I have just come back from Taunton Farmers Market after spending a very happy morning walking round the stalls and getting to know the traders.  What a fabulous bunch they are!  So many independent bakers, makers, growers, farmers, and even a blacksmith.  We are so lucky to still have a good market like this.

If you want great home grown, home cured, home baked, home made good quality food, drink or produce then this is the perfect place to shop.  The quality of the goods and the variety was astonishing, with good value everywhere I looked.

You can buy venison to sausages to giant pork pies, you can buy sourdough loaves, spelt loaves, gorgeous bread of every description, and beautiful pastries from the bakers themselves. You can have gluten or allergen free produce too.  The blacksmith was selling tripod cooking pots that allow you to cook over an open fire, all made from scratch by him, also fire tools and pokers full of individuality, charm and skill.  Where else can you get this kind of face to face trading other than a market, I’d forgotten how wonderful it was to talk to the people you are buying from.  The lady selling her homemade chutneys, jams and jellies told me that 60% of her product is home grown or foraged, with the remainder being only the things like sugar that she can’t produce herself.  The Chilli guy not only selling the amazing things he makes from his chillies but the plants themselves, to allow you the joy of growing your own.

If you think all this home grown, home made stuff is bound to be more expensive than the supermarkets then you’d be in for a surprise with reasonable prices all over the market.  The key is the quality of the stuff you are buying.  If you like shopping in a Farm Shop then you will feel right at home here, if you are used to shopping with a supermarket, you will be pleased to see how different it is.  There is no ‘prepacked’ or ‘standardised sizes’ here, instead you will see irregular, no additives, no food miles, no packaging and definitely no ‘normal’!  The beautiful array of home grown vegetables was an absolute treat, bright colours, the smell of celeriac and leeks, the seasonal veg for the time of year, so tempting.  I could have filled a box with veg alone and come home delighted.

There is a lovely flower stall here, with a florist on hand to tie up bouquets and posies, full floristry services are available if you are looking for wedding or event flowers, pop along and ask, they will be only too happy to help.  The stall holders are great, their knowledge of their product is second to none and they are so pleased to assist you when you have a specific need or just fancy asking a question.  The cider maker in the market was helping a buyer to choose a variety of cider to his taste and was handing out samples, the venison trader was talking about how to cook a particular joint to a buyer when I was nearby and he was so keen to share his knowledge.  You can’t get this type of service anywhere but from the independent traders of Taunton Farmers Market

It was so nice to be able to buy direct from the traders, the produce travelling very few miles to the Farmer’s Market is a definite plus for me too.  We are not supporting a big multi national company here, we are supporting a local family, a local business, that, in turn, supports the local economy.  For me, this was the whole reason to come to the market in the first place but what will keep me coming back is the quality, the range of produce and the care and commitment that goes into every item.  Taunton Farmers Market is on every Thursday in the High Street.  Go and try it out for yourselves, you will be delighted too.