THOUSANDS of shoppers are being united by the language of food and drink at the Huddersfield German and Dutch Market.
About 20 stores laden with beer, sausages, pancakes and bread attracted customers from across the region. The market will remain all over the weekend.
Stalls selling leather goods, soaps and scarves from Germany also brought in the buyers.
Especially popular were Dutch cookies and giant hot bratwursts, a traditional German sausage, along with kabanos, a spicy Polish sausage.
Arnd Baggen, from Bavaria, southern Germany, runs a caravan selling German beers and foods. He said: “This is the fourth time we’ve been. We always do quite well, otherwise we wouldn’t come back. People like to try new types of food and drink and if they like it they come back.’’
Hany Hamoon sells baclavas, a Middle Eastern pastry, honey and nut dessert. Mr Hamoon, originally from Iran but now living in London, said: “We’re doing well. We’ve sold a few. Some people have never seen baclavas before.”
Klaus Stöttwig, from Paderborn, Germany, has a store selling traditional German sweets. He said: “We always sell lots of sweets. People in Huddersfield and the UK love them. We’ll certainly be back again.”
Shopper Margaret Fitzgibbon, 57, from Halifax, said: “The market’s absolutely brilliant. I’m here shopping for the day because there’s nothing in Halifax except charity shops. The market is very impressive; even I fell for the cookie seller’s patter!”
Joanne Haywood, 41, from Golcar, bought some soaps and bath salts. She said: “It makes a change for Huddersfield to have something like this. We should have it on a regular basis, not just once a year. It brings more people into the town centre.”
Enjoying a German Krombacher beer Suzy Kaye, 25, from Milnsbridge, said: “It’s something different. I’m happy as long as there’s a beer tent. I think it should be a permanent fixture.”
