Good things to eat [volume 15]: Bakewell farmers' market

Bakewell has one of the best farmers' markets I've been to anywhere. It's big, with over seventy stalls selling pretty much anything you could wish for, so much so that you could realistically do a big shop there.

That's not something you could say about many of its competitors which although worthwhile can tend to have too narrow a focus (usually sausages, mediocre cheese and ostrich burgers galore, all of which you'll find at Bakewell too if that's what tickles your fancy). Another plus point is that the prices here don't seem as inflated as at some others.

We bought a big bag full of goodies there yesterday, proof of the variety on offer is the fact that I bought no pies, no meat and only one piece of cheese! Next time around I'll be having some Stichelton (which has its very own dedicated stall), a pie or two from one of several good looking options and perhaps something smoked from the gorgeous smelling everything-you-could-possibly imagine bunging in the smoker stall.

Here's what we bought: pink fir potatoes, a rye loaf, beers from Staffordshire Brewery and Thornbridge, flour from a working windmill, potted beef, rhubarb, radishes, Lincolnshire poacher cheese, an assortment of mushrooms and a black pudding pickled scotch egg.

If what I've eaten so far is anything to go by there's some damn fine stuff on sale at Bakewell, everything has been excellent.

Lunch yesterday was the scotch egg from a Staffordshire based company alongside a handful of radishes (peppery! Yes they taste of something) and tomatoes, with a thick slice of rye spread with potted beef.

The egg was a revelation. Make a scotch egg with a pickled egg and it's like putting the acidity you need from sauce or relish INSIDE THE EGG. Oh yes. It just works, especially with the iron-y richness of some good black pud. Well worth two of your pounds.

I knew the potted beef was good, as I'd already eaten about three free samples while we were still at the market. It's just everything it should be; well-seasoned, great texture (mix of meaty shreds and smoother bits) and actually tastes of beef. Good work Granny Mary. They're pushing it a bit charging three quid for a small jar though.

Finally, the rye bread (£1.95) was from the Loaf, a bakery based in Crich with a second outlet in Matlock. It's an open textured loaf with a proper bit of heft and chew to the crust. I've also tried their fruit teacakes, which were excellent; dense, soft and chewy in a good way, the exact opposite of the rye loaf. These guys can bake.

I was well chuffed to see the mushroom stall, I don't think I've seen such an extensive mushroom selection anywhere outside London, where the stall on Borough market is brilliant but stonkingly expensive. Here a 200g assortment was a very reasonable £2.50.

The 'shrooms showed up in last night's tea, a platter of superior stuff on toast to accompany beer and football. Mushrooms fried in olive oil with garlic and thyme; grilled asparagus and anchovy butter; and more of the potted beef with sliced radishes.

I've yet to open it, but I already know Lincolnshire poacher is a very good cheese. Think of a fine, nutty mature cheddar in flavour, maybe a little sweeter, but with a smoother texture. Excellent for toasting or to go with beer.

Next up: beer, cheese on toast and baking bread with my locally milled flour.

Bakewell farmers' market is held on the last Saturday of every month. Details here:
http://www.derbyshiredales.gov.uk/leisure-a-culture/markets/bakewell-farmers-market

Café Moor, Leeds Kirkgate Market

Last time I wrote about the market I was a bit negative about the current state of affairs regarding the redevelopment saga, so it's time to redress the balance and talk about the good things that are happening.

Credit where it's due, the management team (or whoever is responsible for getting stalls let to new businesses) are doing a good job on the food and drink front. The range of places to eat in the market has improved immeasurably over the last year or two, and progress on this front shows no sign of abating.

To add to May's Recipes, Maxi's Rotisserie, the rotating occupiers at the Source, the Turkish stall and the Caribbean one we now have Café Moor, perhaps the most high profile of the recent openings. As an aside, can anyone recommend any of the traditional market caffs, some of them must be good and they deserve attention too?

Café Moor have taken the big stall right inside one of the main Vicar Lane entrances, in the pretty part of the market, and have made an effort to make the place look the part, draping the stall with carpets and putting on an attractive display of hummous, salads and such-like.

Shawarma and falafel are the name of the game, wraps of either are just three quid including salads and sauces. The falafel wrap I had was faultless, as good as any I had in the Middle East the other year. Frying the little balls of goodness to order is the key, the result being fresh, light and nutty as opposed to the leaden, mealy golf balls you end up with when they've sat around all day.

Chilli sauce and hummous were also exemplary, clearly home-made rather than bought in, and the salad extends to at least seven or eight different items including some quality pickles. Good, stretchy wrap bread too.

The guys running the place are friendly, the food is lovely and the price is right. Give it a try.


9/10

1904 Hall
Kirkgate Market
Leeds
LS2 7HY

May's Recipes, Leeds Kirkgate Market

I'd love to bring you a festive post about all the wonderful things I'll be preparing to feast on this Christmas, but unlike last year I won't be preparing a thing. Not even another pork pie.

Instead, I'm going to write about a Thai and Chinese food stall that's recently opened on Leeds market. Not exactly Christmassy, but it's good and they deserve a mention before time flies by and I forget.

You'll find May's Recipes right at the bottom corner of the (almost certainly) doomed part of the market, just inside the door opposite the multi-storey car park entrance.

I ordered a pad ka-prao; chicken stir-fried with holy basil and chillies. What arrived was a far better rendition than many restaurants serve, firstly as it actually contained plenty of basil for that all important hit of warm aniseed flavour, and secondly as it was absolutely enormous.

I'm not sure including about fifteen different vegetables in the mix is traditional, but it made for a very nutritious lunch, my 5-a-day must have been sorted in one hit. And finally what of the jar in the background of the photo? Prik nam pla, the classic Thai condiment of chillies in fish sauce, there is no better seasoning for rice, so mine received a liberal dose.

£5 for the stir-fry with rice. Another market opening serving good food at a great price, run by friendly people. Give it a try.

Merry Christmas everyone.

7/10

1976 Hall
Leeds Kirkgate Market
Leeds
LS2 7HY

Castle Chippy, Castle Market, Sheffield

You'll find the Castle Chippy, appropriately enough, within Sheffield's Castle Market, another traditional market that's been the subject of controversial redevelopment plans in much the same vein as Kirkgate in Leeds, and a whole host of others in recent years.

In the case of Castle Market, it seems the battle for preservation has already been lost, with plans to knock it down and build a replacement at the other end of the city centre being well advanced. For the most part the existing market is a post-war concrete behemoth, an interesting and functional period piece as far as I'm concerned, but sadly lacking in the listed Victorian splendour that would have assured its future.

Tempting as it is I'm not going to rattle on at length about this market, I am supposed to be writing a post about fish and chips after all, but if you are interested in what it has to offer I'd suggest reading this, this or this, all informative stuff written by Clare from Feast and Glory.

Right, so there's a chip shop in Castle Market, and it's really very good. A rare cod and chips (unlike most of Yorkshire haddock isn't standard round these parts) was a great success. Thin batter, chunky pearlescent flaking flesh, fresh tasting. 

Chips were pleasingly beefy with some nice crunchy bits, but some could have done with a minute or two longer in the fryer. A steal at £3.40. Pay a visit while you still can.

8/10

25 Castle Market

Sheffield

S1 2AG

Leeds Kirkgate Market: another update

Exactly ten months have flown by since I last wrote about Leeds market. A lot can happen in ten months right?

