The Cornucopia That Is the Borough Market in London

On his way to sack the city, Aulus Plautius stumbled upon the bustling Southwark Fair Market in AD 43. If an army travels on its stomach, then the Roman invasion of Britain was fuelled for a marathon after this Market visit. For it was on this spot that Plautius built the first bridge across the Thames and took the city with his 4 legions and 20,000 auxiliary troops. Aulus Plautius became the first governor of Roman Britain, perhaps with some thanks due to the Southwark Fair Market.

This bridge, the first London Bridge, commanded a strategic position in future defences and sieges of the city. The Market also thrived on the southern end of the bridge, as well as on the bridge itself. Perhaps it thrived a little too much. The Market was first recognised as an establishment in 1276, when causing severe congestion on London Bridge, it was moved to Borough High Street.

The Borough Market was formalised under a Royal Charter in 1550. In 1754, due to congestion on Borough High Street, an Act of Parliament moved the market to its current 4.5 acre site, where it maintains the title of being the oldest market in central London.

Situated on the Thames, it attracted merchants from port cities across Europe. In Victorian times, most imported foods would arrive on the wharfs by London Bridge, giving the area the nickname “London's Larder”. Later, the country's largest railway terminus was built nearby, where foods were wheeled by the tonne from the trains to the Market.

Today, the Borough Market is a registered charity and invests in the local community. When it was voted “The Best Market in the Country” at the first ever Observer Food Monthly awards last year, the Chairman of the Trustees of Borough Market, Mr George Nicholson said,

"Our aim is to put people back in touch with the producer, to introduce them to an amazing range of quality food from the UK and abroad and also to help re-build rural economies.”

The Borough Market is an overindulgence of sight, smells and flavours. The scent of ripe peaches and the chocolatey taste of a brownie melting in my mouth still linger in my memory. The Market has just about everything including all-natural breads, award-winning cheeses, fresh fruits, exotic vegetables, wild-caught sea fish, ice cream, quails eggs, fresh scallops from the Dorset coast, organic beers and smoked duck. Beautiful fresh flowers, home-made sponge cakes, local honey, English-apple cider, Dartmoor wild beef, oysters, French pastries and rare argan oil are on offer too.

The vast list continues with Italian pizza, Mexican dried chillies, potted herbs, olives and gourmet olive oils, foie gras, gluten-free cakes, freshly churned butter, chocolate truffles, hound-found truffles, smoked trout, Indian spicy sauces, ostrich, preservative-free muesli and Asian teas. There are also fine wines from Southern France, hand-raised-pork pies, fresh pasta, organic yoghurt drinks, roasted coffee beans, burnt-sugar sweets, and even organic-farmed fish smoked in “malt whisky barrel staves and a little bit of peat”!

This excellent market also boasts a Juice bar, a German delicatessen and a Scandinavian restaurant voted the best in Britain. I had thought that Parisian markets were the best the world had to offer, but the Borough Market beats them hands-down on sheer diversity and quality. Some of the Market stores only sell one thing, like Brie-type organic cheeses made from the farm's own milk. The food is not only delicious, but you feel great contributing to the local businesses that care so much about the calibre of their produce.

Opening times for the market which is located just a few feet from London Bridge Underground station, are Fridays from noon until 6pm and Saturdays from 9am to 4pm. Go early, enjoy browsing and tasting samples and bring a large, empty backpack for all the treasures you're sure to find!