Leeds Kirkgate Market

Despite the fact that I'm a Lancastrian (the side that won the War of the Roses) I have to admit that Leeds Kirkgate Market is one of my favourite markets.  Like many markets it's having its ups and downs. I went a while ago and thought it was a shadow of its former self, but when I visited earlier this year I thought things are getting better again.

The fish stalls are fantastic.

There's everything from monkfish, salmon and scallops:

there's anchovies:

cockles and crevettes:

and crabs:

and even fish heads (to see you through the week):

The fish I saw was fresh, good quality and good value and the staff were all helpful.  

There's even special deals (10% off) for students:

There's quite a few customers from other countries and they are catered for.  I'm not sure what Trevally Jack is:

I gather it's from Hawaii, and isn't overfished?

There's also good butchers

and £2.50 for a large Aberdeen Angus sirloin steak is considerably cheaper than some supermarkets, who boast about how much cheaper they are:

There's also a good stall selling poultry and game:

another sells potted meat and savoury ducks:

and Good Food Shopper always recognises tripe when he sees it!

My African Butcher: 

sells boerewors, droe wors and biltong.

There's a Russian and Polish delicatessen:

and Tian Tian sells Chinese food 

(I gather they've also got a bigger supermarket in Leeds).

There'e lots of places to get fruit and vegetables;

and prices again are very reasonable.

Neil's Fruit and Veg

are specialists in African and Caribbean foods.

Spice Corner is one of my favourite stalls:

they sell mini aubergines

and have a good range of chillies

and much more besides.

There's not just food stalls (and I've not covered any of the outside stalls), but if you got my birthday present from this stall I'd say it was pants! 

There's some worrying developments in the news recently.  Leeds City Council appear to be advocating a 25% cut in the size of the market which is visited by over 200,000 people every week!  There's a good article to read here.  Thankfully there's a support group called Friends of Leeds Market who are fighting back.

Two years ago Jamie Oliver opened a branch of his Ministry of Food:

in the market to help educate people how to love and enjoy good.

Another promising new initiative is The Source. It was closed when I visited (it was moving to another pitch). It's a pop up shop for local producers to hire for a day or two to promote the food in the market.

I wanted to finish this post on a sweet note, so went to Moore's Allsort's: 

One of the great things about shopping in a market is talking to the traders. I found them helpful and happy to give advice.  The girl here had several suggestions about what to take home, in the end I settled for the popular Yorkshire Mixture:

Leeds Kirkmate Market

34 George Street

Leeds

LS2 7HY

Tel: 0113 214 5162

Web: www.leedsmarkets.co.uk/m/kirkgate-market

Email: markets@leeds.gov.uk