One of the colourful Takapuna stall holders

Originally called the Takapuna Flea Market, this regular Sunday morning market had humble beginnings but is now positively thriving. Covering the whole of the municipal carpark in Anzac Street, it kicks off at 6am. There’s plenty of parking around Takapuna, but you have to be canny to get a free park. If you’re a serious shopper, you should arrive well before 9am for the pick of the day’s fresh produce and flowers. On the other hand, if you’re more interested in bargain hunting, it can pay to whizz around nearer to the midday closing time when many stallholders will do some great deals simply because they don’t want to take anything home with them.

Markets are a great place to buy fresh fruit and veges

As well as a huge selection of well-priced fresh fruit and vegetables, the Takapuna market is a popular spot for browsing the second hand goods, from tools to trinkets. Artisan products such as bread, olive oil, handmade soaps, cheeses and sausage are in abundance here, as well as some delightful cakes, local and ethnic foods (the mussel fritters are in huge demand), honey and fresh fish. You’ll also find a number of art and craft stalls. One of my favourites is the ponga logs carved with beautiful Maori motifs.

I bought a parsley plant from Clevedon Herbs and Produce - they run a blog with recipes and other interesting foodie stuff, and they sell deliciously fresh lettuce greens and herbs, ready to eat salad mixes and all manner of vegetables (subject to the season). Based in Clevedon, Phil and Jenny Tregidga have been growing their produce hydroponically since 1984. Earlier this year they shifted the focus of their business from supplying supermarkets to being vendors at a number of Auckland markets.

Dinner for us, tonight, will be based around a piece of fresh salmon from the Salmon Man. It comes from the prisitine, clear waters of Stewart Island, shipped directly to the salmon man, who then smokes it, adding a variety of flavours such as dill, lemon, garlic & herbs. Or you can buy gravlax, gremolata and plain smoked. The website is worth a look – there’s plenty of salmon and seafood recipes, cooking tips and nutritional facts. If you’re concerned about your intake of omega 3 oils, you should be eating salmon once a week – no need to take pills!

Devon Olives is a boutique olive oil producer based in Mangonui, Northland although the owners, David and Heather Fenney, live in Devonport. They sell single variety Frantoio oil and a blended oil. It’s nice and mild, with none of that sharp acidity you get in some olive oils. Heather had samples of a fruity cake she had made using their oil – it was really moist and delicious – she’ll be providing the recipe next week. You can contact them at devonolives@gmail.com

Cupcakes are all the rage at the moment and no Farmers’ Market would be complete without at least one stall of these pretty offerings. Cupcakes is a business making beautiful, personalised cupcakes for special occasions. Ingredients include free range eggs, fair trade cocoa and real fruit. Contact Andrea on 027 618 1996.

Paul’s Chili’s sells dried chillies and a range of chilli sauces, from “sweet” to “awesome”. The stall also sells Kaitaia Fire chilli sauces. Paul has recipes, chilli facts and news on his Facebook page and twitter (Paul’s Chili’s) but I couldn’t find him on either site.

Get Fudged is run by Carol Hughes (027 2GT FDGD). She makes and supplies a delicious range of fudges for market days, party bags, girls’ nights, work treats and special occasions.

Hearts Content (415 9752) is a business supplying an wide range of chutneys, pickles, jams and jellies. There’s all the old-fashioned favourites  like quince paste, and tamarillo chutney, and some divine combinations such as Plum & Cointreau Jam, Lemon & Passionfruit Honey. The Tomato Kasundi (spicy tomato based Indian sauce) is full of flavour and not too fierce.

Earthbound Honey products are sold from a stall run by a couple of foodies (Lynley and Sandra – 021 252 8380). They use honey as a featured ingredient in their  toasted muesli, nougat, chocolate ganache cake and slices. They also sell Earthbound honey vinegar, single variety honey (pohutukawa, manuka and bush honey). The stall holders are food stylists and caterers who look like they know what they’re doing.

A couple of hyper local vendors have stalls at this market – Fayre and Firkin is a traditional English style Mairangi Bay restaurant and bar. Their stall features gluten free goodies including biscotti, mussel fritters and whitebait fritters. Rhythm Cafe is also based in the Mairangi Village and supplies coffee-to-go from their cart.

The coffee is good to sip on while munching a pastry from Blackwood Gourmet Bread Company, a local artisan bakery, only available at Auckland markets. They have a good range of tasty baked products including dark rye &  Swiss grain breads, brioche loaf, bagels and choc brownies.

Display of Nuttz flavoured nuts

You can buy traditional, dry-cured bacon (no preservatives, no added water, no sow crates), and other pork and beef products from P & E Bacon. If you’d rather have nuts, try the many flavoured varieties from Nuttz – this is a high quality product, beautifully presented – would make a nice gift. Plenty of samples to try – Chai Almond, Honey Cashew, Lemon Myrtle and Black Pepper Macadamia and more…. yummy!

Top Shelf olives are big and fat and come with a variety of stuffings (cheese, garlic, anchovies and more).