Tuesday 20 December 2011

Ludlow Food Centre - My World




Ludlow Food Centre  is one of those wonderful places where you can browse for the best and freshest produce, organic meat from beasts reared locally, hand made pies and ready meals actually cooked fresh on the premises, breads, pastries and cakes baked in the ovens at the bakehouse and vegetables from farms in the surrounding areas. There's even honey from the beehives in the back gardens. 


Shopping here is not cheap, how could it be. Everything is beautifully presented; the quality of the produce is evident; there's nothing that has been mass produced. Attention to detail is of great importance. For the snobs among us, there are connections to earls and ladies, on whose estates some of these goodies are produced. Their noble pedigree doesn't make them any better than the products of good, honest husbandry and crop farming of course, but dropping the provenance into a discussion of shopping habits pleases some. 

Occasionally, we treat ourselves to a basket of goodies, particularly at this time of year, when many of the goods for sale serve very well as presents for foodies and those with pretensions to foodiedom.


I am sure that my home made pickles, chutneys and jams and jellies are as good as the ones on sale; and who in their right mind wants hibiscus flowers in syrup (anybody know what they're used for?). Fancy bottles of vinegars and oils infused with the most outlandish ingredients sit in tidy rows; just to read the labels is a pleasure and an education to boot.





A place like the Ludlow Food Centre will never serve the same purpose for us that a good supermarket does; we could neither afford the prices nor find the everyday items one piles into ones basket as a matter of routine; but an occasional browse is a treat. Quite often we find things which are simply not on offer anywhere else, certainly not deep in rural England. And sometimes, just sometimes, there is an offer on something really delicious; either because it's nearing the end of the day and the cake or meat pie hasn't been sold on time, or they want to entice casual shoppers like us to become rather more frequent visitors.


Also a part of My World, but absolutely free, are these spears of snowdrops emerging. I saw them a few days ago, before the snow covered them up temporarily. On Christmas morning I shall go out into the garden and check their progress. The darling little bells have been known to ring out for Christmas.





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39 comments:

  1. Hello:
    How wonderful all of this looks and for real 'foodies' this must be coming close to a culinary paradise. Yes, it is great fun to wander the aisles of somewhere like the Ludlow Food Centre, even if only to marvel at what is on offer as well as to consider what possible use some of the items might have.

    We were so very taken with your picture of Galanthus having once, in a former existence, planted a snowdrop walk which might possibly now have reached some sort of maturity. And to pick them for the Christmas table...perfect!

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  2. very cool on the snow drops? never heard of them so they bell on christmas...very cool...that is a cool shop too def someplace i could spend a bit of time...

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  3. I would love to visit this food shop. I enjoy just looking and smelling and reading labels in shops like this one. I find myself wishing I could try some items and I wonder what other items are and other items make me wonder why anyone would want them!

    Love the peep show of your snow drops, may they ring for you this Christmas. Best wishes to you and yours.

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  4. I love your 'foodiedom' word. These are wonderful shops!

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  5. They have a brilliant selection of local ciders too (of course) - I am almost at the end of my pot of Ludlow honey which I bought there, so we are obviously due to return. It isn't the kind of place we could afford to shop at regularly, but it was nice to go in and buy some things when we were there.

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  6. We have visited similar stores in various states, but they don't exist here in rural east Tennessee. Pity. As for snowdrops, we have them, but they won't be poking their heads up until late February.

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  7. Great post ...
    Aus der weiten Ferne...
    Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
    LG Gisela.

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  8. Snowdrops for Christmas--what a gift! As is this bountiful post. Thank you--and Merry Christmas!

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  9. Oh wow, Friko look at those green spears of snowdrops. I've noticed some daffodil shoots in my garden. The Ludlow Food Centre looks a nice place to browse around.

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  10. The Food Centre is similar to what I might find in our Community Food Co-op here in Bellingham, but we also have lots of local farmers bringing in their wares, so you can find all kinds of things that you actually NEED as well as those other things that kings and queens eat... :-)

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  11. Now, I can't wait 'til Christmas to see if the tiny snowdrops will "ring out for Christmas."

    The Ludlow Food Centre would be fascinating to visit, but like you, I would never buy much for the same reasons that cause you to mostly just look. I would be overwhelmed by all the choices.

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  12. I'd like to work there. Just imagine the people-watching opportunities!

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  13. I'll bet there are some great seasonal treats there - especially for those who don't want to bake at home.
    Snowdrops - so lovely, but not here until late January.

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  14. What a fascinating place to browse, or even shop, as you said, for gifts.
    However, I find your snowdrops a greater gift, because things like that don't happen here on the frigid prairie. When I first moved here, I phoned a nursery to find out which kind of living Christmas tree would be best to plant after the new year, and they laughed at me, because the ground is frozen solid.
    Sigh. I loved planting my Christmas trees and watching them grow on the west cost.
    Wishing you and Beloved, and Gardener, and everyone there the very best of the holiday season and the new year.
    Luv, K

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  15. Even if you don't buy, what a fun place to feast your eyes. I'm fascinated by the beehives in the back. Un-heated honey, fresh from the hive is sooo good. Bears are pretty smart.
    Wishing you a glorious holiday.... you and precious. Still keep some of that good chocolate in the back of the fridge?

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  16. Indulgence is only that when we do it every so often. If we do it all the time it is gluttony. Love this store and wish I had one nearby.

