As an alternative to spending time queuing at supermarkets in a battle for your essentials, Leicester Market remains open with an abundance of fresh and local produce for customers.
Adhering to social distancing rules and offering everything from fresh fruit and veg to seafood, cheese and pies, you really can make sure that during this time you still get to enjoy the finest local produce. We find out more about what’s on offer in this week’s BID Spotlight feature.
Never has it been more important to support local with your shopping. With so many local independents forced to close their doors, the market traders are still setting up stall every day to make sure everyone can enjoy quality food at home. For those unable to get to the market many of the traders are also now offering delivery options as well.
Food Hall traders, including Andrew Sykes butchers, Sherwin’s Cheese Stall, Kotula & Sons Polish Deli and Country Fayre, among others, have everything from butcher hampers to cheese platters available to collect or have delivered to your door. Long standing trader, Vicki’s Fruits also has pre-prepared fruit and veg selection boxes to collect priced between £20-£25, with fruit only boxes at just £15.
Tim from Sherwin’s Cheese commented, “Business has been steady for us and those that have come down have commented how nice it’s been to go back to their old ways of shopping. They’re able to choose quality fresh produce without the hustle and bustle of supermarkets.”
Andrew Sykes Butchers are offering hampers packed with fresh local meats, including steak, sausages, belly of pork joint, chicken, eggs and more. Of course individual items are also available to buy from the stall. You can contact them on 0116 251 8750 to discuss orders, and they also offer delivery on hamper orders.
Meanwhile, Country Fayre has an amazing £35 hamper packed with bacon, sausages, cheese, 18 eggs and rich & creamy butter, or why not opt for an Essentials Food Hamper, which comes complete with freezer bags for you to store that quality meat produce until you and your family need it. You can find out more via the Country Fayre website.
Now who’s been missing a cheese board at home? Sherwin’s Cheese Stall have some wonderful offers on cheese selections, including their Deluxe Hamper for £27.50, which comes with 8 cheeses, a Walkers Pork Pie and jar of Farmhouse Pickle. You can also make your own hamper and there’s free delivery within 7 miles for anyone who spends £25. They stock over 100 different cheeses so you’ll be spoilt for choice. You can call them direct on 0116 2629236 .
Tim added, “Our deluxe cheese board deliveries have been popular. On there you can have a mature Red Fox Red Leicester, creamy Colston Bassett Stilton, creamy German blue brie and you can build your own hamper with you favourite flavours. Doing deliveries has helped us to reach people who can’t come down and we’re doing this in partnership with Andrew Sykes Butchers. That way if you call and want a meat hamper but also want to add on some bread and cheese from us you can, likewise if you order a cheeseboard from us we can arrange for steaks to be added to the delivery too. It’s that community working that sets the market apart.”
Leicester Market spokesperson, Paul Edwards, commented, “We are justifiably proud of our traders as they continue to work exceptionally hard to continue to serve the people of Leicester and Leicestershire with their essentials and quality produce at this time. For many of them their day starts at 5am as they source and prepare their stock and set up their counters and stalls, but their enthusiasm for offering quality food items is hard to beat.,
Our Food Hall remains open as usual, with social distancing in place, whilst a number of our outdoor fruit and vegetable traders are also continuing to trade offering the best value and selection . It’s a much calmer shopping experience and a real opportunity for people to continue to support the local market, traders and food suppliers through their shopping.”
For those of you who prefer your shop to be quick, simple and easy a visit to Leicester Market is without equal. You don’t have to take our word for it check out the Markets’ social media pages on Facebook and see for yourself its satisfied customers.
The market is open from 8am – 3pm Monday to Saturday, and the latest trader information and availability is updated daily via the Leicester Marker social media accounts on Facebook and Twitter, so be sure to check them out.
Our BID Spotlight features are brought to you in collaboration with BID Leicester.
