Riverside Market: Your Stories Shared With Us
A huge thank you to everyone who came along to our Riverside Market 25th Anniversary on the weekend; we had a fantastic time - it was brilliant to see so many familiar faces there to celebrate with us.
We enjoyed live demos and tastings from our traders Pettigrew Bakeries and Vicolo Sei, a couple of live music performances, and even got to present one of our longest-standing traders, Penrhiw Farm, with an award to commemorate their contribution to our markets over the last quarter century.
Wales Online also came along on the day to see what the fuss was about; they wrote a lovely opinion piece which you can read here: ‘I took £15 to a local farmers market and I’ll definitely be going back’.
Your Riverside Market Memories
As part of our celebrations this month, we’ve also been asking you to share some of your best market stories and memories with us. Below we’ve shared just a few of our favourites…
“There was no ceremony more scared back in the day than grabbing a Mr Croquewich toastie at Riverside Farmers Market and spending a Sunday morning catching up with whoever you were lucky enough to bump in to. And whilst the pandemic threw everything in the air, the ritual of routine and supporting local was so vital that our own ‘market toasties’ soon because a weekly staple which continues to this day.
We stop first at Pettigrew for a sourdough tin, then head to Ty Caws for Owen to recommend the perfect new cheese to try (to date, slices of rollright with a cranberry jam is still my favourite combo!) and then head home, not forgetting to pick up something from Carrot Top Bakery to have with a coffee after slicing, buttering, pressing and flipping our bounty!” - Rosie White, Franks Co-founder and avid market go-er.
"Cardiff Farmers Markets have been part of our Food Cardiff network since we were founded; farmers markets like Riverside play a fundamental role in connecting food which is good for the planet and producers to communities, but they are also a place for social connection and inspiration. The success of Riverside Market over 25 years is a real testament to this." - Food Cardiff Coordinator, Pearl Costello. Food Cardiff is a city-wide partnership of individuals and organisations which acts as a hub for connecting the people and projects working to promote healthy, environmentally sustainable and ethical food across the city.
Pearl’s first ever haul from Riverside Market.
“I always used to have time for chat with rhodri Morgan, he was there every week. Since the internet/insta didn’t exist back then, to know what traders were there, we would have to peek through our blinds to do a recce to know whether to make the trip outside or not!” - @perelloprincess on Instagram, who used to live opposite the market in the early 2000’s.
“Here’s one of my favourite Riverside market memories, when Millie had a nibble of her first ever Welshcake from Rogue Welsh Cakes.” - @youmeandmillie on Instagram.
Millie contemplates her first Welshcake!
“My favourite memory was recording an episode of the Hank! Cardiff Podcast and interviewing some of the traders at Riverside’s 20th anniversary - how quickly time flies! You can still listen to that episode today, it’s still available online.” - Jane Cook, local food blogger at HungryCityHippy.
“We have taken numerous friends and relatives to Riverside over the years. A lovely relaxed way to start a Sunday morning, have a browse and a coffee. We took both our boys and their partners last Sunday, bought duck fillets from Madgetts Farm, lovely walnut sourdough from Riverside Sourdough and then just people watched.” - Riverside regular, Rosemary Taylor.
If you’d like to share some more of your market memories with us, you can still drop us a message on Instagram at www.instagram.com/cardifffarmersmarket.