Food shopping with Nikos

It was lovely being reminded what great hosts the Greeks can be. Our friends in Athens have a family house near Marathon in a town called Nea Makri where they enjoy long relaxed meals at the weekend. This part of Attika is a large fertile coastal plain that has traditionally provided Athens with an abundance of fresh produce.

While there, I was taken food shopping by my friend Nikos – a real treat at the end of May as you can see from the pictures. For simple, seasonal food, you couldn't have asked for more. I was particularly taken by the smiley chap with the furnace-like rotisserie. Apparently, he usually sells out by lunchtime when he wheels it in and shuts up shop for the day. He opened it up for me so I could appreciate the white hot charcoal and delectable aromas. I look forward to trying one of those sheep heads another time. Maybe.

The Goods Shed, Canterbury

Heading to the Kent coast for Easter, we stopped off at The Goods Shed in Canterbury for lunch and, as we were self-catering, to stock up on some food. The Goods Shed, situated next to Canterbury West station (and helpfully the high speed link to St Pancras), is a comprehensive farmers market featuring an array of local produce. It also houses Clive Barlow MW's Press Wine Services and beer specialist, The Bottle Shop. As it was Easter, there was also an eye-catching and groovy selection from local chocolate maker Kate-Beth March, but there were goodies at every turn. We stocked up on local vegetables and some excellent steak, and on our return journey picked up some beautifully fresh fish for supper back home in London.

You can also eat well at The Goods Shed Restaurant or at Patrick's Kitchen where we had our lunch, encouraging us to buy our drinks elsewhere to bring back to the table. All very communal. A generous glass of Cherverny for just £3 (from Press Wine Services) was delicious with my fish soup and its gutsy rouille sauce (plenty of garlic and saffron). And it was here that daughter Alice discovered her favourite Kentish tipple, Biddenden pear juice. Apparently, only food available at The Goods Shed is cooked here. Forget disappointing department store food halls, this is what food shopping should be all about and makes Canterbury and this corner of Kent an even more tempting day trip from London.

The Goods Shed
Station Road West
Canterbury
CT2 8AN
01227 459153
Open Tuesday to Saturday 9am–7pm; Sunday 10am–4pm

Chouchoute and Lindt: more chocolatey fun in Birmingham

In Birmingham recently, after visiting Cadbury World on our first day, our trip unexpectedly continued its chocolatey theme on the second day. While we were exploring Birmingham we came across the Lindt Easter egg hunt which sent us on an interesting tour of the city centre, with some eye-catching things to look out for and some yummy Lindt freebies thrown in. Result!

What delighted me, though, while looking out for the large decorated eggs, was spotting a little gem of a chocolate shop, Chouchoute, in Great Western Arcade close to the cathedral. Owner, Pierre Soualah trained as a traiteur at Fauchon in Paris and Selfridges in London and produces glamorous handmade chocolates with a fine, silky texture and fresh flavours that really build on the palate. I particularly liked the 'palet menthe' and 'palet bergamot' ganaches. His cerisettes and orangettes were also rather special. After the disappointment of Selfridges food hall in the Bullring, this was a really welcome discovery.

Chouchoute
40 Great Western Arcade
Birmingham
B2 5RH
Tel 0121 233 1300

Selfridges food hall Birmingham: a waste of (lovely) space

As you might have guessed already, I love food shopping, so, on a recent trip to Birmingham I was keen to have a nose around the glammed up Bullring shopping centre, especially the Future Systems-designed Selfridges. It was quite a stunning store and had the usual glamorous Selfridges feel, but I was mightily disappointed by the food hall. It has a great sense of space, but there didn't seem to be much in it apart from restaurant concessions, a perfectly decent deli counter and an overly blingy drinks department (lots of glitzy fizz). And I couldn't believe how many sweets there were.

Perhaps in the current climate people are just buying gift items in this environment, but it felt like a missed opportunity and a waste of rather lovely space. If you've been, I'd love to hear what you think.

Marrakech: a stroll in a local food souk

I've always wanted to visit Morocco. To me, it appeared to offer a full-on taste of a completely different world, yet barely further than southern Spain. In fact, southern Spain can be pretty exotic, too. Seville and Granada take your breath away with their Moorish architecture, especially the spectacular Alhambra. Morocco continued to beckon, though.

In November I finally fulfilled this desire, spending a few days in Marrakech with my mother. Based on reading several reassuring reviews we decided to stay at the Riad Al Massarah in the medina. Although helpfully located in the old centre, the riad is in the Bab Doukkala neighbourhood, which offered the chance to observe Marrakech on a local level, away from the touristy Jemaa el Fna square and main souks (about 20 minutes walk away). The new town and Majorelle Gardens were just a short taxi ride away. More about the riad will follow separately.

After breakfast on our first day, Abdelwahed, the chef at the riad, took us food shopping in the local souk. This helped us get our bearings and he gave us some useful practical tips about Marrakech (such as being discrete when taking photographs – if we hadn't been with a local and introduced to people, we wouldn't have been able to take so many pictures). Perhaps as a result of this, as the days went by, the local traders greeted us with a friendly "bonjour mesdames" whenever we passed.

It was thrilling being introduced to Marrakech in this way and it was at least as exotic as I'd expected. If mopeds hadn't kept whizzing through the narrow allies and if there hadn't been so many bicycles about, you could have been transported back several centuries. With this bounty on offer, it was easy to appreciate the significance of Marrakech's fertile location. All types of food were available, often in their freshest, most honest form. (However, if you prefer your chicken breasts skinless, boneless and shrink-wrapped, this post might not be for you.)

You always see the testicles on carcasses to prove the beast is male and the green stamp indicates the highest quality meat.

Herbs, but mainly mint.

Live chickens.

French food markets: Cap Ferret

I'm easily pleased on holiday. Point me in the direction of a food market and I'll happily amuse myself strolling around gazing, salivating and taking photographs. This summer we spent part of our holiday with friends in Cap Ferret on the Atlantic coast in France where we enjoyed plenty of mouthwatering seasonal produce and local delicacies.