Celebrity chef and MasterChef winner Thomasina Miers this week told market representatives at the National Association of British Market Authorities (NABMA) conference that market authorities and traders need to work more closely with producers and chefs to make the most of the supply chain.
The NABMA ambassador held a cooking demonstration at the association’s annual conference on Tuesday, to show the kind of foods that can be made at street markets, with a Mexican theme.
She said: “I want to show you food that can be made at markets. The idea is to get people excited about simple ingredients, using fresh produce in season so that they can learn about where food comes from.
“I love Mexican cooking because they use very high-quality food in season and a great variety of products. The problem with supermarkets is that they don’t care about variety, they care about yield. That is why we have to keep markets alive.
“I believe that markets are an important component within the food chain. I have long been a supporter as they provide fresh produce, an outlet for locally sourced food and meet both government and local agendas. I want everyone, both producers and consumers, to support their local market.”
Her cooking demonstration featured tomato chilli jam, Mexican spiced mutton and quesadilla made with fresh mushrooms.
Earlier in the day, Miers attended the wholesale markets working group, where she stressed that markets, their customers and the community must communicate better to send out the right messages.
She said: “Often, it is a case of education, because the quality of some chefs out there at the moment is pitiful. The good thing about markets is that they can be flexible in a way that some of the bigger foodservice companies can’t be - if you call a big company and ask for English apples, they will often come back and say that they can get them, but other sources are just as good.
“But chefs should know that if they use British product and know enough about it to make it clear on the menu, they will be able to shift plates better and charge a premium.”
Miers won MasterChef 2005, impressing John Torode and Gregg Wallace with a “bold and at times eccentric cooking style”.
She has since opened Mexican restaurant Wahaca, which has two branches in London.