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  17. 'Shopping here is not cheap, how could it be. Everything is beautifully presented'

    Shoppers definitely pay for presentation and venue. This centre looks incredibly pleasant and I can see why you love it, there. I imagine I would, too!

    Thank you so much for the snowdrop photo! I look forward to seeing them sprout fully if you decide to upload more images of your sweet Christmas bells.

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  18. What a beautiful post about an amazing place. The snowdrop shoots were a joy too.
    Hibiscus buds in syrup are used by some (I think pretentious) foodies in glasses of champagne, where they open and fill the glass.

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  19. Shopping at your food center woulld certainly take the drudgery out of shopping! We don't have anything like that here in rural eastern Oregon. We have to get our fresh veggies from the farmers that the spouse works with.

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  20. Wonderful shop to one's shopping in, Especially for the Festive Season! Have a Merry Christmas!

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  21. Friko, lucky you to have those brave little snowdrops poking their heads above the ground just in time for Christmas!

    That Ludlow market looks quite lovely. Of course, we also have all sorts of exquisite food palaces around New York, but I am sure that the LM has things that are much fresher and perhaps not so "precious" as some items available around here at spots like Dean and Deluca.

    Way back in the late 1970's when I lived in our SoHo neighborhood I used to shop for cheese and tea at the original D and D, when the founders were very much part of the shop and some of the food was actually priced for artists living in the neighborhood. Ahhh, memories.

    xo

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  22. How funny that we have made these similar posts! I see these stores not necessarily as a place to buy things, but definitely a place where I can feast my eyes :) Happy holidays!

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  23. This looks like such a great store. We had a couple of close seconds in Marin County, California but honestly I don't think there was anything this nice. There's nothing like being able to shop in a good grocery.

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  24. I could lose myself for a long time in such a place - like a good bookstore and well stocked kitchen store...wander up and down the aisles & perhaps make a purchase or two.

    Thank you for the tour.

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  25. and there i was , feeling all foodie and organised , with a delicately reared , local turkey on order and friday's shopping list written . youngest daughter has even miraculously found a christmas pudding in waterstone's in amsterdam and will be bringimg it up ....
    and then you post about ludlow food center .

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  26. "bringing it up " as in packing it in her week-end bag to bring to us .... not as in puking , obviously .

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  27. Oh my! That looks like a shop I could wander about in for hours! What a special place. Thanks for sharing. :)

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  28. What pretty pictures of the store. Beautiful and pleasant place to browse, to see, and to buy. Green spears of Snowdrops - spring is not far behind.

    Wish you a relaxed and healthy Christmas, Friko.

    Yoko

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  29. The Ludlow Food Centre is definitely my kind of place. I enjoy these types of experiences, even if I only end up purchasing just a few things. Let's face it—foodstuffs are wonderful, and it's a special pleasure to find them locally grown, free of pesticides, and presented is such an artistic manner. Happy Holidays to you, Friko.

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  30. We have a few of those specialty markets around here. The Lords and ladies who create the local produce live to the southwest of us. No kidding, many of these people are descended from some of your lords and ladies, and some are imports from India and elsewhere in the old British Empire.

    Oh the dear dear snowdrops!! Some of mine are in bloom. I think I must get those other bulbs in the ground soon. I have one more day. The solstice is almost here. Dianne

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  31. I didn't read any of the comments so I don't know if you have an answer to your question about the hibiscus flowers in syrup. Coincidentally, or serendipitously, we happened on those just the other day at the liquor store. You put one in a glass and then pour champange over it. I suppose it flavors the champange a bit and also adds a bit of elegance. Expensive though.

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  32. Thanks for showing us round this food paradise and sharing your world,

    Ah the snowdrops peeking through - lovely little jewels of the ground.

    Have a wonderful Christmas Friko!

    Anna :o]

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  33. I would just want to peruse and treat myself to one item only. Gorgeous, gorgeous spot!!
    XO
    WWW

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  34. Dear Friko,

    First of all, thank you so much for the kind comment on my "getting real" post on my blog. It made me cry a bit, a good cry. I don't from which blog you found me, but I'm glad you came by.

    I'm equally glad to have discovered your blog. Loving all thing English (and French, but England was first!), it is a delight to visit the food center and ogle a bit at all the lovelies! I know you are right when you say we could make as good as better -- but there's something about it, isn't there? Something so magical about seeing such interesting foods, things we'd never think of. (Maybe putting those flowers on a cake? Can't possibly think of anything else!) I will poke around more and be back, I know. Thank you!

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  35. I was walking round the Food Centre only the other day, like you, marvelling at such unheard things but also looking for some fudge as part of a christmas present.
    The bags were so small and expensive I went home and made some fudge myself!

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  36. It reminds me of my favorite place, Whole Foods Market. LOVE it! Can't afford it EVERYDAY though :)

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  37. Oh, that does look wonderful! We have similar stores in a nearby city, chock full of temptation and too expensive for everyday shopping. But such a treat now and then!

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  38. I can't think of a shop in my area to match that, it looks like food heaven. I hope the bells ring out for you at Christmas! There's a few days yet so they may flower in time. I can't wait to check back and see.
    Happy Holidays
    Di
    X

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  39. There is definitely a "what will they think of next" quality to such shops, but, as you say, it can be fun to browse. I am certain, as you state, that your "home made pickles, chutneys and jams and jellies are as good as the ones on sale." Probably far better, don't you think?

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