In our address book
In our address book
Orange Square Farmers Market
6.09.2022
Words by Ed Woolgar
Quality English ingredients at the locals’ favourite market
Pimlico Road / Orange Square
Saturday 9am -2pm
English-focused affair
Orange Square is a beautiful spot on the edge of Chelsea, also known as Mozart Square thanks to the statue of the composer aged eight, commemorating the fact that he stayed in the area when visiting London.
Nowadays the square is surrounded by restaurants, pubs, and shops, with benches and trees in the middle offering a sheltered spot. Each Saturday morning it hosts a farmers’ market – a small, friendly, English-focused affair – where locals come to pick up their fruit and vegetables, often accompanied by bikes, dogs and children.
All of the produce comes from within a hundred miles of London, and the market is so well-curated it won a TimeOut Love London Award. Many of the suppliers have their names chalked onto the flagstone floor, and along with the usual mix of bakers, grocers and meat producers, you will also find Moreton Mushrooms selling delicious fungi grown in Northamptonshire, the Tomato Stall selling colourful tomatoes from the Isle of Wight, and honey from Kent courtesy of the team at Bray’s Bees.
"Don’t leave without trying one of the fantastic milkshakes from the Dorset dairy company. A delicious start to a Saturday morning."
Jake Russell
Favourite stalls
One of our favourite stalls comes from Churchview Farm, a smallholding in Kent run by Richard and Jennifer. They left London over a decade ago so that their children could grow up in the countryside, and after trying to grow vegetables and soft fruits, eventually settled on spiced chutneys and wildflowers. Still just a family operation – their children are now old enough to help out at the stall – it boasts one of the most beautiful displays at the market, with arrangements of flowers and picnic hampers filled with chutneys.
We also like Nut Knowle Farm in East Sussex, which was established four decades ago and now produces a range of goat’s milk cheeses. Many were inspired by French varieties of cheese, though you would not guess from the names: Sussex Yeoman, Saint George, Wealden and Marlet Gold. However, among them you will find English takes on camembert, Langres, and Crottin de Chavignol, as well as cheeses flavoured with herbs, spices, chilli, and charcoal.