Doncaster Market

I am a firm believer that every real foodie should take an hour out of their week to go and visit their local market. They can be a treasure trove for good quality ingredients as well as a way to meet like-minded people.

The Doncaster food market is short 30 minute train ride for me from Sheffield, so I thought I would make a day of it and see what it has to offer.

The market is vast inside a large old building and is full to the brim with a large variety of stalls. From fish, to meat to sweets, I can almost guarantee that anything you want to buy from there- no matter how peculiar can be found hidden on one of the stalls at Doncaster.

I have always found that at any market stall holders at markets are always helpful and give the best advice on how to prepare and cook your purchases.  The stall holders at Doncaster were particularly helpful and had learnt their knowledge through a long standing family tradition of butchery or fishmongers which is something I love having come from a butchery background myself. This type of product knowledge is something that you don’t tend to get from the spotty, bewildered teenager in your local supermarket when you ask how to braise your ox tail to get the best stock from it.

Many stall holders are also more than willing to do individual portions of meat and fish which is great for when you just want to try something to see if you like it. Or if like me you fight for freezer space the last thing you want to be doing is bringing home a whole salmon (although I would love to see my housemates faces if I did).

Another great thing about shopping at any market is that you know exactly where the food is coming from. Many of the stall holders at Doncaster market told me that they source their produce from within a 50-mile radius of the market site. Which I’m sure many of you will agree after the horsemeat scandal is something to ease the mind that little bit more.

All of the produce at the market was of great quality and seemed to be at much lower prices than the supermarket which is always a plus. Many of the vegetables had good offers and at the market you can always try your best at haggling down the prices (something that definitely wouldn’t go down too well in Tesco!).

Overall the market experience at Doncaster was good.  It was nice to head out of Sheffield and explore a different market to my usual one, The Moor and I would definitely recommend it. The market itself is just a short five minute walk from the train station and easily accessible by car.

If any readers know a good food market in Yorkshire or Kent then please let me know via twitter, @Kelly_Kooks or comment below.