Off-Topic: Brent Cross Food Market

Since quitting smoking and progressing with my pregnancy, food has become extremely important to me (can’t smoke, can’t drink, but MAN can I eat) and so I was extremely excited to see a food market arrive at my local shopping haunt, Brent Cross.  I had been planning to post about the Brent Cross Food Market for a while – I’d instagramed some pictures of produce I picked up at my last visit – then Barclaycard got in touch and asked me to recommend  ways to spend hot summer days, and I thought this would be ideal.

The Brent Cross Food Market is actually quite small, which I’m assuming it’s due to the fact that it’s so new.  However, it houses quite an impressive selection of food, including specialist breads, cheeses, chutneys (Oh god, the chutneys…) and cakes as well as various eat-in cuisines, such as an amazing Indian that I highly recommend, Jamaican and Turkish to name a chosen few.  I pigged out on the Indian deal, which involved a selection of starters such as bhajis and samosas, rice, a mild chicken curry and a veggie side plus a drink for a fiver.  It was absolutely gorgeous!

My next recommendation would be the cake stand, which is so incredibly appealing it should be illegal.  If you like your cakes cream-filled, chocolatey and all that’s in between then here’s where you need to spend a few minutes drawling.  Lastly, if cheeses are your thing you’ll want to hit the cheese and chutney stand, which is actually my favourite stand there.  There’s a decent selection of cheeses which I mostly have to ignore currently due to the pregnancy (the Brie looks incredible) but there really is something for everyone in the chutney selection, ranging from sweet to hot, to fruity, and the best part is that you can try before you buy, so you don’t need t0 blind-buy.

Once the food shopping is complete, there’s a selection of seated areas for you to chill out and take in the foody vibe, where you can either tuck in to your chosen takeaway, or just chill out with a coffee, thus making it an absolutely perfect way to spend a hot summer’s day.  If you like your food or even if you just fancy trying something a bit different, it’s definitely worth heading to the Brent Cross Food Market, which is open every Saturday and Sunday until 5pm.  For more info, head to the Brent Cross site or check out the Brent Cross Facebook page.

Disclosure: Barclaycard sent me a £50 voucher for the link mention.  It will be splurged on extremely glamorous maternity wear…at Brent Cross, funnily enough!

Photos courtesy of the Brent Cross Facebook page apart from the Indian food picture which was sourced here.