In the case of the ongoing saga of market redevelopment, plenty has happened on the noise and conjecture and waffle and repeat consultations front, but little to nothing has happened on the ground.

Back in February this year there was an informal consultation opportunity off the back of the first consultant's report commissioned in late 2011. This then led to the engagement of some new consultant's to carry out a more detailed feasibility study and a more formal public consultation. This proper consultation exercise ran from April through to July. I didn't partake in it, having thought that the informal invitation to comment, just two months previously, might have been the relevant forum for my thoughts.

It's not clear what happened to the comments from the pseudo-consultation in February, but the feedback from the April to July consultation has been used to create the question set for another consultation that's currently underway. I can't work out when this consultation started, as the link to it is on a post confusingly dated 8th May 2012, despite the fact it then goes on to discuss the consultation that took place from April to July this year. What is clear is that this consultation closes on 14th December, so if you haven't responded yet you've got six days left to do so.

Are you still with me? Straightforward this isn't it?

So what of the consultation that you've got six days left to respond to? You can find it here.

It's quick and easy to complete. First there is a list of twelve different things that you have to rate as high, medium or low priority. Some of them are no-brainers, like 'fixing the basics'. Low priority for me, let's do the cool stuff and watch the rest fall down! Others are trickier to assess, like 'creating a heart'. In theory I think this is a high priority, but the devil will be in the detail.

The elephant in the room, as ever, is 'reducing the size'. In the booklet that accompanies the consultation, each of the twelve things to be done is presented with some text that starts 'You said...' followed by some fairly unequivocal commentary suggesting that the majority of responses to the last consultation were on the same wavelength.

Except for 'reducing the size', which states 'You said…. Some people wanted the market to be smaller, and some did not'. Err, so who was in the majority then? Friends of Leeds Kirkgate Market have obtained the consultation responses, and have discovered that only 70 people, out of the 3000 or so who responded, said that the market should be made smaller.

So the fact that this aspect has made it onto the list of twelve options, apparently all informed by the previous consultation, is dishonest to say the least. If anything about the size was going to be on there, it should have said 'changing the size', and not reducing it.

The next, and possibly most important part of the survey is on the management of the market. Interestingly no options are presented here. You are just asked whether you have a preference on how the market is managed, then if you say yes there's a free text field where you have 2000 characters to explain how you'd like it to be managed.

Again, I believe this is disingenuous, as the responses are far more likely to be disparate and incoherent as no clearly defined options are presented, and it takes a hell of a lot more effort to think up your own sensible ideas and type them up than it does to consider some options and tick a box.

For what it's worth I re-iterated my view that some form of mutual or social enterprise could be an innovative and novel management model, and that with the backing and support of the Council it could be a great success, and that this notion that the only possible way to secure investment is for the private sector to take control is essentially bollocks, as the private sector just borrows the money against future returns, which is something the Council or a Council backed organisation could do as well, and probably at cheaper rates, and that there are even established mechanisms for public sector organisations to do just that (like the Public Works Loan Board for example).

I'd be absolutely astounded if anything like I've just described ever happens, but you never know. At this stage it's essentially as you were. After this consultation closes the Council Executive Board should be making some decisions in early 2013. What those decisions will cover, how well they'll be informed by the results of the latest consultation and whether we'll get to see any real action remains to be seen.

In the meantime, there are still some good things to be found in the market, and even the occasional new opening, so keep shopping there. I don't do so very often these days, having moved to Sheffield whose splendid but architecturally unfashionable Castle Market is already doomed, but I still try to pop into Kirkgate whenever I'm in town.

Caribbean Food Stall, Kirkgate Market, Leeds

I'm not sure what the name of this place is, or whether it even has a name, but it's a relative newcomer on Butchers Row selling hot Caribbean food. I think they might have started out with a weekly slot at the Source, so it's good to see them progress to being a fully fledged business trading on the market.

You can takeaway or eat in at the handful of tables they have inside and out on the row. Chicken meals are all four quid and curry goat is a fiver. The goat was good stuff, stewed slowly on the bone to melting tenderness. The sauce holding it was deceptive, seeming a bit boring at first but building with fruity scotch bonnet heat.

Rice and peas were the coconutty real deal and soaked things up nicely. Side salad was limp and undressed, but salad isn't really the point of this meal.

A wider range of cooked and ready to eat food stalls is one of the things I think the market really needs, so I hope they manage to make a success of this. Sadly if it didn't last I'd hardly be surprised. For the moment, along with Maxi's Rotisserie there are two good places for lunch filling the gaps on Butchers Row. Use them or lose them.


7/10

Butchers Row
Leeds Kirkgate Market
Leeds
LS2 7HY

Good things to eat [Volume 12]

Here are a few more things I've been eating lately, including some particularly fine bread and cheese that's worth seeking out.

Ogleshield cheese

Let's kick things off with the cheese. Ogleshield is a washed rind cow's cheese, and it's an absolute bobby-dazzler. It's got that penetrating, lasting intensity of flavour you only get from cheese made with unpasteurised milk. Very smooth and quite dense in texture, it melts slowly on the tongue releasing wave after wave of tangy, almost wine-like flavour.

I've eaten it with apples, on bread and toast, and grated into a mushroom risotto as an adjunct to the parmesan. Every which way was a winner.

A quick google search told me that it's made by the Montgomery family in Somerset, the same people who make my beloved Montgomery's cheddar. I have no doubt that they are among the finest cheese makers in the land. Marvellous stuff.

The Lincolnshire Poacher stall at Sharrowvale market sells Ogleshield, as will any Neal's Yard Dairy stockist. If you're in the North-West (or Ilkley) give Booth's a try.

http://www.nealsyarddairy.co.uk/cheeses/Ogleshield.pdf

http://www.lincolnshirepoachercheese.com/


Sabra Hummous

I finally found a good brand of hummous that's readily available in the supermarket. Spend any time in the Middle East and British supermarket hummous will forever be a disappointment. But it's just mashed up chickpeas, oil and tahini you say. No, no, no. The really good stuff is smooth and light, and lemony and nutty, and delicious and really, really bloody more-ish. The rubbish stuff is dull and dense and grainy and boring.

You can get this in Sainsbury's and while it's not absolutely top notch it's a far better effort than the norm. Having looked at the ingredients I think the key to good hummous is probably more tahini and oil, and fewer chickpeas. We all know fat equals flavour after all.


Seven Hills Bakery bread

Alongside the aforementioned cheese, bread from the Seven Hills Bakery stall was the best thing I bought at the Sharrowvale market on Sunday. A quick word on the market: it's excellent, with a good range of stalls on the food front (cheese, meat and especially cakes are well represented) covering all bases the only exception being a complete lack of fruit and veg. It was busy without being overbearing and the atmosphere was fantastic. Highly recommended.

Seven Hills Bakery have a shop on Sharrow Vale Road, but also set up a stall out front on market days. Their Sharrow sourdough is the best bread I've eaten in ages. I can't find the words to describe precisely what makes it so good, it's just got that magical combination of taste and texture. You'll have to try it for yourself to see what I mean. It's pictured at the top of the post with the cheese, and above, toasted with my porky beans.

Although way past its best for eating as it is, five days on it's still toasting beautifully. I will be back for more.

