Head Chef Jess Murphy takes us on a stroll through the Galway Market to put together the essentials of the perfect picnic. Read all about it here...
The Galway Saturday Market. Its traders and its people - I cast an Anthony Bourdain voice (ya know the one) - you wake up after a busy Friday night shift, rub your eyes and get your arse down to the kaleidoscope of the Galway Market with as much vigour as you can muster. The sweetest trad music from The Crane still ringing in your ears from the evening before and a massive amount of FOMO. Lying in bed at 6am with the sun coming up and thinking; ‘If I miss Liam’s asparagus and it's not on the menu tonight I will damn myself into a hot hell hole of eternity forever more,’ but not today Satan! I am a relaxed girlie tourist in my own hometown. That’s why I’m here today to show you all how amazing our little bohemian market is and how it deserves its own covered space (Galway City Council please protect this lifeblood of our community).
Now, everyone knows a market-goer's best pal is someone with cash - small notes, not fifties. Please don’t be the “can I take two pears?” tap-and-go person who holds a market line to a complete stand still. Think of the singles that want to get their messages before the prams start arriving. Nothing wrong with the prams, God bless them they can hold three bottles of pet nat, apple juice, fresh bread, sliced ham and four kilos of monkfish with two babies clutching bags of Danny's doughnuts in their hot little handies. Nothing wrong with that either, pram friends, now let’s live in a sustainable society where we impact our own circular economy! The cash that you pay with stretches and snakes around the city and into the pockets of people who pass it on to the person or persons pouring your pint, the person that makes them dinner and/or a beautiful busker on the street, of course not forgetting that hun making your oat milk flat white! Anyways you’re picking up what I am putting down, point being there is a little bit for each and everyone. But my idea today is to make an amazing summer picnic using only things bought off the Galway Market and turn it into a delicious edible map of The Galway Market, so I hope you enjoy this tasty trip.
-Jess Murphy
Walking through the market you see the makings of a great picnic; Smoked Keel beach smoked mackerel from Stefan of Gannet Fishmongers, Doughnuts from Danny of BoyChik Donuts, Cheese and Wine from Sheridans Cheesemongers, Beautiful Organic Vegetables from Cait, Janet and Toby of Cait Curran’s Organic Vegetable Stall and Liam’s tomatoes (they are not just tomatoes btw) from Tribal Foods.
The satisfaction of getting up early and having the chats before the market gets hectic is what it’s all about and what makes this city special. There are absolutely loads of amazing food producers on the market. Not only can you get your picky bits, you can get amazing Pea and Potato Curry from The Bean Tree, Flo’s falafels from The Gourmet Offensive, Fruit juices from Juice Genie, fantastic Indian from Galway Indian Street Food, and even South African Boerewors from Henry’s Boerewors Cart. Fresh oysters from The Oyster Man and amazing food from Govinda’s Stall by our own Krishna community.
The Galway Market is a melting pot and most of the food store holders are second generation and have been there for at least 20 years which is serious kudos in the food world alone and the reason we will always support the small tiny businesses owners that get up, set their stalls up in rain/hail/or sunshine!
Words by Jess Murphy.
Photography by Ciarán MacChoncarraige.
