I’ve been going to Prahran Market since I was little. I remember walking up and down the service aisles that used to run behind the produce stalls, collecting lettuce leaves and carrot tops for my rabbit. This is me with Bunny – I promise I’m not strangling her.
Back in those days there was a donut truck too – occasionally mum allowed my brother, sister and me to cover the back seat of the car in sticky sugar on the way home. (I hated jam when I was a kid, so I asked the vendor to make me donuts without, which meant my haul was always fresh and hot – a reward for fussiness.) Does anyone else remember the old carpark with a man in a tower directing cars to empty spaces over loudspeaker? Seeing him, and spying the free parking spot he would talk us towards was a highlight of the week for me. A big, lung-emptying, “There it is, mum!”
The market has been through a few renos over the years but it’s been a constant in my life. My kids love it now – they like to taste sausages, they hassle me for 50 cents for honey straws, they call in at Tad Lombardo’s for a chocolate frog. They especially look forward to playing ‘Catch the apple’ with John from Pino’s (that’s Pino, pictured). The first time they were all thumbs – I was so embarrassed about their catching skills that we trained at home until they were ready to try again.
I love shopping at the market because it’s rich, real and affirming, and I go home with great food (let’s not talk about the empty wallet). Happy birthday Prahran Market!
I was there with my Thermomix, cooking up a storm on Saturday December 6 as part of Alice Zaslavsky’s Edible Adventures. I made Beef Stir-Fry, Peach & Coconut Sorbet, Chilli Lime Crumb and Confit Trout Blini. Recipes here.
Leave A Comment