376 Sharrow Vale Road, Sheffield
http://www.sevenhillsbakery.co.uk/


Watkins Mushroom Ketchup

I'd like to continue the Sheffield love-in here and talk about Henderson's relish, but the truth is I'm not a big fan of the stuff. It's touted locally as some sort of magical elixir, a wonder condiment far superior to Worcestershire sauce to be applied liberally on all manner of foodstuffs. Sorry, to me it's the other way round, Henderson's just tastes like a crapper version of Lea and Perrin's.

A new and exciting sauce I have discovered however is mushroom ketchup, which is rather like a super-mushroomy Worcestershire sauce. Adding fungal depth to whatever you put it in (having just read what I've written I'm not sure 'fungal depth' is really an appropriate descriptive, but never mind) I really like this stuff. So far it's gone in a mushroom risotto and the porky beans I've just had for tea. There will be many more uses for it.

Widely available in supermarkets.

Katsouris Cafenion, Bury

When considering the increasingly strident debate about the future of Leeds Kirkgate market, it's worth taking a little look at Bury. What irritates me the most about the situation in Leeds is this insidious idea that there are two implacably opposed sides.

In the red corner we have the saviours of the people's market, aiming to preserve the market in existing form in perpetuity, a haven of cheap goods for the deserving poor. Piled high, prices low.

In the blue corner we have the evil peddlers of 'gentrification', those who dream of plush, anodyne food halls for the well-heeled elite. A sanitised ciabatta, olives and fine wine emporium, the prices high, the tone higher.

As if it were that straightforward. There are plenty of valid points on either side of this debate, but turning it into some sort of class war isn't going to help. What with the national government being rather keen on this approach we don't need people joining in at a local level. Which brings me back to Bury, and in particular, to Katsouris.

Katsouris is a deli of some renowned. The Bury outlet is the original, but they've also branched out into ('gentrified') Manchester. Bury Market doesn't appear to be particularly gentrified to me, but here it is. A delicatessen piled high with olives and capers and ciabatta and cured meats, many of which are cheap but some of which (the horror) are quite expensive.

Bury market: sneering poshos eating caperberries. Possibly.

Adjacent to the deli is the Cafenion, and ooh look the theme continues here. There are sandwiches on quality breads, stuffed with quality meats, served with good, proper coffee. The prices are fair, not dirt cheap, but fantastically good value. Everyone eats and drinks here, from suited office workers to chain-smoking grannies, I'm not detecting any silly them and us segregation.

There's an extensive display of cold sandwiches, all of which look excellent, but I was drawn to the hot sandwich list. They are all available on ciabatta as either 'half' or 'full', and greedy pig that I am I couldn't resist ordering the full club sandwich.

The club: less than half of it is visible in this photo

It was absolutely enormous, at £5.40 I should have realised. That might sound like a lot, but it's really two or three sandwiches. I ate half of it and took the rest home for tea. Packed with good quality sliced chicken, smoked ham, cheese and stuffing it was a beast. The stuffing was a little unnecessary though, I'd give that a miss next time, but other than that a great sandwich. Meat, more meat and cheese, decent bread. Simple but effective.

The coffee hit the spot too, strong but not bitter and less than two quid for a large Americano. If you've not been before I'd recommend a visit to Bury market, there's plenty more to it than Katsouris alone. Be sure to get your hands on a black pudding barm while you're there.

8/10

Katsouris Delicatessen and Cafenion
23-25 Market Square
Bury
BL9 0BD


http://www.burymarket.com/stalls/katsouris/index.html

Leeds Kirkgate Market: an update

It's time for more of my increasingly frequent commentary on what's going on with the plans for Leeds Kirkgate Market.

Back in November the Council had just appointed Consultants (Quarterbridge Project Management Ltd) to produce a report advising on various matters including the optimum size for the market, possible governance and management structures and a plan for achieving these changes.

That report was completed in December and made publicly available in January. The Council department responsible for the market have put forward their response to the report and the whole thing is due to be discussed by the Council Executive Board this Friday.

For anyone who might be interested in a bit of the detail here's my take on what's been going on.

The Consultant's Report

This was finally released for public consumption on the 12th January, you can find a link to it at the bottom of this article. I had a quick read through the document at the time, and made a few notes. My initial thought was that it's better than I expected, and I probably shouldn't have been quite so cynical about what the report would say (almost as cynical, just not quite so).

I think that they've responded to the brief fairly well overall, although some of the alternative options (for the size and refurbishment plans as well as the governance and management arrangements) considered should perhaps have been fleshed out in a little more detail to explain why they were dismissed.

On the positive side:

- A reduction in size of the market by 25% is recommended, but that's not by as much as I'd feared.

- The recommended way of achieving the size reduction is to knock down both the 1976 and 1981 halls, but replace one of them with a new build. A new indoor section would surely be a good thing.

- The report doesn't recommend a management and ownership model that would fully cede control to the private sector.

On the negative side:

- The outcome is, as predicted, that the future optimum size of the market is considerably smaller than it is now. I still don't agree with the rationale behind the reduction. Given that vacancy rates in the rest of the city centre are comparable to those in the market, is anyone suggesting knocking a few streets down to better match up the supply to current demand? Still, I've pretty much accepted that this is going to happen come what may.

- The language used to describe how stalls in the upgraded market will be allocated is a little worrying, with talk of  'a tenant reselection process' where tenants may 'be allocated to new positions' and that 'tenants would be offered an Agreement for Lease in return for surrendering their existing agreements'. To me that reads as 'here's your new stall, here's your new contract, sign up or bugger off'.

 - The report is even more dismissive of temporary tenants, stating 'As these [temporary lettings] represent licences which can be easily terminated we have assumed there is no need to offer them equivalent reinstatement.' Presumably true but I thought the primary purpose of temporary lettings was to help start-up businesses find their feet, then hopefully they can become permanent tenants at some later date. Turfing them all out is hardly going to encourage market based entrepreneurialism.

 - the soft market testing of private sector interest was a bit of waste of time, the obvious answer being something along the lines of: Yes, we're interested. We'd like the option that allows us full control so we can do as we please and maximise our return.

- They've only really looked at one management and ownership model in any detail (a limited liability partnership on a fixed term lease from the Council), with all other options being dismissed without proper assessment.

- A limited liability partnership, as recommended by the report might be the best legal vehicle, but I've got some serious concerns over the proposed 99 year lease and how the contract with the council will work. It could end up being a century long PFI style disaster (see numerous NHS hospitals, the London Underground upgrades et al).

- Among the governance and management models dismissed is the idea of a mutual or social enterprise. The main reason given for their dismissal is that the writers 'doubt if any already exist in a form suited to this type of opportunity'. So they don't know they don't, they just reckon probably not. This, for me, is a model that deserves more detailed investigation. It would keep money in the market rather than drain more out, and it's hardly a completely novel concept in the retail and food environment (anyone ever heard of the Co-op?). I appreciate that then raises questions about where the initial investment would come from, but I don't think it's necessarily impossible.

- There's a proposal for a balcony level food court. This worries me. It's not necessarily a bad idea, but out of the way, up some stairs market food offerings have a tendency to become underused backwaters. They don't (and certainly shouldn't) have the popular draw of big name chains to entice people in like shopping centre food courts do. If this idea is going to work then it needs to be thought through very carefully.

