Bunbury Farmer’s Market

| Chris Riley

Bunbury Farmer’s Market is no ordinary farmer’s market. It’s my favourite place to shop, and without doubt, the best of it’s kind that I’ve ever come across.

I’ll let the pictures show you why:

They sell just about everything
They support our local farmers, and pay them a fair price
A great selection of lunch food at the coffee shop
Or  cake to have with a coffee

Everyday items, very fresh and reasonably priced

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Some produce that’s less than usual

And the exotic

Once past the fresh vegetable section we come to the gourmet butchers.

Adam the butcher takes great pride in his work

Today Mary was cooking some of Adam’s lamb creations for us to sample

There are sampling stations throughout the market. The samples are generous, and there’s no pressure to buy. The market owners believe in giving the customers a good shopping experience, without pressure. It must be working. This place is always busy, and is well known throughout the south west. We prefer to do the 130 km round trip fortnightly for our fresh produce than to use our local supermarket. The vegetables are fresher after we’ve had them for a week than they are when we first buy them at the local supermarket.

I had the privelege of doing Mary’s job for a short time a couple of years ago. I say privelege because I enjoyed it more than I’ve enjoyed any other job. Cooking, great quality food, and talking to people – now anyone who knows me knows for me that’s not work, it’s all pleasure. So why did I leave? At the end of the day I had a 60 km drive with the sun strobing through the trees on high speed country roads. I didn’t feel safe. I’ve hoped Paul would spark some interest in working there too with corresponding days. He’s a confident, and competent driver in that sort of situation. Alas – he hasn’t shown any interest. Never mind. It was good while it lasted.

Check out those tomahawk steaks

There’s always something special from the butchers counter. Fantastic in-house made sausages, gourmet meat filled pastries, and special cuts of top quality meats. Today they had some Wagyu rump steak on special for $33 a kg. They also had some wagyu scotch fillets for closer to $100 kg. We treated ourselves to a piece of the rump. The wagyu scotch fillet can wait for a special occasion treat (like winning the lotto).

After the gourmet meat counter there’s the normal meats and chickens. All the chicken is free range, and you can get thigh cutlets or breast fillets with the skin off, or on if you’d prefer it. I love the skin on my chicken and am frustrated when the supermarkets only sell skinless.

Next the deli counter
The best selection of cold meats
This cabinet full of pastries, all made in house – including their own melt in your mouth puff pastry – and there’s soups, and olives, and pates’ and pickles and sauces….. there’s just about everthing
Then to the cheese section. Their demonstrators at the cheese counter have taught me loads of things about cheese. They really know their stuff
Today on the sample table a delectable imported washed rind, oozy soft cheese. Just the way I like a soft cheese to be
Local cheddars, cheeses from all around Australia, Greek feta, italian parmesans, and some wonderful imported French cheeses. Cheeses green with sage, orange cheeses, blue cheeses, white and yellow. The best selection for a colourful cheeseboard
And what would cheese be without bread – Rolls and loaves
Gluten free too
There’s even a florist section
This was this week’s  shop which includes cupboard staples like condensed milk, golden syrup, and caraway seeds, and fridge staples like fresh milk, yogurt,  cream and butter

If you stick the items you’d normally buy from your local supermarket you’ll go home with fresher produce, and you’ll  pay less than you will most likely be paying at you supermarket. That’s if you stick to the normal items. When it comes to a quality, washed rind, imported cheese, or one of their in house made vanilla slices, well I can’t resist. Could you?  But believe me, the treats on offer at the Bunbury Farmer’s Market are worth ever cent spent, and every calorie consumed. Those vanilla slices, eating them slowly and savouring every mouthful of creamy custard and melt in your mouth butter pastry – what a pleasure!










 

19 thoughts on “Bunbury Farmer’s Market”

  1. Oh my, I am picking up my jaw that fell to the floor….I want to go to your market really bad, Chris! What a shopping experience, my mouth started watering with each continued photo; everything looked so good, fresh and wonderful! We don’t have anything like this locally. I go to a small butcher a few blocks from us for fresh meats and veggies, but selections are small which is understandable for our area, but it sure beats our local grocery stores’ meats & veggies that are shipped in from who knows where.

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  3. Pingback: Theme change – Life of Riley – on whatever

    1. It’s easy to spot. It’s on the way into Bunbury on your left when driving down from Perth. It’s that good it’s actually Bunbury’s number one attraction on Trip Advisor – well it was last time I looked.

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