Fresh cupcakes! Luvverly fresh cupcakes!
Posted: 16 July '10 by Kelly
Cupcakes and Fairycakes at St. George's Market
Niall and I are regulars at St. George’s Market and love going to find some tasty ingredients for a dinner party or some tasty snacks – it’s always a great day out, what with the live music and the many, many food stalls. We’ve even entertained thoughts of getting our own stall – so, when Bernadette and Martine from Cupcakes and Fairycakes suggested I join them on their busy Sunday market stall, I jumped at the chance to get involved and see how it all comes together. This is how my day went..
You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2Image 3Image 4
An 8am start!! OK, it’s hardly the crack of dawn (Bernadette and Martine had been baking since 6am!!), but after a few glasses of wine the night before it certainly felt like it!
As soon as I arrived at St George’s Market I helped set up the stall: putting up the banner, arranging the stands and laying out the samples. The delicious, sugar-y aroma of all of those freshly baked cupcakes made my stomach rumble. A cupcake for breakfast?? Could I?!! Of course I could!! After a restorative cup of tea and a flour-less chocolate cupcake with white chocolate topping (yummy) I felt half-human again and began to learn the ropes.
The first thing to get to grips with was the menu – Strawberry Shake, Dime Bar, Oreo Choc Cream, Vanilla Pod, Kiddies’ Suprise and a flour-less dark chocolate with white chocolate topped with a glittery strawberry. All of the cupcakes were beautifully iced and decorated, like little works of art and almost too good to eat.. I ate my way through all the flavours (purely for research purposes) and I can confirm that each and every one of them are superbly moist and fluffy.
With this intimate knowledge of the Cupcakes and Fairycakes range I quickly got up to speed on the prices and how the cupcakes and fairycakes were made. As the doors opened and the music started I could feel my hangover slowly begin to fade away as the whole buzz of the market took over. I got off to a great start, chatting to a few people and selling box after box of those delicious buns. I think the best thing about working at the market are the colourful characters you meet and believe me, I met quite a few that day. I think my most memorable was the man who asked me could I sprinkle some arsenic on top for ‘the wife’… I don’t think he was serious though!!
There really was a great atmosphere about the market that day and I got chatting to the lovely girls that were working on the bakery stall beside us. They were so friendly and the day really flew by. I even brokered a food-swap with them during a tea-break – a cupcake for Katie’s amazing, melt-in-the-mouth carrot cake!!
As the day came to a close and we counted up the profits from the days’ trading, my feet ached and I longed for a cup of tea and a foot massage. Mind you, I wouldn’t have missed the chance to see what life on the other side of the stall is like – I met some great people, ate my way through far too many cupcakes, listened to some great stories, and generally had great fun.
If you are looking for something to do on a Sunday you could do a lot worse than to head down to St George’s market for some live music, good atmosphere and delicious food! Don’t forget to pop by the Cupcakes and Fairycakes stall to say ‘Hi’ to Bernadette and Martine and to sample their delicious cupcakes.. they’re honestly worth the journey alone.
Make sure you visit the site again for my interview with Bernadette and Martine where they show me how to bake the ‘perfect’ cupcake.
Other information
St. George’s Market is now open on Sundays, from 10am to 4pm. You can click here to find out more information about the market.
If you would like to try some of Bernadette and Martine’s delicious cupcakes you can get in touch by:
Cupcakes and Fairycakes
T: 07879400177 or 07968225732
E: info@cupcakesandfairycakes.com
W: www.cupcakesandfairycakes.com
Categories: Things to do
1 Comment
Belfast Taste & Music Fest 2010
Posted: 14 June '10 by Niall
Belfast Taste & Music Fest 2010
The Belfast Taste & Music Fest returns to the Great Lawn in Botanic Gardens from Wednesday, 4th August to Sunday, 8th August 2010 (noon to 10:00 p.m. daily).
The Taste-Fest is Northern Ireland’s premiere food and entertainment event, and is expected to attract over 30,000 visitors over the 5 days.
Event Details
- Date: 4th – 8th August 2010
- Location: Botanic Gardens, Belfast
- Opening times: Noon to 10pm daily
- Price range: £5 from Noon to 5pm, and £10 thereafter. There are various ticket packages available – for full details visit www.belfasttasteandmusicfest.com/times-tickets/
The Food
Featuring a whole host of local chef restauranteurs, this years’ foodie boulevard includes:
- Simon Dougan – Yellow Door Deli, Portadown
- Alan Higginson – 27 Talbot Street, Belfast
- Tony O’Neill – The Merchant Hotel, Belfast
- Paul Catterson – Mango, Maghera
- Dean Coppard – Uluru, Armagh
- Andy Rea – Mourne Seafood Bar, Belfast
- Patrick Leonard – Fitzwilliam Hotel, Belfast
- Danny Millar – Balloo House, Killinchey
- Niall McKenna – James Street South, Belfast
This year will also see a selection of our major food suppliers: O’Kane Poultry, Kettyle Irish Foods, Get Fresh, Ulster Pork and Bacon Forum and Cookstown.
The Entertainment
There’s a great menu for the entertainment too – everything from Flash Harry, to Mary Coughlan, to Les McKeown’s Bay City Rollers. Something for everyone there!
A word to the wise
Entry to the event doesn’t mean that you get to taste the food! You’ll need to buy Taste Fest food tokens which are priced at 50p each – in blocks of 20 for £10, and “top-ups” of 10 tokens for £5 after that. These tokens can and will disappear at an alarming rate – so bring some spare cash to buy those precious top-ups.
Kelly and I will venture down again this year, although we are going to get there earlier in the day than we did last year.
You can read about what we thought of the Belfast Taste and Music Fest 2009 here.
Other information
You can visit the Belfast Taste and Music Fest website for more information.
Categories: Things to do