- The size reduction proposals would result in the freeing up of the existing open market area for redevelopment as an 'anchor attraction'. What this would be is obviously beyond the scope of the report but can't really be taken in isolation. Whatever plans are developed for this part of the site should be included in the scope of the whole market area project, as a smaller market with a big fenced off hole in the ground between it and the bus station is in no-ones interest.

The view from the Council

The market management published their initial response to the report on their website on the 12th January. After I criticised some of their previous pronouncements I must say I was pleasantly surprised this time. I thought it was balanced, informative and sensible, providing a decent precis to the full report.

On the 3rd February the council department with ultimate responsibility for the market (which I think is called City Centre and Markets, I'll stick to 'the department' from hereon) published their report to the Executive board, confirming what they believe should happen in light of the Consultant's report. You can find a summary of their views here, there's a link to the full report at the bottom of the post. In short, an overview of their recommendations is:

- accept in principle the plans to reduce the market in size by 25%.

- don't make any decision on how to achieve this until a full feasibility study has been done.

- don't make any decision on management and governance arrangements without exploring the advantages and disadvantages of commercial partnership against sole ownership and management by the council.

- set aside some of the market surplus to pay for the feasibility study.

I can't argue with any of that at this stage, it seems like a sensible approach and their concerns mirror mine as a general rule.

The Council scrutiny board for regeneration have also reviewed the Consultant's report and have made a similar set of recommendations. The minutes of this meeting can be found here.

What others are saying

The main, and certainly most vocal of the interested parties seems to be the campaign group 'Friends of Leeds Kirkgate Market'. I admire their tenacity, but am starting to get irritated by their scaremongering approach. You will generally find that their articles start factual but quite often veer off into speculation or exaggeration.

In their article of 17th January they claim that Councillors at the Scrutiny Board for Regeneration meeting accused the Consultants of going beyond their remit, which is not what the minutes for that meeting say. They do suggest that concerns were raised as to whether the brief was fully met, but that's not the same as going beyond it.

In their article of 14th January they state that if the limited liability partnership model was implemented the Council 'would therefore lose any power to influence the way that its [sic] run', whereas one of the fundamental points of this proposal is that the Council, as one of the partners, would retain a modicum of influence over how the market is run. I don't actually think the LLP is a good idea either, but making stuff up about the nature of it isn't going to help.

If you want to read reliably good, concise and honest information about what's going on in the arena of local governance in Leeds, I recommend turning to the Leeds Citizen, where you'll find a less rambling post than mine on some of the key market related issues. Or just keep reading me, because I'm the Oracle. (That bit was a joke by the way.)

What happens next?

The findings of the Consultant's report and the Council department response to that will be discussed at the Council Executive board meeting on Friday. The Executive Board will have to decide whether or not to accept the recommendations made by the Council department, also taking into account the recommendations made by the Scrutiny Board for regeneration.

Who knows what they'll decide, I for one am going to stop making (incorrect) predictions on the matter.

Any comments made by the public and submitted by 9th February (which is why I'm writing this now) will be fed back to the Executive board meeting, so here's my two penn'orth:

- In reviewing the advantages and disadvantages of commercial partnership against sole Council management of the market, the Council should investigate other alternatives, specifically the feasibility of a Mutual or Social Enterprise. Any option that would not have to result in additional surplus being siphoned away from the market would be preferable.

- The Council should reject the proposal for a 99 year lease, irrespective of the management structure chosen.

- If the recommendations for size reduction and rebuilding in the Consultant's report are adopted, the rights of existing permanent tenants need to be safeguarded, and existing temporary tenants should not automatically be removed. The market should support new businesses through a temporary tenancy system.

- If the recommendations for size reduction and rebuilding in the Consultant's report are adopted, the proposals for an upstairs food court need to be considered very carefully to ensure the necessary footfall could be achieved.

- If the food court idea goes ahead, please can it include the following: a good coffee stall, a proper greasy spoon in the market tradition, a taco truck, a good quality burger stall, a Vietnamese banh mi stand, a Vietnamese pho stand, a currywurst cart, a Bury market style black pudding shop, a dosa stall, a laksa stall, a good quality pie and mash offering and a Gregg's. Thanks. If this is possible I personally guarantee to keep the whole food court in business.

An Arndale Odyssey (or Mexican in Manchester)

Manchester's Arndale Centre, giant among Arndale Centres, now boasts two entirely distinct places to eat Mexican fast food. One of them has been around for a while, and the other is a brand new shiny American import, only the third to open on these shores. I thought I'd visit both for lunch on the same day, in spirit of serious culinary investigation.

Taco Bell, Arndale Food Court

The American import is Taco Bell, brought to you by those lovely people at Yum! Brands (their exclamation mark!), more commonly known in the UK as owners of KFC and Pizza Hut. With a track record like that you'd be expecting great things from Taco Bell, right?

I should mention that I've been to Taco Bell before, in America, over eleven years ago. I'm a sucker for these places. Chain fast food restaurants always lure me in out of curiosity. The few weeks I spent travelling around the US that summer, high on Mountain Dew, were a happy daze of Wendy's, Taco Bell and Long John Silver's. They always promised so much, but inevitably ended in crashing disappointment. I actually remember Taco Bell as being particularly bad, so of course when I learned they had arrived in Manchester I was there like a shot.

As you alight at the top of the escalator you can't miss Taco Bell. It's very purple. An army of youths in purple polo shirts and purple baseball caps toil away under a huge backlit purple sign. Just head for the purple. It's the usual fast food set up, order individual items or make them into a meal with chips and fizzy pop. As I was having two lunches I passed up on the meal and just ordered two tacos.

They're cooking every order fresh at Taco Bell, which I suppose is to be praised, but it does mean your 'fast food' may not be particularly 'fast'. It some became apparent that most of the purple clad worker bees weren't really toiling away at all, rather stood around in the back staring at unseen screens with bemused expressions. After what seemed like an eternity my order eventually appeared. The anticipation was killing me.

Taco number one. A Mexican chicken crunchy taco supreme (£1.29). The chicken was almost a pleasant surprise. Almost, but not quite. On the plus side, it was moist and tender. On the minus side the sauce seemed to be flavoured primarily with salt, msg and something else chemically. The lettuce, cheese, sour cream and tomatoes just sort of passed by in a refreshing nothingness. To sum up; inoffensive.

Taco number two. A beef soft taco supreme (£1.19). The same deal, just with beef and a soft taco. This was worse. The beef really is quite unpleasant. You can see it smeared out the end on the photo there. It's completely ground to a mush, so has absolutely no texture to lend it resemblance to meat, and tastes extremely low grade. Have they invented chilli con carne dog food yet? If they have this is probably what it tastes like. To sum up; bad.

A not entirely resounding success, but I'll probably go back at least once more. There are plenty of other things on the menu to investigate, and I'm a glutton for punishment (I once ate a McChicken Korma Nan and I can't get enough KFC hot wings). Thank you Yum! Brands, thank you so much. As an aside Yum! describe themselves as 'the defining global company that feeds the world'. Which is scary.

3/10

Kiosk 5 The Food Court
Arndale Centre
Manchester
M4 3QA

www.tacobelluk.co.uk


Pancho's Burritos, Arndale Market food court

And so to the other food court in the Arndale Centre, at the opposite end in the little market area. This is where you'll find the small, local businesses as opposed to the 'defining global company's that feed the world' up the other end.

