Borough Market a simple meal can take on a gourmet experience. I’m drawn instinctively to the paella stalls where Spanish vendors are hollering out to customers while stirring gigantic woks of ochre rice studded with mussels, squids and chorizo. Beckoning from just across is Mrs King’s Pork homemade cold and hot pies bursting with quality meat (turkey, pork, chicken, lamb). I’m torn between what to buy for lunch. And then end up buying both!
 
For dessert, I veer towards Rabot 1745, famous for its cocoa-infused sweets. The Cool Chile Company churns out hot chocolates made from Latin American cocoa mixed with ground almonds, cinnamon, sugar and milk. Greedy Goat hawks ice-creams for the lactose intolerant. The milk, owner Patrick Shepherd elaborates, is sourced from a farm in Essex.
 
 Increasingly, there’s an enhanced participation from the Slow Food movement proponents at Borough Market. The market itself, and a number of stallholders, are regular recipients of Slow Food awards. Additionally, there’s a strong commitment to the environment: as much as possible is recycled, rainwater is collected to feed plants and low-energy lighting is used.
 

As I exit, Jim Coutinho, a regular, puts things in perspective: “It’s a crossroads, this place, that’s what I love about Borough Market,” he says. “You can shop for produce, sit down and eat the most delicious fish and chips, drink healthy smoothies and interact with traders. A visit here is like a renaissance.” I couldn’t agree more.