Shop Local, Shop Shipbourne!
I recently came upon advertisements for Shipbourne Farmer's Market. There are a number of amazing producers selling all kinds of delights from organic meats, fresh herbs, gluten free meals and even hand made soaps! Due to the current pandemic the farmer's market is unable to operate as usual as there is not enough space for customers and vendors to social distance. However, this did not stop Shipbourne Market from making it happen and making all the goods available to its customers!
The Process
The team have created an online shop where you are able to browse all of the vendors and their products from their web page. You register yourself for an account and as soon as this is done you can start browsing all of the amazing options on offer and make your order. I love that you can use the drop down lists to shop by category of food or producer, believe me you'll end up ordering from quite a few!
Once you have secured your order you are asked if you have a preferred pick up time (slots will be listed), you select your preferred time and the order is completed.
An email is then sent to the address that you registered with, this includes your order number, a break down of products and costs bought from each producer together with each producers BACs details.
You will receive an email on the Wednesday afternoon after you have placed your order confirming your time slot to drive and pick up your order from the Village Hall in Shipbourne.
Before heading to the market to pick up your order, you will note that there is a printable document in your order confirmation email. This has your name and order number on it. This is for you to print out and put in the offside window of your car so that the team know which order belongs to you on arrival. Alternatively, if you do not have a printer at home you can just write your order number and name on a piece of paper and stick it to the window instead.
On arriving the team will check the order number in your window, open your boot and pop your shopping into the back and away you go! It really is that simple.
Things to note
The "virtual market" is open for browsing and shopping from Saturday mornings to Wednesday midday. Orders are collected from Shipbourne Village Hall on Thursday mornings.
If you are unable to drive or you are self isolating the market delivers to the following areas:
Shipbourne
Plaxtol
Ightham
N. Tonbridge
Roughway
If you do not use online banking, you can pay by cash or Paypal (please contact bob@kfma.org.uk to arrange this).
If the team at the market need to phone you for any reason they will provide you with a code phrase (e.g. "Brown Rabbit") to ensure security.
If you cannot get online or are having issues with using the system or payment method please call Bob on 07768643614.
My Shop
As I have now given you the details of how easy the process is to shop at Shipbourne Market, I thought I would give you a summary of my shop.
Renhurst Farm
I ordered two racks of lamb and two steak pies from this producer. MEAT HEAVEN! The racks of lamb were a great size, really meaty and cooked brilliantly.
The steak pies I ordered were small individual ones (however you can order a range of flavours and sizes). The pies were what I call "proper pies", meaning the pastry is all the way around and not just plonked on top and most importantly they were full to the brim with meat! The producer had shredded the beef to enable them to fit as much steak in as possible and this was a great thumbs up from me! There is nothing more annoying than cutting into your pie to discover a few chunks of meat and the rest is just "air space".
Renhurst Farm is on Instagram @renhurstfarm.
Kieron's Game
I love game! There were tons of amazing options on offer from this producer. I bought two duck breasts which were delicious and also HUGE! I could not believe the size of them. When I cooked them I served them with dauphinoise potatoes and a red wine sauce which was the perfect combo.
Kieron is on Instagram @kierontoole.
The Speedy Kitchen
The Speedy Kitchen have brought fabulous fresh homemade soup and frozen ready meals to Kent. They use the best and freshest local ingredients to create their range.
These guys have an AMAZING soup game! We had two soups, bacon and chestnut and sweet potato and coconut which were nice and thick and really filling, I cannot stand really watery soups and these were anything but! The bacon and chestnut soup was my absolute favourite. I have not tried this flavour combination before and I was totally blown away. A new firm favourite soup flavour!
We also had two frozen ready meals, a vegetable lasagne and a chickpea and cauliflower curry. These meals were life lines to me on a couple of occasions when work had completely taken over my day. Despite being frozen meals, after being cooked they tasted like something you had made on the day. You can tell that the ingredients of their products are high quality. These are perfect for "convenience" lunch or dinner meals in the week. I would like to also mention for those of you who have allergies, a lot of the meals are gluten free!
