The Grounds of Alexandria Markets, Alexandria

Live honeycomb by Maya Sunny Honey

Hello! I'm back after three weeks of eating donuts, fried chicken and barbecue around the USA. It was a crazy non-stop eat-fest but I wouldn't have had it any other way. If you haven't been following me on Twitter or Instagram, you can catch up on all the incriminating evidence here.

Never fear. There will be USA blog posts to come - as soon as I sort through the 2,000 photos taken of food, food and more food.  In the interim, I'm reminiscing about the warm Sydney weather I left and sharing the photos I took at the recent Grounds of Alexandria Markets I visited before my trip.

There still seems to be no end to the queues at the Grounds of Alexandria cafe but the monthly markets -- held on the first Saturday and Sunday of every month -- are a fun way to explore some of their offerings without having to wait hours in line for a table. I rode my bike there (the Bourke Road separated cycleway is awesome!) and was impressed that the Grounds had bike racks right out the front.


Morning market-goers

I visited the Mothers Day markets which were a 'special event' market featuring more stalls than usual. There's a great sense of community and lively hustle and bustle to the market, but it's the high end styling that makes this market particularly picturesque, combining bucolic rustic charm with Vogue chic in ready-to-Instagram glory.


Sicilian green olives by Salt Meats Cheese

The markets feature regular stalls by nearby neighbours, including Salt Meats Cheese who reside next door. There are free tastings, product displays and plenty of friendly staff on-hand to provide information and advice.


Salt Meats Cheese


Italian coloured pastas by Salt Meats Cheese

Preserved red jalapenos by Salt Meats Cheese

Charcoal chicken, lamb and chorizo

The charcoal barbecue only adds to the liveliness, with skewers of chicken, lamb and chorizo licked at by greedy flames.


Skewers of chicken, lamb and chorizo over coals


Serving up chorizo and chicken rolls $9 each


Cheeseburger station

There's also the Grounds cheeseburger station, with patties flipped fresh on the grill and served on a bun with fries on the side for an easy al fresco lunch.


Flower beds


Kale flowers 


Market florist


Fresh lemonade


Punnets of strawberries


Baby farm animal petting enclosure

The free baby animal farm provides hours of fun for kids young and old.


Feeding baby lambs


Resident piglet Kevin Bacon


Kevin Bacon's house


Maya Sunny Honey

I was immediately drawn to the Maya Sunny Honey stall, featuring raw honey from their apiary in Mudgee.


Live bee hive with jars attached at the top to create ready packaged honeycomb

Hidden behind a painted "log" is a working beehive with empty jars ingeniously attached to the top.


Live honeycomb jars

The open jars (there's a small opening in the lid of each jar) enable the bees to create honeycomb directly within each jar. It takes approximately 400 bees about one month to create each honeycomb jar.  


Live honeycomb jars for sale $15 and up

When the jar has been filled with honeycomb, the bees leave the jar and continue elsewhere. The jars are then removed for sale. It's an incredible sight to see the bees working furiously.


Fresh ciabatta loaves


Chocolate chip cookies


Sweets and baked goods at The Grounds bakery

And there are plenty of sweet treats for everyone.


Organic sourdough


Strawberry and fruit tarts


Handmade chocolates by Kakawa


Macarons by MakMak


Smoked vanilla and pecan praline macaron by MakMak




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The next Grounds of Alexandria Market will be on the weekend of July 6-7, 2013.

Please note that the market visited above was a special Mothers Day event market with extra vendors on-site.

Grounds of Alexandria Market
First Saturday and Sunday of every month
8am-3pm
Building 7A, 2 Huntley St, Alexandria, Sydney

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