Visiting London’s amazing markets is one of my greatest passions. While my friend Katie was visiting from Vancouver just before Christmas, we thought we would step up our conventional market going and visit London’s industrial markets. Smithfield Market which supplies most of London and the south of England with it’s meat was a sight for sore eyes. Actually, it was a sight for bleary eyes as we has to arrive at about 4am to catch all of the action. The market was organised chaos as hundreds of butchers, restauranteurs, suppliers and hangers on buzzed around trying to fill orders and do deals.
The good news is that the people who work there are all incredibly friendly and will happily answer any questions you may have about the world of meat…in between hanging carcasses and tallying up a bill for 65 bellies of pork.
Impressed, confused and very tired, Katie and I discovered a strange and delightful feature of the market—The Cock Tavern located right in the bowels of the market. Licensed from 6am, you can get a pint and a full English breakfast for a fiver. Everything in the place is coated with a thick greasy film that is surely the bi-product of decades of serving the hard working people a well earned breakfast. All before most of us even get up in the morning.