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Stephanie Smith (centre) with Christine and Celestino Magachaes |
Relax and chat while you shop
Don Ryan samples traditional Turkish food in a corner of Archway and, just a short stroll away, tastes the wares of a new farmers’-style market
IT is a scene out of a Turkish holiday brochure: a woman sits on a cushion, expertly rolling dough on a low table. On the sac – traditional grill – beside her, pancakes bake. But this is Archway, not exotic Istanbul.
I am outside the Yilditz Bakery in Junction Road. The counter, which spans the exceptionally long but narrow premises is chock-a-block with breads and pastries from two cultures.
Here, as is usual for Turkey, East meets West.
French-style glazed tarts and chocolate-tinged gingerbreadmen lie alongside baklava pastries. Bloomer loafs and mince pies are displayed together with borek, a range of complex Turkish filo pastries, often filled with cheeses, vegetables, meat and sometimes, sweet things.
Most days, Sevini who hails from southern Turkey, sits in the window of the bakery. In full view of passers-by, she rolls the dough, then, half way through the cooking process, she adds various fillings.
This is authentic Turkish village food. The delicious pancakes – called gozleme – are sold freshly baked.
It is Saturday and round the corner from Yilditz, on a concourse in front of a row of shops in Holloway Road at the junction with St John’s Grove, a farmers’-style market is in full swing.
“You should have come earlier”, Anjela, who hails from Portugal, tells me. “I’m nearly out of fish.”
Lined up beside her, along the concourse, a small number of traders are going about their business. Most are from overseas, but Jacquelyn Smith, who sells artisan bread, is a child of Islington. She grew up around Essex Road. “Islington has changed”, she says. “Nowadays it’s very multicultural, and I love it.”
Beside her Christine and Celestino Magachaes from Brazil are selling a large range of homemade breads and cakes. Dad bakes the bread, mum makes the cakes and daughter Christine, with a little help from dad, sells them. The large range of cakes, around 30 all, is genuine homemade fare. The condensed milk pudding looks like crème caramel but is firmer with lots of custard flavour. Another cake looks like the upside-down pineapple cake my mother used bake in the 1950s.
The market exists thanks to the charm and persuasive powers of Stephanie Smith, a formidable Archway resident and one time Portobello Road market trader. Two years ago she decided to abandon the famous Notting Hill Market to create a farmers’ market in Archway. She persuaded a property company to give her some space and finance. Unfortunately, after 18 very successful months, the company sold the site and the market was homeless.
Undaunted, she approached the local Archway councillors and with their help persuaded Islington Council to give her a licence for the new Holloway Road site.
The mayor, Councillor Stefan Kasprzyk, has been a great help, she says.
The new market is growing. As well as fish, cakes and bread, there is an organic veg stall. Local resident Suzanne Newcombe is delighted. “The veg is fresh and seasonal; it’s also cheaper than the supermarkets,” she adds.
Also trading are stalls selling freshly made French galettes (large filled pancakes), organic buffalo cheese and milk and yoghurts from a farm in Somerset. Another stall offers all sorts of marinated olives and sundried tomatoes, as well as mosir, an Iranian delicacy that involves marinating large garlic bulbs for up to six months.
There are also books, an extensive range of cosmetics, and objet d’art. More traders will be setting up soon, to include gourmet sausages and fair-trade coffee. A community noticeboard along with tables and chairs are already laid out on the concourse. Soon shoppers will be able to eat, drink and socialise.
“We want the market to be the heart of the Archway area. We intend to create a forum for local residents, a place where people can relax and chat as well as shop,” says Stephanie.
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