I've been to Pancho's before, and was happy to see that they've now expanded into a second stall just round the corner from the first. They don't sell tacos individually, only as three for £4.60 (70p-£1 more than three at Taco Bell). Five tacos is too many for lunch, but it had to be done.

Or at least it would have been done if they'd had any of the little taco tortillas. They didn't, so I had to order a burrito instead (£4 plus 50p extra for nopales). The fillings are exactly the same as I'd have had on the tacos, so it's still a fair comparison.

This was stuffed with rice, stewed pork, refried beans, sour cream, hot sauce and nopales. I've never had nopales before, they're slices cut from the leaves of a type of cactus. I think they were slightly pickled, as they added a juicy, tangy, refreshing note to the burrito which contrasted wonderfully with the creamy beans and spicy pork. 

The pork was moist, tender and tasty with a slow burning, fruity heat. To sum up: spicy, satisfying, more-ish.

7/10

Arndale Market
Market Street
Manchester
M4 3AQ

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Panchos-Burritos-Manchester/107688639271714

The Verdict

With the exceptions of menu availability and extreme purpleness Pancho's wins hand down. Much better food and better service for a price that's only slightly higher. Taco Bell doesn't claim to be authentic (it's 'Mexican-style' and 'Mexican-inspired'), whereas Pancho's does. I know nothing about Mexican food, but if both are telling the truth authenticity wins hands down this time.

Go to Pancho's Burritos and don't go to Taco Bell.

Leeds Kirkgate Market: progress with plans for the future

Back in July I wrote this post about the plans for the future of Leeds Kirkgate Market. Four months later things have moved on a bit so I thought I'd take a look at how things have progressed.

Here is what I thought was likely to happen back in July:

• The market will be substantially reduced in size through closure of the 1976 and 1981 halls.
• Management of the market will be moved to an arms length organisation, profit making or otherwise.
• Any investment will come from the private sector, and therefore probably work out more expensive in the long run.
• There will be a general drive upmarket with what remains, but we won't see a 'Corn Exchange' scenario. I don't fully agree with Friends of Leeds Kirkgate Market (FLKM) on this. I don't believe that the council are daft enough to think it's going to become the new Borough Market. 

Things have progressed, and generally in line with the above. It's even clearer now that the market will be reduced in size, and almost certain that it will be transferred to private sector management, even if NO DECISIONS HAVE BEEN MADE.

The council have appointed Quarterbridge Project Management Ltd to consult on various matters. Quarterbridge, in case you are wondering, are experts because they also develop, manage and operate markets that were previously in local authority control. Quarterbridge will be providing the following 'deliverables' (here is the quotation specification document):

1.  an assessment of and written advice on the optimum size for the Kirkgate indoor and daily markets and the necessary steps to achieve that optimum size,
2. advice,  following soft market testing (to be undertaken by the Consultant), on the likely interest from the private sector in investing in the market or forming a partnership with Leeds City Council;
3. written advice on the possible ownership and management models for Kirkgate Market to ensure the sustainability of the market and maximise potential investment into, and returns from, the market. The advice will include governance arrangements and will be based on the Consultant’s knowledge and experience, including summaries/studies of existing models and their success;
4. advice to support the development of a methodology to evaluate submissions from private sector or other organisations who wish to invest in the markets or enter into a partnership with the council to own and or manage the market;
5. a programme/stage plan which sets out, and sequences, the actions required to reach the best ownership/management model for the Market and the optimum size for the market as identified above.

As FLKM correctly point out that's a lot work to be done for just £12,400 in only three weeks, and the potential conflict of interest is wholly apparent.

For my own amusement I've predicted what the responses provided by Quarterbridge will be for each of these 'deliverables'. Imagine these to be the 'behind the scenes summary' rather than what's likely to go on the public register.

1. As per the detailed brief the 1976 and 1981 halls are in very poor condition and the Council has no funds to repair or replace them, nor the inclination or resources to investigate this further. As such Quarterbridge concludes that the optimum size of the market will be achieved by closing them down.
2. Soft market testing indicates that Quarterbridge would be an ideal partner to assist Leeds City Council in realising their vision for the market.
3. The consultant's knowledge and experience indicates that the market ownership and management models successfully implemented by Quarterbridge in partnership with X, Y and Z councils could be implemented in Leeds resulting in equally successful synergies.
4. See answers to questions 2 and 3. It may also be beneficial to seek the involvement of Arup.
5. Project plan: January-March 2012 - run down the operations in the 1976 and 1981 halls, closing them permanently by the end of March. April 2012 - sign management and operation contract with private sector market operator (preferred bidder - Quarterbridge). May-June 2012 - do some cool marketing stuff, tart up the remaining market a bit, increase rents.

That's my not entirely literal interpretation about how things will turn out, but I'm fairly confident that I have the gist of it right.

All of this can be inferred by information that is available, but it can be difficult to work out exactly what's going on as the debate has become increasingly polarised. In one corner are the Council and their various representatives, and in the other corner the campaign group Friends of Kirkgate Market. As far as I'm concerned neither party is covering themselves in glory.

The Council indulge in many of the traits that put people off involvement in local democratic processes and governance these days. They obfuscate and issue dubious re-assurances, and publish documents rife with loaded management speak, deliberately obscuring any specific meaning.

As well as in the market strategy and consultation tender documents there's plenty of this on display in the information provided to the actual market traders. The photo above shows a newsletter I spotted on display at a stall a couple of weeks ago, issued by the Markets Manager. For starters it's not dated (kind of important on a newsletter) and includes the faintly patronising 'or correct' in brackets by way of explanation as to what 'optimum' means. If I was being pedantic I might point out that 'correct' and 'optimum' don't mean exactly the same thing.

It then proceeds to say 'we think we know what the options might be, but we could not progress this work further until the Council gave us the go ahead'. The rest of it explains reasonably enough that they will push for the work to be undertaken as quickly as possible, but the whole is completely ineffective at its desired aim of 'mythbusting'. You think you know what the options might be? That's two qualifications in one sentence, and reveals absolutely nothing.

I understand this to some extent, as the Council have to be seen to consult on things like this, even when it's wholly apparent some (if not all) of the decisions have already been made. The requirement to hold consultations for anything and everything has effectively degraded the process of public participation to a large extent. The most loaded of all the phrases in the market strategy is 'determine the optimum size for the markets. Everyone knows that's a euphemism for 'decide to close down the 1976 and 1981 halls', but the illusion of proper consultation must be maintained.

Unfortunately Friends of Kirkgate Market are no better, unwilling or unable as they are to review any document, publication or press release on its actual merits without resorting to polemic about gentrification of which there is little actual evidence.

I agree with Friends of Kirkgate Market on a lot of points. It is pretty shocking that the firm awarded the consultancy work to 'determine the optimum size of the market' is also a property developer and manager working in the field of markets. I can't see how the potential for conflict of interest can be avoided here. But then they go and spoil a perfectly legitimate, rational argument about this conflict of interest by making out the consultants (Quarterbridge) to be some sort of social cleanser, devoted solely to pillaging markets of their honest, working class, salt of the earth character. They specifically describe Quarterbridge as a business specialising in turning traditional local authority markets into high-end food halls.

