To market, to market (Pimlico, Victoria)

It is 8.00 am and Tackbrook Street Market is in full swing. This small market provides locals with their weekend essentials of fresh produce, fish and odds and ends.

Sweet red radishes and witloaf invite a second look as do the raspberries and blueberries. The catch of the day is Cornish sardines but I am distracted by what I think are Nursery rhyme cockle shells. No, they are whelks, a crustacean that you can eat raw or with vinegar and pepper.

The taste is like snails, the fishmonger tells me, but I remain unconvinced. I spot bunches of green tentacles that look like seaweed. It is. Samthire grass is boiled and served with melted butter. It has a short season that’s due to finish next month. Perhaps I’ll try them next time. “No worries, darling” he tells me. What a character. His great uncle, Robert Wight opened the first fish and chip shop in Fitzroy Square, Melbourne. He included “A branch in Westminister” on the sign.

Directly opposite the market is Ivano Delicatessen, one of the many Italian/ Southern European delis that you find in this area. Ivano has had the business for seven years. He’s known for his Spanish omelettes made with fresh dairy eggs and flavoured with strands of saffron. I know what I am eating for dinner tonight. There are four to choose from: chorizo, ham and mushroom, spinach, and vegetable, I can’t decide. They all look good. He tells me that he sells 45 omelettes a day. I’m not surprised.

Next door to Ivano’s is Bonne Bo Che, a Swiss/ German Bakery. The gateaus are good but it is for the bread that you come here. The walls are lined with loafs of spelt bread, herb breads made of wheat, linseed, corm, and rye flour. There is walnut raisin bread and sunflower seed breads. The loaves are petite, sitting neatly on the shelves but are heavy and dense. This is bread to be chewed, enjoyed and savoured.

Just around the corner is Rippon Cheese Stores, a speciality store with over 500 cheeses on their books.
Coming here is an education and I am guided through an impressive collection of cheeses from a pungent semi-soft Alderwood from Kent to a classic French brie. All the UK cheeses are brought directly from farmers. Many of the cheeses are matured on site - downstairs, below street-level, under the road.

Walking away from Tachbrook Street over Belgravia Road, I find myself in the heart of Belgravia. Amidst the white Georgian terraces and freshly coloured hanging baskets, I discover Khallouk & Taylor deli.
It is a picturesque cafe that offers breakfast and lunch as well as groceries to the well-heeled. Fruit are displayed in deep wood bowls and on a scrubbed wooden table, there are flans and pastries. It’s like a country ladder. In woven baskets, there are green mangoes, cherries and oranges. There are cured olives of every description. I choose the breakfast of granola, a seasonal fruit salad and honey natural yogurt with green tea and mint. The tea arrives in a silver teapot with Moroccan tea glasses. The mint is wonderfully refreshing, fragrant and sweet. The Moroccan theme continues downstairs in a richly hued interior of watermelon pink. I am in the marketplace, all rich colour silks with the sounds of overheard French conversations from upstairs.

Heading towards the Thames, I discover Delizie D’Italia. This authentic deli with its hexagonal facade looks onto Warwick way. Inside I discover an array of Italian delights from homemade pestos – basil, sun-dried tomatoes, rocket and grilled aubergine to delicious sfogliatine to have with my expresso. They are crisp, flaky pastries filled with chocolate, vanilla and lemon custard and lightly dusted with sugar. Ahh, it’s Saturday morning. The smell of fresh basil, mixed with freshly ground coffee and the deli is close to perfection.