Weekend Carnivore

Camden Market is a great place for so many reasons. Of course you have the eclectic shopping and if you are into people watching like I am then you are going to be hard pressed to find anywhere better. However, my latest trip to Camden Market focused on an aspect that I think if often overlooked – the food! Just about everywhere that you turn in Camden Market there is a different food stand trying to tempt you into buying a bite of whatever it is they are selling. A lot of the places are Chinese type food places with rather aggressive sales tactics and I think that may put some people off from giving the food of Camden a try. Which is a shame because the real food treasures of the market are away from that food court area.

In my view, the real Camden Market food gems are found in the West Yard section of Camden Lock market. The food court found here is vastly different from the one found on the main drag of the market. Instead of the endless stream of Chinese stalls selling the exact same food, you get highly individual food stands that represent all corners of the world. The last time that I was at the market, there were stands selling everything from Italian food to Sudanese food and many more in between.

The best part for those of us that love our vegetarian food is that so much of the food on offer is vegetarian food. They may not be the kind of food stalls that make a big song and dance about being vegetarian food – though some certainly do – but it would not be an exaggeration to say that more food found there was vegetarian than not.

Something that I really loved was that at these stalls the food is all made by hand and often right there in front of you as you watched. I had a great time simply standing on the sidelines watching the cooking. Of course, being me, I had to take my camera out and start snapping photos of all this great vegetarian food. The best thing about food photography is that you can feast on it all with your eyes without gaining a pound!

I caught this guy at the Italian stand making pasta to order for somebody who had just places an order. It doesn’t get much more fresh than that!

Pasta cooking at Camden market

Then I stopped by the Polish food stand – which I loved – and watched as the woman there prepared these perogies. The Polish stand did sell meat but without a doubt the star of the show were these perogies which are Polish dumplings filled with potato and cheese. They are then boiled and then quickly fried off in a pan and topped with fried onions. I loved that she was rolling these up by hand right there in the market. I have had a lot of perogies from my time growing up in the States but these were hands down the best perogies I have ever eaten and totally vegetarian too!

Preparing vegetarian perogies

Perogies ready to be boiled

Of course, we all know that vegetarian food isn’t always low fat and diet friendly.  The West Yard in Camden Market was also full of a ton of truly scrumptious vegetarian food offerings that are pure danger for anybody trying to follow a low fat diet.  Still, part of living is giving into a bit of pleasure now and then. So, I fully admit to having sampled a cookie and a cupcake but looking at these pictures can you blame me? At least they were vegetarian desserts!

Camden Market Brownies

Camden Market Cupcakes

Without a doubt, Camden Market is a treasure trove of temptation for anybody that loves vegetarian food.  You could eat like a king or queen and never have to think twice about eating meat. Now, thinking about your waistline is a totally different matter!