The Speedy Kitchen is on Instagram @the_speedy_kitchen.
Contain Yourself
Contain Yourself sells a huge range of eco friendly products from liquid refills, eco alternatives, food refills, beans, peas and pulses, the list goes on and on!
I ordered some dried herbs from them, rosemary and thyme. They came packaged in paper bags (no plastic) and were great for cooking with. I used these many times when cooking the lamb racks I bought, for seasoning potatoes and the like. The herbs were of great quality and I am looking forward to exploring their range further!
You can find them on Instagram @containyourself.tunbridgewells.
Wendy's Kentish Fayre
Wendy sells a variety of things from eggs, in season game pies and game birds as well as an array of of jams, jellies and marmalades. If like me you love jam but are also very fussy about it, then Wendy is your lady. Her Damson Jam is some of the best I've ever had! Perfect consistency and delicious in taste. My mother in law is particularly specific when it comes to Damson Jam and LOVED Wendy's! Safe to say I will be getting some more.
Debra's Cake & Bake
Christmas for us started the day we had Debra's mince pies and Christmas Cake! Full of all the wonderful festive flavours we love and crave during the holiday season. The Christmas cake was full of rich, moist currants, sultanas and raisins with a generous amount of icing to add that sweetness that we all love!
As for the mince pies, they took me into Christmas flavour heaven. These are made with Debra's homemade mince meat. I think all of these should be added to anyone's Christmas shopping list!
You can find Debra on Instagram @debrathecake.
Nut Farms
We had some lovely nuts from Nut Farms but my favourite product from here was the nut oil. As well as being high in Omega 3 and excellent for your immune system this nut oil was gorgeous, rich and definitely had that real nutty flavour which was perfect for my salad dressings! These guys sell a great range of products and would be a real treat for any nut fans out there!
Dulce's Patisserie
If you have not heard of these guys I would be amazed! As well as selling at Farm's Markets like Shipbourne, Dulce's has a beautiful shop in Sevenoaks town centre. We were extremely excited that you were able to order from them at the market meaning that you can get them in your order along with the rest of your shopping, so convenient if you have a few things to buy on your list.
We had some of their famous macaroons! Salted caramel, white chocolate vanilla and peanut butter. The salted caramel and white chocolate vanilla won a star each at The Great Taste Awards for a reason! Dulce's macaroons are just stunning and you genuinely feel sad once you have eaten them. It is like having a little taste of heaven in your mouth that you want to last forever.
In addition to the award winning macaroons we had a slice of blueberry lemon cake and a goats cheese, sweet potato and spinach quiche. OH MY GOODNESS! Dulce's blow me away with everything I have from them. The mixture of blueberry and lemon is a favourite of mine and the quiche was perfect for my lunch while working from home. Dulce's has so much to offer and I highly recommend them to anyone that loves baked goods!
Dulce's Patisserie are on Instagram under @dulcespatisserie, you can also find them on Facebook.
Paula's Handmade Soaps
Although this producer is not food related, I cannot stress enough how wonderful her range of products are. Paula makes facial bars, shampoo bars, salt bars, bath bombs, natural soy wax melts and more! I have personally tried (and loved) Paula's sweet orange and bergamot soap which smells AMAZING!
Paula makes seasonal products that are ideal for gifts so why not pamper yourself or a loved one for Christmas?
You can find Paula on Instagram @paulashandmadesoaps and also on Facebook.
Shopping at Shipbourne has introduced me to some amazing producers which I would not have found otherwise. I am so grateful that the team have set up online to help continue sales and support these local producers through what has been and continues to be an extremely difficult and challenging year. I am also extremely happy with the covid safety measures that they have in place to ensure your "pick up" is as easy and safe as possible. I will certainly be using Shipbourne again in the future.
Shipbourne Market is on Instagram under @shipbournefmmkt. You can also access their website by clicking here. Happy Shopping!