I Love Grapevine. The fruit and vegetables are always so fresh and delicious. It's really quite a…read morelarge shop and sells more than the average fruit shop; there's a small range of cooking extras: sauces, oils and dressings, herbs, and fresh eggs, and a fantastic indoor and outdoor plant section, with cut flowers and bedding plants all available. There's always great offers on the fruit, Tuesday I bought a big strawberries for £1 and they were just divine! Great place, but it's a long way to walk back to the train station (or the car park) with heavy purchases.. I don't think home delivery is available.

Fruit exchange is a massive fruit and veg stall inside Birkenhead Market. They offer one of the…read morelargest ranges of fruit and vegetables you will find in an independent shop, and they have some really good prices. They can certainly give Aldi a run for their money, so if you're into saving money on your food, this is a great place to buy your fruit and veg, especially those items that tend to be more expensive like strawberries and grapes. And there's just so much to choose from.

Matta's is an excellent Asian store selling a huge variety of ingredients and exotic foods as well…read moreas frozen fish. There is no other store like this in Liverpool as here you'll find rarer products that you can experiment with. It is particularly popular with students and people from foreign backgrounds. Some westerners may consider the food strange so don't be suprised. There is alot of delightful produce to be tried at affordable prices. If you want to cook up something new whether it is middle-eastern or Carribean cuisine, come here because staff are friendly and will kindly advise you.

The world in one city is one of the many trite cliches we scousers like to ram down people's…read morethroats - instead visit this excellent food emporium and get some ingredients to make some lovely food to ram down your throat instead. Matta's is a well known Liverpool food stockist, I'm not sure it's really a deli, let's call it a food place because they sell things to do with food. Because we here in Liverpool know so little about food - our traditional meal is not scouse as people will have you believe but Pot Noodle - there are few places like Matta's and certainly none as reasonably priced. Herbs and spices, exotic condiments, preserves, oils and stocks are the main fare of Matta's trade helping scousers to liven up our spam frittas since a while ago and now they have entered the 21st century with an e-commerce website.

Best when the weather is good, the Liverpool Farmer's Market can provide new surprises as well as…read morefamiliar faces and products with each 3rd Sunday of every month. While most of us are trying to get a well earned lie in or nurse a hang over there are many out there setting up stalls to sell their wares and even more getting out there to sample the fresh produce of fruit, meat and cheese sellers and hand crafted materials and jewellery. When the weather is good or the 'farmers' know there will be more tourists out on the street there seems a better turn out and the market is the best way to sample some of the areas best local goods.

Deli Fonseca is one of the few places that makes me wish I was loaded…read more A fab independent deli in Liverpool's business district, it's packed floor to ceiling with all kinds of mouthwatering goodies. The gigantic counter displays a myriad of delicious cheeses, hams, olives, pates, anti-pasti and salads whilst the nearby baskets display fresh sticks and loaves of bread. To top it off, they have dozens of wooden shelves groaning with all kinds of lovely store cupboard treats from organic granola, cereals and cookies to oat cakes, chutneys, olive oils, vinegars, sauces and spices. Now, where did I put that darn lottery ticket?

This review is for the upstairs restaurant area - and sadly it is not a good one. One Saturday…read morelunchtime, I popped in for a light lunch. Nothing complicated - in the end, I ordered a Greek salad and a plate of Serrano ham rather than the pricier mains on the blackboards. I'm not sure how two really basic things could be so disappointing. I think it's because on the surface, this looks like a place that prides itself on sourcing and attention to detail. On the specials during my visit were such items as hand foraged local samphire, Cumbrian lamb and Pink's award winning sausages. So why was the Greek salad about 50% raw onion? Why did it feature those mealy crunchy supermarket basics tomatoes, cold from the fridge? Even the black olives mentioned on the menu were green. And they clearly did have black olives in the kitchen, because my four slices of Serrano ham (almost £6) came topped with a single olive. They boasted it was "20 month aged" - most of it had clearly been in their fridge, as it featured a faint tang of refrigerator and managed to be unpleasantly rubbery. Not sure how Serrano ham can even go rubbery but there you go. If you've boasting of excellent ingredients then it's unacceptable for the basics to fail so badly. I wouldn't bother returning.

I have been to a few farmers' markets in my time and Wirral ranks fairly high. It meets every…read moresecond Saturday from 9am to 1pm, so don't sleep in or you will miss it! It's the largest market in the area, with over 30 stalls ranging from vegetables, meat, fish and bread to chocolate, cheese and beer! There is nothing better than fresh local produce - you just can't beat it. So my favourite stand? Well I have a few. Bees and Honey, Born and Bread, Cottage Cakes, The Chocolate Garden, Mrs Kirkhams, Tiresford Yoghurt and I think I better stop there. But there are just so many really good stalls. There is plenty of space for parking, so don't worry about buying too much as you shouldn't have far to go to get back to the car!