I just don't buy this argument, for two very good reasons. Firstly both the Council and whatever private firm ends up with a stake in the market will expect it to turn them a profit. There is no precedent for an entirely gentrified permanent indoor daily market. Even in London nothing really fits this bill. Borough, the grandaddy of all the gentrified markets is only open Thursday, Friday and Saturday and still operates at least partially as a wholesale fruit and veg market on weekday mornings. If the Council was really planning on turning Leeds market into a permanent middle class gastrodome they're running a high risk strategy because there's nothing comparable with that in London where all the money is, never mind anywhere else in the country.

The second reason is that there is also no evidence that Quarterbridge are 'a business specialising in turning traditional local authority markets into high-end food halls'. I thought I'd take a look at their website to see what they've been up to. Obviously that's going to say that everything they're involved with is wonderful, so I used it to get a general idea, took it with a pinch of salt, and headed off into the web for further details. Taking a look at the places I'm familiar with they've been involved with the design and build projects for new market halls in Bury, Bolton and Blackburn, all of which are categorically proper markets and not 'high-end food halls'.

Bury and Bolton are both award winners, and Blackburn, the newest of the three seems to be a success so far. There have been mixed reports, but issues raised by those against the development relate mainly to the increase in rents and the change in trading days from three to six. Legitimate concerns of course, but I'm generally of the view that an increase in trading hours and days is one of the things markets need to do to attract more custom, and if you're open six days rather than three then rents are likely to be higher. Taking a look at the list of stalls at Blackburn, it's also apparent that there's a genuine mix of proper market traders. There's even a tripe stall, not something you'll find at Borough even if nose-to-tail eating is fashionable.

The whole upmarket/downmarket thing is a false dichotomy anyway. What do FLKM actually mean when they say turn it into an 'high-end food hall'. Are they inferring that everything currently sold in the market is downmarket, cheap, poor quality? Are they saying the market must remain downmarket, peddling low grade goods to the deserving poor? This doesn't reflect reality anyway. A lot of stuff on the market is very cheap, but not everything. Most of the butchers provide excellent value, decent quality meat for example, but if you look for the budget brands or head to the discounters you can often get cheaper in supermarkets.

Snobbery works both ways. Just as there are people who wouldn't dream of shopping there because they see it as scruffy or chavvy or downmarket, there are also people who like to scaremonger about an impending influx of hordes of poshos. It's not going to happen.

To summarise, I still think what I said will happen in July is going to happen. I think it's sad that the market will be greatly reduced in size, and it's disappointing (but seemingly inevitable) that private sector management will result in the removal of potential investment in the form of profit. On a more positive note I think what's left of the market will thrive, and isn't going to become some great big hollowed out gastro-mistake.

Most of this will become apparent in the next week or two as Quarterbridge are due to submit their final report to the Council on Monday.

.... and finally a quick plug for two new stalls that have opened recently. Katie over at Leeds Grub has been to the Little Yorkshire Pie Company and last week I discovered a little Turkish food stall down in the doomed section (may as well support them while you still can!). I think there used to be a Polish food stall there before. I had a lahmacun, which is a flatbread topped with spicy lamb mince. Warmed up in the oven and rolled up with tomatoes and onions they make a great snack or light lunch. Only £1.50 too.

Taste of Arabia, Wakefield

An unexpected treat for lunch on Saturday, and the discovery of another food based social enterprise.

After the thrill of Wilkinson's I thought I'd grab some lunch in town before heading home for an even more thrilling afternoon of DIY. There was a bowl of stew with my name on it at the Country Kitchen Bakery, but when I arrived a lengthy queue was forming and I couldn't be bothered waiting. Casting my eyes around the food hall I noticed Taste of Arabia next door, which enticed me in mainly because it was completely deserted.

One plate of shawarma in pitta with chips and salad for £3.99 later I was rather glad I'd been so easily swayed. It doesn't look all that great, but everything was spot on. Spicy shreds of slightly chewy but very tasty lamb, heavily spiced with salt, chilli and possibly sumac, stuffed into a perfectly toasted pitta and doused in yoghurt and chilli sauce (out of cheap catering pack bottles but what do you expect for 4 quid). Everything in the carefully arranged salad was very fresh and provided cooling contrast to the spicy meat. Even the chips were good. They were the budget freezer pack variety served by crappy chain pubs the nation over, but actually fried properly (they're nearly always underdone in pubs for some reason) they went down a treat.

I have no idea what the particular aims of this social enterprise are, but they do have the tagline 'bringing distant cultures closer'. In the half hour or so I was there they didn't have a single other customer, so it was more 'distant culture being completely ignored by the local culture'. The nice Turkish man doing the cooking said they were there permanently, so please do pay them a visit before someone pulls the plug. What better way to bring distant cultures closer than by selling good kebabs in Wakefield market?

8/10

Taste of Arabia
Wakefield Market Food Hall
Union Street
Wakefield
WF1 3AD

The London riots and Leeds Market: some thoughts

This week I had planned to write an update to my previous post about the debate over the future of Leeds Market. In light of recent events in London I thought about not bothering. Is it not all a bit trivial in comparison with the scenes of mass disorder and chaos coming from our capital? In one sense, yes. No-one's lives are put in imminent danger by the success or otherwise of Leeds market. In another sense, no, because in some ways these things are all interconnected.

Back in March I commented on a piece on the Culture Vultures blog entitled 'What's the matter with Kirkgate Market?'. The article drew a great deal of comment, much of it discussing the pro's and con's of gentrification, much of it using London-based examples to argue a particular point. On the subject of Brixton I had the following to say:

I agree that Brixton is great, and I think it has managed to achieve a pretty good balance between gentrification and retaining a traditional market shopping environment. I would love Leeds to manage something similar, but I just can’t see it happening. I don’t know of anywhere in this country like Brixton markets outside of London, and I think that’s a reflection of the differences between London and the rest of the country.

London is much less segregated geographically between the wealthier middle classes and the urban poor. Brixton is a prime example of this, it has significant areas of poverty and deprivation but plenty of young well-to-do professionals as well. It makes people more accustomed to interacting with, or at least sharing space with others from different social backgrounds. Franco Manca, a feted pizza place and about as middle class as it could be, is in one of the arcades pretty much surrounded by discount hardware stalls and butchers selling cow foot. No-one bats an eyelid.

In an ideal world people could think beyond the constraints of places not being for them (e.g. the markets full of undesirables/wino’s, but just as much oh the Corn Exchange has gone all snobby).

In the context of recent events that sounds like a hopelessly naive vision of social cohesion. Everyone scraping along merrily together, irrespective of differences in their cultural and social backgrounds or financial status. The thing is, I more or less believed this to be true. I lived in Woolwich for three years and never once felt threatened or ill at ease. There were occasional news stories of youth violence in the area, occasional blaring sirens as a couple of police vans headed off somewhere-or-other, but you become blasé about these things assuming it to be just a part of big city life.

Last night, the violence reached Woolwich. So far it has hardly featured in the national press, but it looks just as bad there as any other part of London. The Wetherspoons pub on the main square was burned to the ground, and the path I used to walk home along from the station was blocked by burning cars. Terrible scenes in a deprived area, but one that was on the up, at least on the surface. Millions are being pumped into regeneration schemes and developments are ongoing despite the recession and government cuts.

It all seems different in tone to notorious riots in previous decades. I'm too young to remember the riots of the early 1980's, but from what I've read it appears there was usually a focal point. Perhaps the police or a police station in a particular locality attracting the anger of protestors for a particular reason, justified or otherwise. This just seems wild and spontaneous, disconnected completely from the initial trigger point in Tottenham. As a consequence it's very easy to dismiss the whole thing as being perpetrated by mindless criminal thugs, with no context or backstory by way of explanation, which is what much of the political establishment appears to be doing.

