Top Quality Produce at the Wood Street Food Hall

Wood Street Food Hall is the latest addition to the burgeoning revival of Old Town as the place to go for quality food and fun in Swindon. A collaborative effort between two ex-chefs, Simon Rhodes and Marcus Cole, the focus is on fresh, traceable and sustainable foods.

Both disillusioned and disappointed by the selection of goods on offer in supermarkets, as well as their dominance in our lives, they saw the opportunity to set up the Food Hall. Choosing Old Town was an easy choice, not only did they see that the locals were crying out for quality meat, fish and groceries but the combination of the tradition market street atmosphere of Wood Street and the community spirit made them confident in their choice.

“The supermarkets have driven out the traditional shops, but we’re fighting back,” said Simon. “It’s a process of helping people understand the difference that good quality meat and fish can make to a dish – it’s a slow process but one that people are definitely open to and ready to make.”

Simon, who was previously a chef at the Pear Tree at Purton as well as The Connaught in London, runs the fish counter, which is stocked daily with fish delivered from Newlyn. The fish are caught on day boats, making it as fresh from the sea as possible and usually delivered the morning after being caught. It means the fish is certified as responsibly sourced as well as being sustainable and supporting UK fishing.

“Supermarkets use trawlers to catch their fish and then freeze at sea in order to last the week or so before coming back to land. This reduces the quality significantly,” Simon added.

The meat is from local farms and butchered in the shop. The selection on offer is superior to any supermarket.Graham Burroughs and Marcus Cole run the butchers section. Graham has family routes in Swindon with his grandfather opening TH Burroughs in Rodbourne, Swindon in 1944, and with his nephews involved the family business will continue.

Marcus said: “We would encourage people to take a look at how they eat their meat.
Our aim is to give people what they want – in the choice of cut as well as quantity. If you only need a couple of rashers of bacon, that’s what you can get here. We’re trying to take people back to the traditional way of shopping."

“We’re also conscious on price and know our customers are too, and often the cheaper cuts are the tastiest and as Simon and I are both chefs, we can help you with ideas and ways to cook it to bring out the full flavour, and our focus is always on customer service.”