I am fortunate to live in a town that I really love. Frome is a place where people have creative ideas, and then they get up and do something about it. There's always something going on, from the Frome Comic Con, to the Half Marathon, people have ideas and run with them (sometimes literally!). One of my favourite events is the Frome Independent - a huge market that takes over the centre of town on the first Sunday of each month between April and December. The market is run by a not-for-profit organisation and aims to:
showcase the very best of independent produce, retail and makers that the region has to offer, against a backdrop of music, visual art and events
The market is a feast - and not just in the sense of the choice of things to eat! So when I first heard about the Market Makers scheme I signed up straight away. Running a market of this size in a way that supports both the town and the traders is a huge undertaking, and I fervently want the market to continue, thrive and grow (not just to survive), so we handed over our cash.
Imagine our delight a few weeks later when we learned that we had won a celebration cake (from the Market Makers scheme) from our absolute favourite Frome Independent trader: The Bakemonger! My mouth is already watering at the thought of what tasty treat I might enjoy at tomorrow's market. I'm a sucker for her salted caramel brownies - just as delicious as they are beautiful!
The whole process of choosing our cake was a treat. We decided to use the cake to celebrate the arrival of our new nephew, and Helen talked us through deciding on flavours and then design. We chose a rich chocolatey cake with passion fruit curd and chocolate ganache, decorated with white chocolate discs and stunning origami fans. The cake was jaw-droppingly beautiful and completely delicious.
It was the perfect celebration cake for our new nephew, and I've been pondering excuses to order another cake ever since... Many, many thanks to all the team at both the Frome Independent and to Helen at The Bakemonger, for not only giving us such a great market every month, but also for our delicious cake.
If you haven't already visited Frome, then I highly recommend a weekend break for the first Sunday of the month. And if you live too far away, then you can enjoy the cakes vicariously on The Bakemonger's stunning Instagram account: @the_bakemonger and see the action at the market on the Frome Independent's Instagram account: @thefromeindependent
I will be back soon with knitting content... in the meantime, if you care about local events, then find ways to support them! Use it or lose it is sadly the way these days.