Horsforth Farmers’ Market Celebrates 13th Birthday with Stories of Success

Luca is the smiling face behind the delicious Lasagnas on the Road stall at Horsforth Market. Luca was a graphic designer who came to the UK as a result of some very difficult circumstances in Italy. He initially worked as a freelance graphic designer here but struggled due to his English. After working in McDonalds for 4 years, Luca was visiting a market and noticed a gap in the Italian food offering – i.e. Lasagnas.

Digging out his grandmother’s recipes and with a love for cooking himself, Luca prepared 40 lasagnas for a market at Baildon. Encouraged that 35 were sold, he applied to Horsforth Farmers’ Market where he was given a guest stall slot. He spent £350 on a gazebo and £500 on a car and Lasagna’s on the Road was born. He explains on his website: ‘As a child, I always wanted to be a cook. Since when I used to spend my afternoons watching my grandmother Margherita do her magic.. that’s what I wanted to be; life, however, had other plans… but a move to the UK finally got me into the food business ..and it didn’t take me long to realise that that was exactly where I wanted to be’.

Nine years on Luca has a thriving small business and is a regular at Horsforth Market: he describes Horsforth as his favourite market because of the family friendly feel, and the churches team who organise it so well.  “There is a great sense of community here, many of my customers have become friends, customers have even brought me a bottle of wine on my birthday!”  Luca and his wife (who is a nurse working in the NHS) have now moved into the local area as they love it so much, and Lasagnas on the Road are now seen regularly at 5 markets as well as doing a delivery round once a week. Find out more on their website www.lasagnasontheroad.co.uk

Slow Rise Bakery cafe and shop a great success

Slow Rise has been in business for nearly 10 years and has now carved itself a reputation for ‘the best’ bagels by customers who have compared them to ones in New York. The owner, Nick Simpson, from Wakefield, worked for over one year at a cafe called Fine Bagels in Berlin, Germany. Moving back to Yorkshire in 2015, he decided to start making bagels and giving them to offices in Leeds to see if they would generate any interest. He then moved on to farmers’ markets (including Horsforth) and they were a big hit with the visitors.

His business turned into a physical bakery just before the pandemic hit in late 2019. “We signed for the shop in late 2019 before anything was known about covid, and then spent the next four months preparing the space, just in time for lockdown!” After several stages on the journey, the space now has a lovely cafe and shop. “We also have really great coffee from a guy in Baildon called Ajay, his company is called Third Wave Roast and they are really good. It’s a winning combination having a really good bagel and a really nice coffee.” Third Wave Roast Coffee also have a regular stall at the Market.

See more on their website HERE.

Horsforth Farmers’ Market is currently looking for two volunteers to join the team – one with a role to develop their social media presence and website, and a second more generic role building capacity within the team picking up roles from the current team members, which suit your gifts and availability.  To find out more please contact Duncan Stow on duncan@horsforthchaplaincy.org, or come along to the market to have a chat.  The team works well together, and they have plenty of fun and laughter! 

See more on the Horsforth Farmers’ Market website