Welcome to our first Farmer’s Market Profile, and this week it’s on the bustling South Sydney Markets!
On a wet and chilly Sunday morning, I arrived at 11am to a large, bustling warehouse which hosts the South Sydney Markets. At the front, a crowd is gathered around a children’s dance group performing to Top40 hits. I’m thinking, lucky kids, at least they get to work up a sweat and feel warm on this knuckle-clenchingly chilly morning! I see our Brasserie Bread stall full of fresh bread right at the entrance to the warehouse, situated next to Mayan Fair-trade coffee. Perfect strategic positioning! Adeline, our stallholder is manning South Sydney Markets today – she’s bundled up in a jumper and a fuzzy Panda beanie nestled comfortably on top of her head. I have to say, I’m watching the beanie work wonders with young children, who all stare at her (and the smiley panda on her head) in awe.
Adeline at the stall
For many of who may not know Adeline, she is the partner of Steve Middleton, who handles many of our Organic Farmer’s markets stalls all over Sydney. That Sunday, Steve is over at Palm Beach. They also run our Brasserie Bread stall at the popular Kings Cross Markets every Saturday. Adeline is from Bretagne, the northern region of France. Being French, she knows how to enjoy bread. And that does work to her advantage: people tend to trust in her ability and knowledge of pairing the breads to dishes or flavours.
Adeline deals with crowds, like water off a duck’s back. Friendly, easy going, relaxed, warm and accommodating. She addresses each customer in a personable and attentive manner, and bends down to speak to children directly, smiling and looking at them in the eye. It’s all about informing and educating customers about Brasserie Bread and the products, rather than merely selling our artisan bread and pastries (Find out more about our Products)
She also dishes out mini discounts for French people at times
“Because pastries are so cheap in France, they’re like $0.70 compared to $3.50 here, so I try to give them a little bit of a discount to make them feel like they’re not paying out of their nose for a pastry”
I asked Adeline what was great about working at the South Sydney markets in general. First of all, they’re undercover (which works wonders for rainy days) It’s also all about quality, not quantity. There’s one of each kind of stall there, and not just the variety of food and fresh produce available, but that many of the stalls are award-winning leaders of their industry (Counting Country Valley and Urban Food Market as a few in attendance). Another great feature of the Markets is that they are extremely family-friendly. Not only was a children’s dance troupe performing (drawing family and friends to one venue), but there’s also a baby animal petting zoo, and massive jumping castle!
Alpaca is king
Bouncing castle
In the time I’m there, 3 people come up to Adeline with special flyers of some sort to redeem a loaf of bread. I’m curious, so I ask her where these flyers come from and she points out to me that the South Sydney markets does a lot of local promotions with businesses in the area. The flyer in question that morning was picked up from the local gym, swimming pool and Officeworks, and allowed people to redeem a free Brasserie Bread loaf if they brought it in. It’s refreshing to see the hard-working efforts South Sydney Markets go through to bring people to their fantastic markets on the weekend- the organisers aren’t just serious about the quality of their markets, but also about gaining exposure for, and promoting their market stallholders. You can feel the atmosphere of collaboration and respect in the air – Adeline and the lady from Mayan coffee help each other out; Mayan Coffee has Brasserie Bread brownies to go with each cup of coffee, while Adeline asks customers after buying their loaf or pastries if they’d like a cup of coffee.
While Adeline dealt with a small crowd around the stall, I decided to have a wander around the markets. Caught up with the delightful Tim Elwin (@urbanfoodmarket) from Urban Food Markets who’s runs sold-out popular Producer dinners (Duckfest at MuMu Grill and Lambfest at Coast as a few), and I also met the lovely Ester http://www.twitter.com/DairyGoodness) from award-winning Country Valley Dairy Company. At the 2010 RAS Fine Food Show, they won ‘Champion Yoghurt’ and a coveted Gold Medal for their full-cream milk.
Country Valley Awards list
Every Sunday 10am -3pm
- Address: 75-85 O’Riordan Street, Alexandria (Behind Harley Davidson and Officeworks)
- Website: http://www.southsydneymarkets.com.au/
- Crowd & Atmosphere: Urban couples and families; very family-friendly
- Notable stalls to visit: Country Valley, Urban Food Market, Bonsai tree stall, baby animal Petting zoo!
- Most popular BB products here: Batard Sourdough, Almond Croissant, Sour Cherry loaf
