Introducing our man at the Market; the wonderful MarkyMarket

From secret suppers to the family Sunday lunch, the best possible meat and fish available in the UK is finding its way on to the humble Londoners table thanks to the early hours put in by Mr Mark White.

Those of you who keep up to date with Fran’s @harvestatjimmys twittering will probably already be aware of @MarkyMarket . She’s not the only one to have greedily fallen for the man; James Ramsden [@jteramsden], Craig Butcher [@Craig_Butcher], Mathilde’s Cuisine [@MathildeCuisine], Lizzie Eats London aka Hollow Legs [@hollowlegs], Bloggers and foodies alike are singing and tweeting the praises of their man at the market.

Fillet steaks, the kings of the king crab, Dexter cattle burgers to battle your BBQ, salty samphire, fat happy corn fed chick-chiks and OYSTERS! Beautifully fresh oysters, carrying the sea to your mouth… the list could quite possible be endless, and if its not on the list? He’ll hunt it down for you. Talk of Marky Market is certainly cooking online.

Marky Market has been frequenting London’s food markets for years. Up at the crack of dawn to seek out the best produce, he is your man at the market. Loving nothing more than a fresh piece of sole, or the finest pork belly, the Harvest team caught up with Mr Market to find out that little bit more about why he spends his days [make that early mornings] seeking out the best cuts and fillets just to bring them to your door.

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Would you like to introduce yourself first?

My name’s Mark White. I started as a copywriter in advertising since the eighties. Got made redundant several times - once a decade really - and the last time was about a year ago.

What brought about the beginnings of Marky Market?

I’ve got a restaurant opposite my house in Wood Green, Mosaica, which is run by Johnny Mountain (who was on Great British Menu not too long ago). And because of that I got to know him. That must have been about 10 years ago he opened Mosaica, and I just made myself part of the woodwork. I’ve always been into food, you know, in a Nigel Slater kind of way –gloops of things and dollops of stuff.  So when I got made redundant last April, I just got a job as a kitchen porter with him, cleaning dishes. As well as helping Johnny go to the markets. I was just pulling boxes about, things like that. And what gave me the idea for Marky Market was seeing all these fishmongers and butchers, and their prices are 100% more than Johnny had paid for the restaurant produce and was spending in the market. So these people were marking their prices up by 100%. And of course they have to, they’ve got vans and staff and shops to pay for. Well, I realised that I could mark stuff up by 25%, but because it’s just me and the chill box I can sell all this fantastic food to people, without them having to pay through their nose. So that’s what gave me the idea really.

How long have you been doing it for then?

It’s really vague. You notice these things with hindsight. I just started getting some rib-eyes for my mates in the pub and things. Then after a couple of months Johnny was getting me to go down on my own, so I was buying stuff for Mosaica without the chef or owner being there. So I found myself buying stuff for the restaurant and buying stuff for my friends and realised that everyone liked this idea. Then I came up with the idea of Marky Market. And luckily the domain name, markymarket.com, was still available. And, because I used to be a copywriter for decades, I just wrote a bit of a copy and put a few prices on the website and started to build my field of dreams. You know, “if you build it they will come.” And people started getting in touch with me. It all sort of came together and I came up with the phrase ‘I’m your man at the market.’ People were joking and taking the mick out of me, saying I’m a personal shopper. But that’s really what I am! And people love it, and I love it. I should really have more of a business brain about me, but I am more concerned about doing it for people. I really should be more on getting profit, but that makes no difference to me.

And how many customers do you have now?

It must be getting into the hundreds now. Maybe I have about 6-12 people every week.  My original thing was people I knew from working in advertising, and everyone has fridges in the office, so I could deliver to peoples’ offices. I could get in touch with them and sell to them, and I could get it to the office before you’ve had a chance to have your first cup of coffee in the morning.

So you use two markets, Smithfield and Billingsgate. Do you have to get to them at a certain time to get the best produce? Does it turn into a big fight?

It really is! It’s just such an atmosphere down there when it’s all full. And they’ve all got thousands of pounds worth of produce. And I’m after an eight kilo pork belly, bargaining with them – haggling for the exact pork belly I want. I must annoy them so much.

