Address: The Talbot, Knightwick, Worcestershire WR6 5PH (B4197 off A44)

Telephone number: 01866821235

Website: http://www.the-talbot.co.uk/teme_valley_market.htm

Date of visit: 12 September 2010

Opening hours: every SECOND Sunday, 11am-1pm

Parkling: ample parking on site.

Summary:

After the disastrous journey to Ludlow, I came across this market whilst dining at The Talbot.

It’s a small market but it sells pretty much anything to do with food except savoury pies (cornish pasties etc). There is a stall selling sweet pies and jam.

Amongst the stalls that I have made purchases were:

Parsons Nose http://www.theparsonsnose.com/.

This is a 200 year old family firm specialised in sausages and pies. However, they were only selling their wild boar sausages (several varieties at £8.81 a kilo) and cooked sausages on the day. The Talbot serves Parsons Nose sausages on the bar menu.

Teme Valley Brewery

http://www.temevalleybrewery.co.uk/ (Rick Stein Local Food Heroes)

This is the brewery owned by the Clift family. It started in 1997 and is attached to The Talbot pub. The 4 beers: This, That, T’Other and Blonde starts at 3.5% alcohol and goes up to 4.7%. They do cask and bottle conditioned beer. Only the bottle conditioned beer (The 3 Ts) are available in the market at £7.10 for 3 pint bottles. In the pub, the cask conditioned beer starts at £2.70 a pint. The beer is a winner of the Taste of Worcestershire competition for 3 years running.The beer is pretty nice. Hoppy but light.

The Handmade Scotch Egg

www.handmadescotcheggs.co.uk

This is another interesting find at the market. They offer an amazing selection (over 30 varieties incl vegetarian versions). I bought ones made with scrumpy and black pudding. The producst are highly rated by Sophie Grigson and Matthew Ford.

Update: The sausage meat around the egg is a thinnish layer and its all meat. It is therefore prone to breaking up when you re-heat it.

Lorentzen Bakery

 www.Lorentzenbakery.com

This is a new bakery. They are based behind The Talbot and specialise in long-fermented loaves. The sourdough comes as normal white as well as a wholemeal version with seeds and rye. The breads retail around £2-3 depending on size and type. The breads felt heavy in the hand and they normally come in the size of a bloomer.

Update: Just had a few slices of the wholemeal/rye sourdough. It is “lighter” than I thought. The bread in more Paul (London) than Poline (London).

Frome Valley Vineyard

www.fromewine.co.uk

The vineyard is sited at Bishops Frome (WR6 5BJ). They offer several types of white wines and a rose. I bought a bottle of 2006 Schonburger (£8.10) which is a German grape that taste like a Spanish alberino as it has a citrus tang to it. They also offer cassis and framboise alcoholic cordial.

Vegetables Stall

This is a local organic (garden market stall). They offer the usual arrangement of vegetables but what caught my eyes was a basket of fresh Borlotti with its lovely red marbling colour at £6.90 a kilo. In London, you easily pay over £10 per kilo.

Lightwood Cheese

www.lightwoodcheese.co.uk (Rick Stein Local Food Heroes)

Another meeting with Phil Hulland. Now that I have had a chance to taste his cheese. I can recommend the Elgar and especially the Chaser which is like a creamy version of Camembert.

Olivers Cider and Perry www.theolivers.org.uk

Pretty clean tasting cider from Herefordshire. Around £2.50 a bottle. They do not have a totally dry cider.

In all, it was pretty rewarding to come across a small market with so many good stalls especially after the shambles at Ludlow.

You also have the added benefit of being able to drink and dine at the Talbot (see review on The Talbot). By the way, they also sell Sunday Papers at the market.

E

Location |: Great Knollys St, Reading RG1 

Date visited: 7 November 2009

The Thames Valley Farmers Market comes to Reading on the “first” and third” saturday of every month. Its open from 8.30 to 12.30. Go early as by 11am, the stocks are getting low.

The stalls are sited in the old abatoir complex near Reading Station.

On the wholse, its a smallish market with around 20 stalls, selling organic meat, organic vegetables, cheese & butter, eggs, cakes, jams, pies, bread, beer, apple juice and fresh water fish (mainly trout) both fresh and smoked.

The vegetables come from Ogg Valley Organic Farm. They sell the main type of vegetables in season. For more exortic vegetables (especially foreign ethnic ones, try Reading Market in the Butts (behind West St Mall, tue-sat).

Meat comes from Dews Meadow Farm, Flexmore Farm etc. You can get faggots and mutton as well as cuts of pork and beef. There are also various types of award winning sausages and bacons However, all the meats are “pre-packed” and its on the small side e.g. half a shoulder – unless you pre-ordered, you can’t buy half a sheep.

The breads come from the Old Farmhouse Bakery – various types of exortic breads that you can’t get in the supermarket as well as the basic bloomer etc.

I personally like the pie shop and the smoke trouts (Brookleas Fish Farm). Smoke trout are around £2.50 plus for a whole small fish. The cheese is also very good (strong) but is confined to cheddar and blue with one or two mix (e.g. cheddar and chilli) cheese.

Ascot Ales usually have a stand selling various types of beers at less than £2 per pint. I like the 5 litre tins. You can taste before you buy.

Eddie