On Sunday the 2nd October, Castlefield held it's first ever Fine food, Antiques & Crafts market
The market is an eclectic mix of award winning locally produced artisan food, craft, flower, vintage & antiques and is held every first Sunday of the month from 10am until 4pm and is next to Dukes92.
Most of the food stall holders are award winning producers- people who grow, rear or bake the food that they sell. Others are importers with intimate knowledge of whichever corner of the globe they source their products from. Many of the food stalls have samples for people to try and there's a wide range on offer from the champion award winning Smoked Eel, Leek and Horseradish Pie from the Great North Pie Company to Lemon Curd Cheesecake from Sugar Daddy Pattisserie.
Neil Broomfield, local artisan pie maker feels local people will really appreciate having a market of such high quality in their area, "Manchester, especially Castlefield, needs such a market, it will be great showcase for the quality regional producers in the North West, this has the potential to become the Borough Market of the North."
For the non foodies there is plenty on offer from flowers & herbs, vintage furniture for home and garden, antiques, vintage clothes, jewellery, objets d'art, old books, ephemera & curiosities.
Carol Middleton, Chair of Castlefield Forum, a local group of residents, business owners and cultural establishments, said, " We're delighted to welcome the Artisan Market to Castlefield. We've been wanting markets to come back to Castlefield for years. Recently we carried out a survey asking residents 'what events would you like to see in Castlefield?' and 48% mentioned markets. We hope a market selling a wide range of quality produce in this dramatic, historic setting will be very well received."
The market is organised by husband and wife team Asif & Jodie Farakhan who produce International award winning vegetarian Indian food. They have been involved in the food industry and organising food events for over ten years in both the UK and Portugal. Jodie says, "the market is exclusive to Castlefield, one of Manchester's most beautiful areas and everyone involved are experts in their own field, it is a place to explore, to ask questions, to discover new flavours in a unique atmosphere."