Balgove Night Market: How a St Andrews barn became a must visit for foodies

It’s the first Tuesday in August and the Balgove Night Market has just begun. Carlos Martinez-Diaz is in the Steak Barn enjoying the buzz.

The events and marketing manager has organised the summer market for seven years. In that time, it’s grown more and more popular.

“The night market was founded nine years ago and the idea was to showcase Scottish produce,” says Carlos.

“It’s always at the Steak Barn, we’ve always had food trucks, but every year it’s grown arms and legs.”

How Balgove Night Market comes together

Each night market is different, because Carlos makes a point of changing them up.

There is a fresh offering every month. That encourages visitors to come along and discover new producers. He doesn’t have exact numbers for visitors, but says the markets get busier and busier every year.

The manager has a list of vendors and a spreadsheet helping him build the offering for each event. He contacts each business himself, rather than accept applications.

“It’s constant hard work and a lot of research,” he reveals.

“I’m lucky because we’ve got the shop and it’s a good starting point for me to get in touch with producers we already stock.

“Then I look around on social media, so I can see what’s out there and approach people.”

Keeping in line with Balgove Larder’s vision, every product at the market has to be Scottish, taste great and look great. If a business isn’t stocked in the shop before the market, its products sometimes make their way to the shelves afterwards.

Every month, there is a new food truck selling meals in addition to Balgove’s Steak Barn, Eat Out and Pizza Box. The night market can even help launch vendors into the local scene.

Carlos runs into Kate Carter-Larg, co-owner of The Cheesy Toast Shack who had its first gig at the Balgove Night Market.

She says: “You helped make us!

“Being here got our name out among the locals.”

Carefully curated shopping experience

Inside the Steak Barn, the smell from the wood fired barbecue and beef burgers fills the former sawmill. All along the walls are stalls from the likes of Kin Bees, St Andrews Brewing Co and Chocolatia.

Carlos will even place vendors that go together next to each other, such as a cheese stall, a bread stall and a jam stall, to enhance the shopping experience.

Unlike most sellers, Murray Barnett from Barnett’s Bakery has been to all four markets over summer.

He jokes that nobody else is stupid enough to do bread in the same volume as the family bakery, so he’s the best local supplier Carlos can find.

“It’s great to come along to the night market, because I get out of the bakery to speak to people and get feedback,” he says.

“I only come along to this market and Bowhouse, and this is a really nice one with a good atmosphere. I’m really enjoying it.”

Weeknight’s work for Balgove Night Market

The Night Market has always been from 5pm to 9pm on a weeknight, starting in May and finishing in September. There’s also a Christmas market on the first Tuesday of December.

At first, that was to tie up with the evening the Steak Barn – normally a restaurant – was closed. The weekday slot has turned out to have other advantages, however.

Carlos says: “Feedback I get from vendors and customers is that there’s nothing to do on a Tuesday night.

“It’s a school night, but at the same time, people are free to do things and vendors are free to come along whereas weekends are quite busy.

“The May and September markets tend to be quite busy with the students as well, so it gives them something to do.”

Balgove Larder’s shop is usually open 9am to 5pm every day, but stays open late for the night markets. It gives visitors a chance to browse the shop and pick up some shopping.

The attached cafe space is also open, offering indoor seating and a space to hold a butchery and cooking demonstration.

Butchery and cooking demos draw crowds

A popular part of the programme are the live demos by head butcher James Lothian and executive chef Roy Brown.

Dozens gathered inside the cafe to watch James prepare cuts from a leg of beef for Roy to turn into a meal.

The charismatic craft butcher demonstrated how to cleanly separate the meat from the bones while talking about how eating local can help save the planet.

Thin slices of fresh meat made their way over to Roy, who cooked up a Balgove salad for a starter, beef with tomatoes and spring onions as a main, and a shortbread and berries dessert.

Two eager listeners quickly making their way to the plates were Zach, 9, and Daniel, 11. The brothers from Glasgow are on holiday in Fife with their parents.

With a mouth full of beef, Zach nods when asked “is that good?”. He says the demo has inspired him to help more in the kitchen at home.

Daniel isn’t quite on the same page.

“I prefer eating. This is really good,” he says.

What did Maria think of Balgove Night Market?

This was my first visit to Balgove Larder, and though I arrived at 5pm, there weren’t many parking spaces.

The first thing I noticed was the delicious smell of the barbecue at the Eat Out cafe, and seats quickly filling.

After a quick browse of the farm shop, I met Carlos who showed me around the market inside the Steak Barn. All clad up in old potato boxes, the rustic setting provides a cosy space for browsing stalls come rain or shine.

I chatted with Balgove Larder vegetable grower Andrew, as his display of huge lettuces and ripe tomatoes was seriously impressive. He revealed that he hopes to put on tours of the garden, just 300 yards away, in the future.

Next up was the live demo with James and Roy. While I don’t eat meat, my granddad did have a livestock farm, so I’m familiar with the circle of life.

James’ leg of beef didn’t scare me, rather his passion for the craft and eating local had me hooked on his every word.

While I steered away from the beef, I grabbed a forkful of Roy’s salad starter. I must admit, I’ve never tasted a cucumber this fresh and flavourful.

But a forkful wasn’t enough, I wanted more. The Steak Barn was sold out of the courgette fritters I wanted, so I grabbed the East Neuk cauliflower fritters and twice cooked chips.

I’m a huge cauliflower wings fan, and these were possibly the best I’ve ever had. Crispy on the outside and fresh on the inside, paired with a sweet chilli dip. The chips, also with a crispy exterior, had a strong potato flavour and soft core.

Next time I hit the night market you’ll find me ordering my dinner before the best treats sell out.