This isn't going to turn into a defence of looters and arsonists. I believe that the perpetrators of this are mindless criminal thugs. They absolutely do deserve to face the consequences of their actions. But surely to ignore the context would be foolish. Restore order, catch and try as many culprits as possible, but then please don't carry on as if nothing ever happened, mindless criminal thugs dealt with. Mindless criminal thugs are not some separate entity, distinct from the rest of us human beings. They are just people, and something has obviously gone very wrong with people who feel the need to destroy their own towns. People, many of them children don't just become mindless criminal thugs for no reason at all.

What would lead someone to turn so readily to violence and looting I'm not entirely sure. It's beyond the limits of my own experience. I wasn't brought up in urban deprivation, I'm certainly no longer a youth and I'm gainfully employed. I know nothing about social work or community organisation.

If I could hazard a guess at what maybe the biggest factors are I'd say inequality and a sense of disenfranchisement are near the top of the list. Taking inequality first, London is a city where a single flat sold for £136 million and the average house costs over £400,000, but where you'll find 4 of the 20 most deprived boroughs in the country. I don't think envy of the rich is the issue here, but the startling size of the gap between those at the top of the tree and those at the bottom. One person can buy one flat for the price of 340 average London properties, but for hundreds of thousands of Londoners that average London property is an unattainable dream, even for those in work. That can't be a sign of a healthy society.

Looking at disenfranchisement, I can understand why people might feel the political system will never work for them. It may just be a fluke of history but Britain seems to have regressed in terms of opportunity for all. No political party has done anything substantial to address inequality, and the politicians themselves no longer set much of an example. Say what you like about the policies of Major and Thatcher, but neither of them came from a particularly privileged background, both of them were schooled by the state, and both of them had a hinterland beyond politics. At least they had the mandate of life experience. Nowadays it seems that only a combination of privilege (Cameron), independent schooling (Blair and Cameron) and virtually a whole career spent solely in politics (Blair, Brown and Cameron) will get you to the very top. I don't feel that these people have much of value to say to me, their experience feels remote and irrelevant to my life, and I'm nowhere near the bottom of the metaphorical pile.

What to do about all this? How do we prevent people from descending so readily into criminality? I'm way out of my depth here, so I'll just stick to three brief suggestions. I don't doubt that there are many more, probably better ideas.

The first would be relatively easy to implement: make voting compulsory. Some years ago I was involved in a local election campaign in Australia, where voting is compulsory. What struck me was the sense of occasion, that this mattered to people, the young included. Contrast with the almost universal disinterest in local elections in this country. A legitimate complaint against young people in this country is that they don't tend to bother voting, the defence being that they're not interested because there's no-one to vote for who will represent their interests. It's a lose-lose circular argument. Those seeking election don't bother courting young votes, because young people don't bother voting, so the young people don't vote, because they feel no-one represents them. Make voting compulsory and the entire electorate becomes the target market.

Secondly, and a much bigger challenge. Take genuine and substantive steps to tackle inequality. Don't ask me how, but it can be tackled as we currently live in one of Europe's most unequal societies.

Finally, the little things matter. Which is where Leeds Market comes into all this. Inequality and lack of opportunity will only become more entrenched if amenities used by the less well off are allowed to decline or disappear through neglect or lack of funding. Local community campaigns to protect and support important assets like the market can only be a good thing, provided they're backed up with action. And by that I mean shopping at the market, not burning it down.

What I said about Brixton is still true to an extent, it and other London communities really are a melting pot of social backgrounds. What I didn't realise is the level of resentment felt by many of those at the lower end of the scale. All the more reason for supporting community facilities I'd say, the situation would only be made worse by increasing ghetto-isation of rich and poor. Brixton wouldn't be better off if all the wealthier folk disappeared from its streets, and Clapham wouldn't be improved by demolishing its estates and leaving it to the middle classes. The same applies to Leeds, whose city centre must be a resource for all its residents, and the market is a fundamental part of this.

I still think the strategy for the market will result in the same outcome as I did a fortnight ago, some of which will be bad news. But whatever happens, whether the market is reduced in size or not, please keep shopping there. Oh, and please don't avoid London either, I'm sure they'll be wanting visitors as the recovery from this takes place.



Footnote 1: Anyone who says the quality of produce on the market is uniformly low isn't looking hard enough. Today I bought 10 donut peaches (the little flat ones that supermarkets charge a fortune for because they look special) for £1 and a bundle of fat, live razor clams for £3.50. The peaches are sweet, ripe, fragrant and utterly delicious. I've not eaten the clams yet but they look damn good.

Footnote 2: This is all a bit serious so tomorrow I'll be writing a post about how I stuffed my fat face on Sichuan food over the weekend.

Leeds Kirkgate Market: Plans for the future

Today Leeds City Council Executive Board will discuss plans for the future of Kirkgate Market in Leeds city centre. Having become rather interested in the market in recent months, I thought I'd have a read through the draft strategy report. Now that I've done so I feel like putting my thoughts into writing, so here they are.

There are three particular things that concern me most with the strategy. The first of these is the money issue. The charge levied by Friends of Kirkgate Market is that the council have neglected the markets and siphoned money away from them for decades. The information in the reports would seem to support this argument. This statement in the facts and figures section of the scrutiny report is key:

In 2010/11 projected income is approximately £4.2m. Expenditure and other charges amounts to £2.1m, leaving £2.1m to support the Council’s budget.

So the market was projected to generate a surplus of over 50% for the last financial year. A 50% gross profit margin would be considered pretty good in most businesses. This doesn't really fit with the image of an institution in perpetual decline.

The implication is that the entire £2.1m was diverted away from the market for use in other areas of the council's budget. Now I don't know whether this is common practice or not, it may be that markets are usually expected to provide an income source for local councils, but it seems strange to me for a couple of reasons.

The primary reason being that the draft strategy considers lack of investment to be one of the key challenges facing the market. It is noted that the 1976 and 1981 halls have far exceeded their planned 15 to 20 year life span and are in very poor condition. Now if my maths is correct, that means the most recent possible year that either of these was designed to last until was 2001, a full ten years ago. It's not unusual for structures to last far longer than originally intended, but they need maintaining.

The current dire state of affairs could have been avoided if some of the surplus generated by the markets had been re-invested over the last decade. It is also worth remembering that most of the last decade was a time of plenty in the public sector, with budget cutbacks only a very recent phenomenon. It is also worth remembering that the strategy suggests that the market has been in decline in recent years, so it's not unreasonable to assume that the surplus generated in previous years was larger than the £2.1 million projected for the last financial year.

So, on the face of it this is how it seems to me. The council probably generated at least £20 million in revenue from the market over the last decade, most if not all of which it diverted to spend in other areas even though it knew that sections of the market were a rapidly depreciating asset in dire need of investment, and that the longer that investment was delayed the more investment would ultimately be required. At best that makes the council's actions over the last decade indifferent to the plight of the market, at worst grossly negligent.

All of which is in the past, and therefore largely irrelevant. We are where we are, so I'll move onto the second thing that seems strange to me about using the market as a cash cow. The strategy wants to see the market become a top destination for residents and visitors, and to be one of the five 'must do's' for people visiting the city. But the strategy also wants the market to return a tidy sum of cash back to the council. What other council funded 'top destinations' and 'must see' places in the city are expected to generate revenue? Surely places of inherent cultural and social value to both residents of, and visitors to any city are worth investing in.