Have you learnt the tricks of the trade fairly well by now then?

Johnny told me some good advice about Billingsgate: Mondays the markets are closed, so on Tuesday it’s impossible to get any kind of good price because of the demand. People are just buying as they haven’t had anything Sunday or Monday. So come Wednesday, the fish gets in a few hours beforehand; it’s not yesterday’s fish. But everyone has bought all the fish they want the day before and there isn’t a rush on it. So Wednesday is the day to go to Billingsgate. But that doesn’t open until 5 in the morning, so before then you can go to Smithfield. And I get there at about half 3. I’ve got there at half 5 before, I over slept, and you wouldn’t believe it had just been an hour or two, there was no one there. I think it’s open until about 9, but if you get down there at around 7 you’re only going to get tired old stuff. The trick is, you get down there at about 4 o’clock and you do all the deals with the traders, but no money can change hands at that time, and they’re very strict about it. Then while you wait you have a bacon sandwich and a cup of coffee (best bacon sandwich in the world). And at 5 o’clock the bell goes, and it’s such a rush, because within a couple of minutes everyone’s out. Then there are the people that don’t really know who turn up at around 6 or 7. But the trick is you have to know the traders, and I guess that’s part of my skill. Because they’re not allowed to deal money with you before 5, if they don’t know you they won’t do that.

I’m guessing then, that there is a massive difference between the produce you get at the markets and the produce you buy in the supermarkets.

People sometimes, when I’m getting them like mackerel or other fish, quote me the price from Sainsbury’s. And  always say ‘I’m not competing with Sainsbury’s. I’m getting you fresh sardines, off the day boats that morning.’ You can imagine, the supermarkets will get them from markets, transport them for a day, package and sort them and then back into lorries on to the shelf. But my stuff - I know what to look for. I know how to get the best pork belly, the best crabs. I learnt it all by trial and error.

So where does all the meat come from at Smithfield?

Oh gosh, from all over. But I make sure I only ever get, I make them promise, that it’s outdoor reared pigs and chickens. If it’s had a nice life, that’s stress free, then that’s what I’m aiming for. I think that’s what most people are happy with.

So why do you not go for organic then? Do you feel there’s not a need?

I have never personally noticed that much difference between organic and just really well looked after. I don’t mind if they give them antibiotics if it’s got a cold or whatever. As long as it’s not being slaughtered a few days later so it’s still in the system, there’s no problem. I just want considerate farming. And then that’s good enough for me, and good enough for my customers. I make sure to tell everyone exactly where it comes from. Because, people want to know and I want to know. I’m as precise as I can be really.

We’ve spoken about organic, but what about sustainability with the fish. Are you now aware of it, and do the fisherman seem aware of it as well?

I’ve always been aware of it. Especially the more high profile things like cod and salmon at the moment. For America, most of its salmon farms are in South America, and there’s been a virus affecting their system. So Americans are buying up everything. It’s become a crisis that’s affecting over here. Now when people ask me for salmon, I just recommend that it’s not good value for money. And it’s because of this nasty, cheap way of farming salmon. I would make sure that people know they’ll have to pay that bit more for certain fish when I buy for them. I like buying food, and I like the idea of getting sustainable stuff. I’ll always emphasise to someone, especially with things like cod and salmon, that it’s something you’ll have to pay for to make sure it’s line caught. The same with hand picked scallops, never dredged. It seems like just general common sense stuff, and I like to do that.

So what’s ‘fashionable’, what’s popular meat and fish-wise at the moment?

People want….spleen! Pig spleen!

Really?! How do they cook it?

I saw this recipe – how to do pig spleen. And you use sage leaves and roll it up. I forget whether you roast it or fry it.

What about fish then? What’s the cool fish?

What’s the cool fish? Sardines. I’m selling loads of sardines. And they’re just so simple. Put a sardine on a hot barbeque grill with loads of salt and loads of lemon juice. You know when you go to those little villages on holiday, and there’s just that smell. Just always smells fantastic.

 

To get more of an idea of what Mark does, visit his site at www.markymarket.com  to check out prices. Remember, even if it’s not on the list, it doesn’t mean he can’t find it. Be sure to ask if you’re looking for that something special for an amazing spread!