Shopping in the 21st century has, in some ways, become so simple. Want an outfit? Go in to your favourite generic clothing store conveniently located in your nearest town/city centre or out-of-town retail park. Need some fresh fruit and veg - go to the supermarket (or even worse order it online!). Want a new DVD? Go buy it shrink wrapped from any number of supermarkets or high street retailers. But, all of this does come at a price - generally paid for out of our own pockets without you even realising it. Don't get me wrong, I'm as big a fan of most of these modern conveniences as the next person - but for some things it really is still worth heading off the beaten track.

Background

Kirkgate Market has been around for quite some time. It started life as an open air market early on in the Victorian period, with a central indoor market being added later. It became the original home to Mr Marks and his penny bazaar in the 1880s. The original indoor market burned down in 1893, and the current building was officially opened in 1904. Doing the background research into the market's history has proved a little problematic, as the BBC website and wikipedia have different versions, and the council have very little about the history on their website. But, enough of the old stuff for now - all you really need to know is it's housed in a beautiful old building at the bottom end of the city - easily accessible from the bus station and near to the Corn Exchange for those of you familiar with the area.

The market is still split into two areas - outside and inside. Inside there are approximately 400 stalls (although there are some occasionally vacant), with a further 200 outside. It is supposedly the largest indoor market in Europe - which I can believe. I'm sure there is method in the madness of stall organisation, but being such a huge space, it is very easy to get lost. There are occasional dividing walls splitting off different sections, however, you can find yourself walking in circles if you're not careful. Not every stall is the same every day. Most are
permanent, but particularly outside, they have different traders on different days of the week, as they change the emphasis of the market.

The market is clean and well kept, but be aware - if deliveries arrive at an inconvenient time you may have to navigate round pallets of supplies. Apart from this it is generally accessible for everyone, has toilet facilities and even a cash machine.

Opening Hours and information: (courtesy of leeds.gov.uk)

Monday - Saturday (except Wednesday): 9-5
Wednesday: 9-2 (with no open market)
1st and 3rd Sunday of the month - Farmers' Market (a reasonable number of stalls specialising in local produce and arts and crafts; outside only): 9-2

Monday: Second hand clothing day
Tuesday: General retail trades
Thursday: Flea market and general trades
Friday/Saturday: General trades

What's available?

Well, an easier question is probably what isn't available. With there being so many stalls, as you can imagine, there is a huge amount of choice. There are a range of clothing stalls - some selling fashion items, some work wear, some specialising in belts and coats or even socks and underwear. I don't really buy too much from most of these stalls, but whenever I walk past or browse the prices always seem reasonable. Whilst talking cloth, there are stalls with bedding, stalls with towels, and stalls selling a variety of fabrics by the yard, wool, buttons, and pretty much most other sewing materials. I managed to find some nice zebra print fun fur (not real fur!) for a fancy dress outfit - not my proudest moment!

There are a good number of stalls selling games and toys - usually the bright shiny plastic things. Others sell second hand DVDs, CDs, cassettes and VHS. There's a permanent second hand book stall inside, and another the regularly appears outside. If you're a smoker, there are the obligatory stalls with the rainbow of rizla papers and lighters, along with more specialist items - for example if you fancy going Middle Eastern, why not invest in an enormous Hookah pipe and flavoured tobaccos? I can't say I've ever been tempted, but someone must buy them if
they're always on offer.

Household products are also readily available. From bleach to black bags, polish to pan scrubs, it's all there and much cheaper than in the supermarkets. You can even furnish your house. A couple of stalls specialise in kitchen equipment, with others offering good condition second hand three piece suites and other furniture. Emmaus, a charity in Leeds that raise money selling unwanted furniture, also hold a stall there. Not everything is tasteful or necessarily what you'd pick, but if you're starting out with a new home, it's cheap and practical - and sometimes they do get some beautiful things in.

If you fancy a snack whilst you're there, there's a choice of places to go. Either grab a Greggs on the run, sit down in the burger bar, grab some ready roasted chicken or a baguette from one of the other places.

Occasionally organisations also take stalls - including West Yorkshire Police, Leeds City Council and Leeds libraries.

Why do I use the market?

