A L O T O N H E R
P L A T E
L O N D O N
there’s no better way
to get a snapshot of a
place than by visiting its local food markets.
I’ve filled my basket (and my face) with local
delicacies from Brooklyn to Hôi An, and
I’ll never forget when a friend and I found
ourselves singing karaoke at an electronics stall in that
Vietnamese city amid piles of twitching frogs and pungent
dried fish, much to the amusement of the other traders.
Of course, you don’t need to travel far to get that same
buzz. Brixton, in south London, where I live, is a brilliant
foodie hub – it’s one reason I moved there. As well as the
much-publicised indoor markets Brixton Village and Market
Row, there are fantastic butchers, fish mongers and grocery
stores. I love losing myself among the traders all the
way down Electric Avenue, popping into Asian
supermarket
Wing Tai for
fresh salmon,
grabbing some
morcilla
blood
sausage
from the
Portuguese
butcher, then
ducking into Nour
Cash and Carry,
where you can find
everything from
hibiscus flowers and
fresh tarragon to tins of
ackee and rose water.
Nour has been
trading from its shop in
Market Row for 12 years
and serves not just local
residents, but many of the restaurants in Brixton. Sadly,
though, like many of the other small businesses in the area,
it’s under threat due to hiked rent rises that reflect the rapid
gentrification of the area – the rather ugly flipside to all the
column inches Brixton has been gaining for its trendy food
spots. Like many of the local community who cherish the
excellent produce on offer here, I’m worried about this. Saja
Shaheen, whose family run Nour, is also concerned: “While
we appreciate the changes in the past few years, and love the
restaurants, we’re worried about the disregard these rent
hikes show for local businesses and that big chains might
start pushing out smaller operators.”
I would hate to see idiosyncratic places like Nour become
a thing of the past, which is why I’m getting involved in
@
shopinbrixton, a new Twitter campaign set up by
Brixton blogger Liz Marvin to encourage people to
shop locally.
At a time when
much of the
high street is
struggling to
compete with online
shopping and
competition from
big supermarkets,
we need to make
sure communities
protect their
identities. So get
yourself down to your
local shop. You just
might receive a smile
with your carrots, rather
than the robotic mantra
of “unexpected item in the
bagging area”.
“
Let’s hear it for local shops”
If we want to preserve the culinary heartbeat of our communities then
it’s time to make a stand, says our food columnist
Rosie Birkitt
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