Trader at Banbury Market 'wows judges' and wins award at national competition

Rebecca Martin, the owner of Berowbe Catering, was named named the NMTF’s Young Trader of the Year 2021 - pictured with NMTF National President Michael Nicholson (right) and President-Elect John Dyson (Image from the NMTF website)

Shipston business owner and regular trader at the Banbury Market named National Market Traders Federation's (NMTF) Young Trader of the Year for 2021.

Rebecca Martin has been named the NMTF’s Young Trader of the Year 2021 after her freshly baked savoury treats wowed the judges and visitors who couldn’t get enough of her speciality sausage rolls, scotch eggs and quiches.

Rebecca Martin is a regular trader with her business, Berowbe Catering, at the Banbury Market.

She said: "I do every Thursday and Saturday and I do the monthly farmers market as well at the Banbury Market.

"We hand make and bake on the day sausage rolls in a variety of flavours and scotch eggs (Banbury customers call them dinosaur eggs). In the summer we do quiche and frittata. The winter will be pates and other seasonal savoury delights."

Her popular catering items sold out on both days of the final of the Young Traders Market 2021 campaign held in Stratford on Friday and Saturday, August 27 and 28.

Being from nearby Shipston she was able to ring her butcher and meet him in the pub to pick up more sausage meat after the first day. She ended up baking through the night and had had no sleep when she picked up her winner’s trophy.

Joe Harrison, CEO of the NMTF, said: “We launched this competition a few years ago because we know that young people are the future of our markets industry. So many household names in the UK started their journey on a market stall.”

He said the idea was to encourage new blood into the industry and to showcase the numerous enterprising and creative businesses young people were starting up all over the country, often on market stalls where start-up costs and overheads were low.

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The entrants were grouped into four different categories — food and drink, arts and crafts, grocery, and general retail.

This year’s winner started her savoury treat business in October last year and is a regular on Banbury Market.

Rebecca said: “I used to have an office job in transport but my mother was a great baker and I have always loved baking,”

After she had a son, Rowan, in February 2020, she decided to launch a catering business, called Berowbe, which comes from her, her son’s and her partner, Ben’s names. And she soon found the perfect place to sell her goodies and showcase her business on the Banbury Market.

For more information about Berowbe Catering see its website here: https://berowbecatering.com/