So, I made it to the Woodstock Neighbourhood Goods Market this weekend, and it was quite something!
Once my mother and I had navigated the rather unruly streets of Salt River, and found ourselves a rather unusual parking place alongside a group of very broken down cars (we hoped our car would not be mistaken for same), we made our way down to Albert Rd (Lower Main Road), navigated the pedestrian crossing and wandered into the distinctive Old Biscuit Mill complex.
The market was very busy. There are obviously many fans out there of things organic, and this is where they congregate, perched on hay bales cunningly sealed in plastic covers (a novel concept, I thought) munching on organic chickpeas, sipping on organic wines and indulging in organic chocolate for dessert.
We didn’t eat anything at the market, other than tasting a bit of organic cheese, but we bought, between us, a large loaf of sour-dough bread, a wedge of farm cheese, half a dozen eggs, a big clove of garlic, some chickpea salad and a small tub of spicy olives (all of which proved delicious, when we dug into them back at home).
The variety was astounding. There were organic radishes, organic potatoes, organic pickles, organic teas, organic cakes, organic snacks and organic coffees. Organic sundried tomatoes, organic oranges, organic breads and, well, you get the picture.
My advice, if you’re going to go, is to go early. Salt River is extremely busy on a Saturday morning, and it was something of a bun-fight finding parking (there’s no parking set aside – and unless you have a very active parking angel, or possess a pavement-hopping 4×4, you aren’t going to find any on Albert Rd itself).
So, you have to find a spot in one of the little roads coming off Albert Rd (roads which were not designed for parking and two-way traffic) and then walk through what feels like a bit of a rough neighbourhood to get to the market itself. Not ideal.
If it weren’t for the parking nightmare, I would go every week – the food is that good. As it is, though, I’d rather order my organic goodies from the Ethical Co-op and have them delivered to my door, checking in on the market from time to time when I’m feeling strong.
The organic market is held every Saturday between 9am and 2pm at the Old Biscuit Mill in Woodstock (373 – 375 Albert Rd (Lower Main Rd.) Woodstock, Cape Town).
DISCLAIMER: Please use any event information as a guide only. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy thereof, things do change – and the best way to make sure something is definitely on is to contact the event organisers themselves. Full bells’n'whistles disclaimer here.
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James on 
I think you should be recycling at such a market. I attended last week and when it came time to throw away my trash I thought I would have to sort plastic from glass from organic, but found no such bins. Otherwise it was fab.
I’m pretty sure that when I went in September they did have recycling bins. I remember being impressed by that fact… Definitely the way to go at a market like that (at any market, for that matter).
do you know how one can sell things at this woodstock market? I am interested in selling sushi there.
Hi Lulu
I’m not sure, but I would suggest that you contact the guys at this website (they run the market).
I’ve seen oysters at the market, so sushi might just fit in!
I need contact details of person(s) who run organic cheese stalls
Thanx
Hello,
A couple of weeks ago i saw a program on dutch television about the foodmarket in Cape Town.
They showed a kind of pizza with parmesancheese and ham and Balsamicocreme.
Can anyone tell me how to make the crust for the pizza… It was really thin and it looked wonderfull.
I want to make this for my girlfriend comming saturday.
Thanx
Carlos
I have to say that this market is one of my favourite ways to consume time on a Saturday. My favourites are the designer Alexander Hojer (GORGEOUS dresses!), the vegetarian burgers sold by the funky ladies and the cupcakes. Hmmm…all in all a must-see in the mother city.
On Saturday the market also expanded into Kindergoods and Designergoods. I do not know if you saw them? They were stuck around the corner a bit….
But I agree – the food market is absolutely amazing. It has doubled in size since I was last there and it is so packed, you cannot even try walk against the flow through the food aisles. It is amazing!
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Hi Wendren
Yes, I saw those this past weekend – pretty cool stuff! And the food just blows my mind… I always end up spending far more than I should, but oh the taste is fantastic!
seems very nice why dont organisers work on the parking facilities etc,it cud grow into sumth huge….