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This is where Food Trends begin...

Last week we went and pulled a cheeky all-nighter! We haven't done one of those for years and we've certainly never done one not fuelled by alcohol! But this time, there was a proper motive… to explore what happens to some of London and the UK's food whilst we sleep.

After an already long day of filming at the Sorted studio we wrapped up warm and occupied the final few hours in the lead up to midnight. Making our way to New Covent Garden Market (which for the record is nowhere near Covent Garden!) we had no idea what to expect.

For years, I cooked in restaurants and hotels and made use of this operation… but never truly understanding what it was or how it worked. After the last orders had come through to the kitchen and were cooked I would finish the day by wandering through the frid ges, taking stock of what was left and placing an order for the morning based on menus and current restaurant bookings. I would then head home, sleep and return in the morning to a full delivery of exactly what I'd ordered… and the produce couldn't get much fresher!

Essentially, what I'd never considered was that whilst I slept there was a whole world of people and food alive in London making it all possible. A fruit and veg guy would collate my order with several from other establishments and head to New Covent Garden Market with that list. You'll see from the video that these buyers would walk up and down 'buyers walk' and peruse for the best produce and price. Every seller showcases their 'flash'… i.e. a selection of the best fruit and veg they have. Stuff is bought, piled into delivery vans and driven right across the country at times before being split down into smaller orders and distributed to the specific restaurants.

There things I learnt from the market:-

1) You can't help but to understand and appreciate what ingredients are in season as they are piled high! It forces you to be inspired and create dishes using what's fresh.

2) This market is where food trends begin. You'll see ingredients here that are first being bought and used by high end London restaurants. Over time (and sometimes this time is months… sometimes it's years) these ingredients filter their way down to Gastro pubs, food magazines, food programmes, farm shops and eventually, when the masses want them, even supermarkets. But a walk around this market will hint as to what new trends are just around the corner!

3) Everybody involved at the market has a genuine passion for what they do and that's really clear when you chat to them… they are all really keen to answer questions and share what they know. The very reason you should get out to a food market near you and explore!

Our night continued at Billingsgate Fish Market right in the city centre… the hours were ticking by… we were getting more and more tired… until we stepped into the huge, brightly lit warehouse. It was the busiest, most bustling fish market I'd ever seen. 13 acres consisting of over 100 stalls selling fish from all over the world and the place was FULL of characters from the East End of London! Again, everybody we spoke to had a story to tell and they were all brilliant. Fishmongers who had been working on the same stall for longer than we've been alive… they sure do know their stuff. And the best bit about Billingsgate… is that it's open to the public from 4am every morning, Tuesday to Saturday. So check it out here.

Ben

#food markets #food #billingsgate #sorted food #sortedfood #Ben Ebbrell