Queen Victoria Market

September 1997

Going shopping regularly for food at markets gives you a lot more than fruit and vegetables at good prices. It's about being part of a community, of getting to know people who live, breathe and eat what they sell. It's about noise, bustle, about arriving with a list and leaving with completely different items. The sights and smells of new produce make you change your menu plans. As you are walking around without the ease of big trolleys you have to resist buying the extra quantities which the sellers will so persuasively try to offer at bargain prices.

And with the products you don't know how to cook or how they taste, you can ask the stall holder. They'll often have good advice to offer but if sometimes they seem a bit grumpy just remember that they've usually been up since 3am. That means that what you are getting is fresh, brought in that day.

We are very lucky in Melbourne to have so many good produce markets, there are far fewer in other capitals. This week for the first time six of the major markets (Queen Victoria, Preston, Prahran, South Melbourne, Footscray and Dandenong) are joining forces for the inaugural Market Week.

I was surprised to learn how many people are involved in markets. In just those six markets a total of 10,000 people are employed. Markets have always played an important role in the life of Melbourne. My mother remembers buying flowers at the old Eastern Market (cnr Exhibition and Bourke Sts) for her father's restaurant, Mario's in Exhibition Street. With our restaurant, Mietta's in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy and living in Carlton, the logical place to shop was the Queen Victoria Market so that's where our favourite food sellers are.

Avison's Fish Suppliers were a source of lots of our fish at the restaurant in Fitzroy. Then we used to be able to get huge Murray Cod (in very scarce supply these days) and the wild ducks which Garry and Peter Avison bagged in the shooting season. When he had Two Faces Restaurant in South Yarra, Hermann Schneider bought fish from their father. Now Peter and Garry’s kids help at the stall 35.

Tarbert Louey's great grandfather started a stall at the market more than 80 years ago and Tarbert took over 27 years ago. We've been buying from him for 22 years and he taught us a lot about Chinese vegetables. You can find Tarbert, his wife Judy, and sometimes their three daughters at stall 39-42.

 
Another third generation market stall holder is Stan who with partner, Garry have the sweetest carrots at Stall 28. Right now their oranges and mandarins are really good.

Mai Ly sells some very fine vegetables to Alex Tseng (Bamboo House) and Gilbert Lau (The Flower Drum) at her stall 17-20. Another favourite of many restaurateurs has been Chitty's Rabbits, Stall 27. After 42 years Straun Chitty finally retired on September 20 and his stall is now run by his nephew Wayne who has the fish shop next door. Mr Chitty is looking forward to being able to visit some of his friends in the country and maybe able to get hold of more rabbits. Part of the reason for his retiring is the difficulty of maintaining supply, he reckons that if he could get them he would still be selling 1000 pair a week. Over the years his customers have included Walter Bourke and Hermann Schneider. He still eats rabbit at least once a week and says the best way to cook it is to stuff and tie it and put into a pressure cooker for 30 minutes. Half way through cooking, put in carrots, peas, potato and pumpkin., then make a nice gravy from the cooking juices.

Just through the passage in the Meat Hall from Chitty's is A. Paulet's Stall 6 and the best offal at the market. Brains, liver, kidneys and sometimes sweetbreads used to make up "The Best Parts get left behind" a favourite lunch dish at Mietta's in the city.

John Gordon at Stall 77-81 has wonderful organic fruit and vegetables which we still buy every week. John knows his organics very well, he has been distributing these products for the past 8 years, first in Brunswick Street and for the past four years at the market. During Market Week try his Fuerte avocados (3 for $3) and the bio-dynamic asparagus (2 bunches for $2.50). Next door, Cameron Russell has become the mushroom specialist of the Queen Victoria Market. Currently he is selling Victorian morels at $60-80 a kilo; Scottish chanterelles at $90 and local shitakes at $35. Less exotic but more economic are the Swiss Browns at $12 and large flats at $8. Another special at his stall is the Bethonga Pineapple, an expensive but very sweet delicacy currently available at about $3 a kilo.

And for deli goods our favourite is the Polish Traditional Delicatessen at Stall 5-6. The smell of the succulent smoked goods is sensational. Alexandra (Ola) the manager and the Polish women who work with her are all very helpful in translating and explaining what the long list of Polish goods are all about. This stall is famous for the Wedding, Krakowska, Lwonska and Juniper Sausages which are made from female pigs according to traditional Polish recipes. The queue on Saturday mornings can be rather long but well worth the wait.

These are some of the people you can shop from all year round at the Queen Vic market but this week there's a whole heap of other activities there. Part of Queen Street is closed off to traffic today and a marquee set up for cooking demonstrations of all kinds. At 9am it's "Family Meals in 15 minutes"; at 10.15 its "How to Sharpen Knives"; at 10.30 its "Cooking Steak to Perfection; at 11.15 it's "Asian Vegetables, Woks and Kinetik Energy; at 12.30 its "Chilli Jam, choosing and using Asian ingredients and then at 1.15 its "Making Sushi". There are similar programs on Thursday and Friday and at the weekend sessions run later and include "Pancake Making for keen young cooks", who can make the pancakes of their dreams, then eat them.

And there will be pony and camel rides today, Thursday, Friday and all weekend plus music and buskers. On Friday and Saturday the Town Crier has the job of judging the best busker. And there's a competition for the market's best and loudest spruiker. Most shops will have a special item on sale for the week and they'll be free food tastings all round the seven hectare market site.