Saltaire Farmers market

Since I've started this blog I haven't managed to get to many markets. So I'm going to do a few bits about ones I've got to in the last near. Saltaire market is the closest to our house in Idle and it's a great one to visit. I was going to say it's a great little market but it's grown from five or six stalls to twelve or more the last time I went. 

One of my favourite stalls is Pike End Farm's Dexter Beef. The people selling the meat really believe in what they are doing. Their meat is hung for about a month and is the colour of red wine. Their cattle are slower growing and the depth of flavour is fantastic. You always hear folk banging on about how food is more expensive at farmers markets. This isn;t always true but if it is a little strategy is called for. As far as meat goes I only buy expensive cuts for big occasions. I few quid on some shin beef or braising steak that's slow cooked will get you bags more flavour than other cuts anyway. It's better to buy a really high quality piece of meat once a week (which will make a couple of meals) and eat beans on toast, califlower cheese or other economy meals to balance out the cost.

Anyway, getting distracted. There is Hillam Pork sausages from East Yorkshire, Beez Neez apiary from near Scarborough and Crace cakes from...Cracoe oddly enough (other side of Skipton. They do fantastic puddings, you can get four puddings for a tenner (supermarkets are cheaper?) which will easily outdo any premium range Tescos et al sell. Get some of their chocolate brownies, they don't understand the word small when it comes to portions.

J Lord and Son sell freshly made pork pies that are fantastic, they also do a minced steak and kidney one too. Oldroyd's sell fresh fruit and veg , they are most famous for their rhubarb which was seen on Rick Stein's food heroes.

There's also a baker that sells freshly baked bread, I don't know her name but the quality is superb, they never have any signs with their names on ,must find out more.

There's been a stall from a husband and wife from over Bridlingtomn way selling game including rabbits, pheasant and lots of other stuff. 

Saltaire brewey have also attended, selling bottles of their real ale, the pale ale is fantastic and worth a purchase. Mike Wood's Good Soup Company sells superb hot soup to eat there and then and also containers to take home.

There are a lot of other stalls too selling cheese, herbs, plants and other stuff but the ones above ate the highlights for me. 

A visit to Saltaire Farmer's Market is a must but Saltaire itself is beautiful and you can really make a day of it. There is a shop called Magic NUmber Three selling local foods, great bars and restaurants like don't tell Titus, a fantastic bakery and then there's Salt's Mill with the biggest collection of Hockney paintings in the world, a brilliant diner, a fish restaurant, bookshop, The HOme shop, outdoor pursuits and more stuff I can't remember. Ther'sRoberts Park, the River Aire , Leeds Liverpool canal, Shipley Glen Tramway and the moors. Oh and a train station on the Leeds to skipton line. 

In fact the more I think about it the better it sounds. It's a gem of a place with a great farmers market

More details at West Yorkshire Food, go the the Farmers Market page. 

The Cheese Place

On Bank holiday Monday Sue and the kids and me went on the Worth Valley Steam railway, parked at Oxenhope and go a family full line return for only £22 for five of us. I haven't been on the steam train here for years and that's pretty good value. Anyway we got off in Haworth for a saunterand climbed up the steep cobbled steps to the main street to come face to face with The Cheese Place, a shop I'd heard mentioned on t'interweb before but never got round to going to. It's a smart shop on the main street, I went in and met the friendly owner (sorry, forgot to ask your name!). Loads of cheese on offer but went straight for the big question, do you have any from WY? He had one called Calderdale Crumbly, made near Sowrby Bridge by a couple with eleven cows. Hurray! This is the only the third cheese I've found in the region. Cryer and Stott from Wakefield make two of their own, one with a rhubarb layer called Ruby Gold and another coated in licourice liqour and honey.

Try the Cheese shop if you're in Howarth, or order online.

Details of the Cheese Place can be found on the shops page of West Yorkshire Food

First entry!!!!!

Hello and thanks for looking at my first go at a blog thingy!

My name is Tim Bleazard and I look after a web site called West Yorkshire Food. You can use the site to get info about Farmers' Markets and places to buy local food, often from the producers in our region. If I lived in North Yorkshire, Lancashire or Devon, I'd be falling over web sites and notices about markets and such but there's next to not much publicity in WY. The problem there's a lot of industry in our corner of Yorkshire and lots of people don't think there are producers here. But there are! There are people producing top class food and the more people know that there's an alternative to supermarkets the better.

I've set this blog up to write bits and bobs about visits to markets, shops, producers and food festivals but the whole thing is not went to be one way. Please let me know about your Food Heroes as Rick Stein's programme called them and I'll put them on the site and spread the word.