In case you hadn’t noticed, I love food. Really. The absolute best part about having to pack up our entire lives, bid farewell to friends, pets, our country and our home and move to China is because I now have an excuse to drink all our best wines and use all the lovely goodies I’ve been hoarding in my cupboard for special occasions. (Saffron omelets with cocoa nibs for breakfast anyone? Maybe not.) But even for me, dragging myself out of bed at 6:30 on a Saturday morning to get to Wild Oats in Sedgefield before all the Île de paín ciabatta is gone or the pancake queue reaches new-iPad-on-sale proportions is a bit of a schlep (a worthwhile schlep, but a schlep none the less). So I – along with every other Georgian west of York who was relieved when the Pick & Pay mini market opened because now we don’t have to drive ALL the way to the big Pick & Pay – rejoiced when the Outeniqua Farmers Market opened their doors opposite the Garden Route Mall in November.
The creators of this foodie heaven travelled the world over to ensure they created a market that would keep people coming back and they certainly succeeded. Shaded by tall oaks, almost 80 stalls sell everything a food lover could want. Locally sourced and grown meats, breads, cheese, fruit, veg, juices, ice creams, spices, seafood and more make it a one 
stop shop when you need to fill your grocery cupboard. Or for those days when comfort is more important than fitting into your new Levi’s there are to die for brownies (in packaging so gorgeous you need never be stuck for a gift idea again), chocolate springrolls, nougat chocolate cups (nougat chocolate cups!), koeksisters, milktart, beautifully decorated cupcakes and just about every other gut busting sweet treat you can think of. If breakfast or lunch is all you’re after you are spoiled for choice. Rolls so soft you want to lay your head down on them with fluffy 
scrambled eggs and crispy bacon (lay your head on the roll, not with the eggs and bacon… you know what I mean), ciabatta with various toppings toasted in little pizza ovens, Thai and Indian curries, satays, Dutch bitterballen and kroketten, gourmet burgers and wraps, falafel and all things Lebanese, samoosas, pancakes, homemade pies of every possible description or just munch on a bit of biltong and have a great cup of coffee while you sit and watch the world go by. And at this market, the world goes by! It is a bustling hive of locals greeting each other, tourists happily calculating how much their pounds can buy and even patrons of the four legged kind giving each other friendly sniffs. There is live entertainment and lots for the kids to do with pony rides, face painting, jungle gyms and lots of space to just run and play in a safe environment. At present there is also a smaller arts and crafts area which the owners hope to grow once the food stalls are perfected. From where I’m sitting, sipping my fresh iced pineapple juice and munching on a nougat cup, they’re pretty much there already.
