Well we took the plunge last Saturday and had our new market area down Union Street opened for the first time.

It was quite nerve wracking for us as organisers because we had no guarantee that customers would make the effort to go down Union Street beyond the organic veg.

I’m delighted to say it was a great success for Asparagasm and the Stroud Smokehouse which gives us the confidence to continue with it.

Having said that it seems as though we won’t be needing the spaces down there this Saturday but From October 28 it is likely that we will be down there every week as we have Salt Bakehouse joining the market every week from then.

We do have a new farmers market stall this week kicking off the seasonal Christmas fayre trade, Yum Yum Fine Foods of Stroud will be attending with a range of Christmas cakes and puddings as well as a range of chocolates, its early yet but could be a good time to get an order in.

Yum Yum will be alternating with Faithfull’s Quality baking from now until Christmas with cakes and puddings, they are both award winners with fabulous products.

Elsewhere Little Hollows pasta has been experimenting with gluten free pasta and made some tagliatelle, as well as some filled pasta, with a vegan filling.

They do have to use eggs in the pasta, so the parcels are not vegan, but they were dairy free.

It turned out the filled pasta was a bit ambitious as the dough is hard to work with and rips easily.

The tagliatelle had a good texture with a good bite and some elasticity.

It is quite brittle though and can break up in the water, which they are trying to address.

They are going to try and perfect the tagliatelle recipe for Saturday, so hopefully they will have a small amount to sell.

They are looking for a few gluten free customers to come along and try it out.

Julian Harvard is well into the Chrysanthemum season now with a great range of colours and blooms and monthly stalls Hillside brewery, David’s Chilli Oils and Bath Soft Cheeses will all be in attendance.