After money, my second (very much connected) area of concern is the inference from the strategy report that the market will be made smaller. There is a great deal of waffle about 'determining the optimum size for the market'. For this read 'getting rid of the 1976 and 1981 halls'. Clause 7.5 of the stratgey states:

Therefore the sensible option is to use the £200,000 to carry out repairs needed on the 1904 and 1875 halls, whilst the Council determines the optimum size for the market.

I know this is hardly an explicit statement, but despite the dire state of repair that the 1976 and 1981 halls are in, the plan is to spend the available maintenance cash on the other bits whilst 'the council determines the optimum size for the market'. The remainder of this section of the report explains how the market is the biggest in the country, and how tenants and the public are supportive of proposals to reduce the market size.

I'm not in favour of reducing the market size. Call me a dreamer or fantasist but I believe that Leeds needs to think big for once. The implication is that Kirkgate market is the biggest in the country, so that's not sustainable. Why not? Leeds is the 4th or 6th or thereabouts largest city in the UK (depending which stats you use), so I don't think it's unreasonable to have the biggest of something-or-other. Why the hell does this matter, you might ask. What about quality over quantity? I think it does matter if you want to promote the city on a wider scale. Leeds sometimes seems to lack the confidence of our other great cities. Manchester, for example is always banging on about having the tallest (building in the North), first (industrial city) and best (music) of something-or-other. Everyone laughed when Manchester bid for the Olympic Games, but in a roundabout way that laid the foundations for the Commonwealth Games which ultimately led to the city having two football clubs in the Champions League (I'm a Leeds fan so this fact sickens me by the way). A bit of chutzpah can bring benefits in the long run.

I don't wholly buy the argument that the current size is unsustainable due to the vacancy levels either. The strategy gives the current vacancy level as 14%, and states that this is unlikely to improve. This actually compares very favourably with the Leeds city centre retail unit vacancy rate which was reported as 22.1% back in February. And why is it unlikely to improve? Surely this statement disregards the plans for achieving the objectives in the strategy, one of which is 'better promotion of available units, flexible terms and better business support', presumably to get new tenants in and reduce the vacancy rate.

Which leads me back on to investment. The strategy estimates the cost of imminent and essential works as between £2.1 and £2.3 million. Not an inconsequential sum, but not that huge given that the market generates that much in surplus every year anyway. If just 50% of the surplus (£1 million per year) could be re-invested in the market over the next few years, problem solved. I understand the argument about budget pressures for the council, but £1 million equates to around 0.17% of the annual council budget of around £580 million. To my mind this would be money well spent, and could actually help to increase council revenue in the future.

The alternative to this, if they really want to be bold (as the strategy claims) would be to entirely replace the 1976 and 1981 halls. I don't claim to know anything about the feasibility of this, but it would certainly be bold, and market halls needn't be the most expensive or complicated of structures. The new market hall in Wakefield apparently cost only £3 million.

The final thing that concerns me is how the market is going to be managed going forward. The strategy recommends that the market should be moved from direct control by the Council to an arms-length organisation, possibly a limited liability partnership. I don't have a problem with this, but the strategy doesn't make clear whether this should be a not for profit organisation. If a profit making entity takes control an additional layer of cash removal would be introduced, with the management company taking their cut as well as the council. I can't see how this would be anything but a bad thing.

In summary, here is what I think should happen:

• Retain the market at its current size, through renovation or replacement of the 1976 and 1981 halls.
• Renovation or replacement should be financed using the surplus generated by the market itself, or by public sector (i.e. the council) borrowing.
• Move management of the market to an arms length, not for profit organisation.
• Promote and improve the market by the means detailed in the strategy (see section 6), including innovative means like The Source.
• Aim to improve the mix of stalls, including more upmarket offerings, but absolutely not at the expense of existing traders.

In summary, here is what I think will actually happen:

• The market will be substantially reduced in size through closure of the 1976 and 1981 halls.
• Management of the market will be moved to an arms length organisation, profit making or otherwise.
• Any investment will come from the private sector, and therefore probably work out more expensive in the long run.
• There will be a general drive upmarket with what remains, but we won't see a 'Corn Exchange' scenario. I don't fully agree with Friends of Leeds Kirkgate Market on this. I don't believe that the council are daft enough to think it's going to become the new Borough Market.

The relevant documents can all be found via the Friends of Leeds Kirkgate Market site here:

http://kirkgatemarket.wordpress.com/2011/07/25/the-councils-long-awaited-strategy-for-the-market-out-now-our-comments-will-follow-shortly/

It will be interesting to see how things pan out.

The Sunshine Bakery, Leeds

So far I've eaten four different things from the Sunshine Bakery, and every one of them has been excellent.

 

Their black pudding sausage rolls are officially my second favourite sausage rolls ever (just pipped at the post by the porcine glory that is the Ginger Pig sausage roll). The pastry is lardy yet crisp and light, the sausage filling is porky, generous and well seasoned, with added iron-y depth from the black pudding.  Very good indeed, and good value for the quality at £2 a pop. Lardy in this context is a compliment by the way, in case anyone was wondering.

 

Cupcakes. First a confession. Cupcakes aren't really my favourite thing. It's not that I don't enjoy eating them, they're just a bit showy and American for my tastes. The focus is often on how they look and how much icing can be shoehorned on top of the cake, which itself is sometimes little more than an afterthought. I like to think of them as over-iced buns.

This was a damn fine cupcake though. Peanut butter flavour, with a whipped icing that was salty but barely sweet at all. The cake beneath was dense, moist and very chocolatey. Pretty as you'd expect from a cupcake, but backed up by really delicious and interesting flavours. £1.50 each.

 

Sandwiches are available too, today I opted for a pastrami and salad sandwich on basil, olive oil and cheese bread. The photo doesn't do this sandwich justice at all. It was huge. An absolute beast, almost like an American deli sarnie in proportions.  The bread was very tasty, sort of like a slightly denser focaccia. The filling comprised pastrami, pickle slices, tomato, cucumber, salad leaves and some sort of dressing (maybe a flavoured mayo?). Again, excellent value at £3, sandwiches half the size with poor ingredients go for this price.

 

And finally, a stem ginger brownie. Couldn't fault this. Classic crisp exterior, fudgy centre, a generous spread of ginger chunks, and a good strong chocolate flavour with just a hint of bitterness. I've no idea what chocolate (or cocoa) they're using, but it's good quality stuff. £1.50 for a large slice. 

The Sunshine Bakery is actually in Chapel Allerton, but I haven't been there yet as I bought all these things from The Source in Leeds Market. For more about The Source read my post about it here, and check out their website here. 

The Sunshine Bakery seem to be a fairly regular fixture at The Source now, so you should be able get your mitts on their goodies in town or Chapel Allerton. For market dates check the website here.  I would imagine a wider range of goods is available in Chapel Allerton, and they also run a supper club some evenings. If the baked goods are anything to go by, this could be an outstanding dining option. I'm hoping to check it out sometime soon.

9/10

The Sunshine Bakery

182 Harrogate Road

Chapel Allerton

Leeds

LS7 4NZ

http://www.sunshinebakeryleeds.co.uk/