Farmer market bliss!!! Farrrrrrrrrrmer Giles......Ciderrrrrrrrr drinkerrrrrrr!!…read more Food markets excite me, in fact they actually make me want to be a better man!!!!!!!! No really they do.....listen to my story.... Early to bed, early to rise, makes you healthy wealthy and wise. I wish I had the discipline more often to follow this, because then I'd b able to get up to go to these markets as they are normally open so damn early. I'm an owl you see, a creature of the night if you will. How this happened I don't know, trust me I absolutely crave that deep breath of fresh misty air at dusk. Birds chirping is music to my ears. What is a man to do though surely when for 8 months of the year, it is just not possible!!! That dusk never comes, the moody clouds they doth spoliage my morning sun. The temperatures do so knock my spirits out "cold". I have thus, since as long as I can remember reverted to the warm comforts of my bed sulking and turning my back on the 6am singing birds. They call me still but I listen not!!! I am lost in the night..... Then comes the month of June and then July, when the sun returns and the birds rejoice as I call it water under the bridge and rejoin my fresh air friend and we begin again our summer affair. I return to the markets of am. Here is a good POA!! You see you go for a jog at 6am sharp in the park, there is no one around...perfect.... you want to be alone with your thoughts, none of this ipod rubbish, just listen to the purity of the beat of your heart and the surrounding life, birds,insects,wind et al. It is divine I tell thee. Nothing gets your energy levels back up faster than concluding your jog by a stop at this farmers market. Grab yourself some fresh fruit, some juice, some fish for lunch and anything else you fancy. The natural smells will whip up some natural energy and jump in your step and you are ready to take on the world by the time you've made it home cooked and slammed your breakfast. The market is a launch pad to start your weekend. It beats the hell out of a depressing nature of a loser hang over nursing an ego from another unsuccessful night on the pull...Ah the good old ignorant student days, I miss them NOT!!! You live and you learn........that Wirral farmer's market is the place to be... You never know might meet your soul mate here shopping for some fresh juicy apples just like toi....comprendez?!!

You want local and fresh? You want independent and cheap? You want it delivered to you're home or…read moreoffice? Well by golly, it's a good job Adam's Apple is around. There are crates and crates of every kind of fruit and veg you can think of; the cherries looked particularily yummy today! And they had flat mushrooms on offer so I had to indulge...(mushrooms may be fungus but they taste darn good!) I always feel good about myself when I buy from places like this, it's very friendly and chatty in here, busy when I went in, rustic in character and a damn sight better than the big Tesco up the road!

Adam's Apple is a great local fruit and veg shop. There is nothing that I like better than a shop…read morebrimming full with fresh fruit and veg and english flags flying! Bananas, pineapples, cherries, apricots, peaches, apples, pears, oranges, broad beans, onions, tomatoes, lettuce. I could go on and on. They also have some beautiful plants on sale including pansies. Adam's Apples offer a really good service and if you can't get to the shop because you are too busy or don't live nearby - it's ok! They offer office and home delivery! Cool!

My parents always speak of the great outdoors and the satisfaction of all things simple. Life in…read morethe country for example... growing your own food, having your own cattle and poultry. The idea is definitely intriguing, there is great appeal in growing your own food for sure. I am too much of an urbanite however. I love the buzz of the city and the idea of being surrounded by a dense population. That's not to say I don't enjoy the serenity of the outdoors. Perhaps one day I will get the bug, for now I will stick to occasional visits to farm shops such as Claremont. It is refreshing and reassuring to know that this family owned farm has been in the family for a few generations. The expertise of yielding what our wee mother earth has to offer have no doubt been passed down from generation to generation. There is nothing better tasting than fresh organic vegetables out the soil. Luckily for us they stock a good supply of vegetables such as asparagus, beetroot, carrots, rhubarb and potatoes all year round. Obviously being a farm shop it has your locally sourced meat, fish and seafood treats including roll-mop herring, smoked salmon and smoked trout. Claremont also stock some decent king-size Yorkshire puddings. (Not my cup of tea but oh well) As well as all these traditional farm shop offerings there is also good range of specialty foods which include Greek-style nibbles that feature peppers stuffed with feta, stuffed vine leaves (dolmades) and olives. Those with a mice like love for cheese will like the gourmet biscuits and Snowdonia Cheese Company cheeses will be perfect with Mrs Darlington's chutneys. I love farm shops with a passion and if you haven't been here I invite you to start your journey of love with farm shops. It will have you coming back for more.

There is absolutely everything going on at Claremont Farm. First the shop, then Claremont Kitchen,…read moresupply of fruit and vegetables to restaurants in Liverpool, Wirral and Chester and fresh food outlets in the North West, Welly Walk events, cookery master classes, pick your own, school events and fishing. I am sure I have probably missed something! I haven't tried them yet but I particularly like the sound of Claremont Kitchen and their workshops. There are a few events coming up, including Just Bread - a full day course (9.30am - 4.00 pm) devoted entirely to bread making, ranging from basic loaves and individual seeded rolls to enriched doughs, flat breads and fougasse. Also includes the perfect bread and pudding! They also have loads more coming up - wow wee! I love it!

I love that this greengrocers is run by three sisters. What a great idea! Unfortunately, when I…read morepopped in, the three of them were out for a funeral. :( But I had a nice chat with the lady that was manning the shop for them. This shop smells amazing. All you can smell is the fresh fruit. The apples are deliciously amazing. The prices are good, and there's plenty of variety for both fruit and veg. I highly recommend this shop.