Well, as you may have noticed, I have so far mentioned very little about the food stalls. I love to cook and try new things, but the supermarket's have a relatively small range of produce available. The food stalls at the market are numerous and varied, and the main thing that attracts me. To me, it represents the broader picture of Leeds - multicultural and diverse. People from all walks of life come to the market - sharing the common desire to buy fresh ingredients. Firstly there are the specialist international food stalls. These include Greek, Polish, Russian and South African. If you want your stir fry ingredients, I'm afraid it's a trip to Chinatown and the Chinese supermarkets, just a few minutes walk, but that is the only real absence in the stalls. If you want herbs and spices, including many I'd never even really come across before, there are stalls that specialise. Fancy trying some plantain or grabbing some scotch bonnets? That's possible too.

There has always been a place in my heart for cheese. Kirkgate Market has a great stall specialising in cheeses - a wide variety are cut of from large blocks, so you can buy as much or as little as you like. Other cheese on special offer (i.e. it has a pretty short shelf life left) are sold in pre-cut blocks for around £1 each. Every now and again, I've come across a giant bag of parmesan shavings (just like they serve on your food in Italian restaurants) for just a couple of quid.

Meat is readily available with a small street full of butchers (well, not quite a street, but these are more like small shops than stalls). During the summer they offer BBQ packs with huge quantities of meat for a fixed price, stew packs feature more in the winter. Fish is just as abundant, with around half a dozen fishmongers stalls. They all have a large selection of fish and seafood. Just be careful when you walk past them, there's often a bit of a damp patch from all the ice and them washing things down. There are also a couple of stalls specialising in local meats - rabbits, duck, game birds and a selection of eggs - great for eating and baking.

If you want ready cooked meals, there is a couple of Jack Fulton freezer stalls as well as others selling off frozen products, packets of biscuits and cakes, and all sorts of other goodies.

Perhaps my favourite stalls are those offering vast quantities of fruit and veg. Nowadays people complain that they can't afford to eat healthily or buy fruit, but if you can get yourself to the market, this should not be an excuse. On my last trip, I spent around £11- £12, and here is what I came away with:

1 large bunch of asparagus
1 large punnet of strawberries (£1)
5 lemons
1 lb of baby plum tomatoes ( that were selling for roughly three times the price in Sainsburys)
3 small punnets of blueberries (which cost me the grand total of £1 - Sainsburys Basics blueberries were around £1.60 for 1 punnet)
2 whole nutmegs
1 bunch of spring onions
5 lbs of washed potatoes
5 small red onions (sold in a bag for
4 small mixed peppers (sold in a bag for 50p)

As the week progresses, stall holders are eager to get rid of fruit and veg with not much life left in it, so will often portion it into bags for a fixed price (such as my peppers and red onions). There are a good range of multibuy offers (such as my blueberries), and you can sometimes mix and match fruits depending on the offer. A personal highlight is boxes of mushrooms (that hold over a kilo) selling for between £2 and £3 - perfect for some great winter warming soup. But - be aware - the stalls are businesses too, and it's not in their interest to just let good food go to waste. Wherever possible, try and pick your own as occasionally you come home to find a rotten punnet in your nice shopping, not what you need really. Also, the shelf life is sometimes a bit shorter than in the supermarkets (but not always - as they can be just as bad at deciding when a product is beyond sale).

Summary

Well, I could keep going on for ages (as anyone who has read any of my other reviews may know!), so I will wrap it up here. I love shopping at the market. The stall holders are generally happy and polite, and will answer any questions you have. Many will also let you sample certain foods. There is always a huge selection of products available, and usually at multiple stalls. But... never buy the first thing you see, you may find the same thing for four different prices across different stalls. As a rule of thumb, for fruit and veg at least, the indoor stalls can be slightly more expensive, mainly as they have larger overheads for signage and more personalised, better placed stalls. The outdoor stalls are more like tables, so will cost less for the traders to keep up and running. Having said this, some of the indoor stalls tend to have more specialist fruit and veg, so it can be worth paying more. One always has a selection of fresh wild mushrooms, whilst another has nice varieties of traditional veg such as purple sprouting broccoli or romanesco cauliflowers. I always try and buy from several different stalls, as each one seems to have a few fruit or veg that stand out.

Get back to how shopping used to be - buy how much you want (not how much is in the packet), get advice from someone who knows about what they're selling - and support a wide range of local businesses all in one fell swoop.

*Also posted on Dooyoo, username nicolap82*