Weep though I may at the huddled, sorrowful image of the few stallholders who comprise the Peckham Farmer's Market, the fruit and veg stall there has some fine produce: the other Sunday I picked up a big bag of lovely chard, the thinking man's spinach. A few paces away along the High Street you can find United Meats whence came a small halal chicken.The sourdough is from the fabulous local bakery Brick House.

I got the idea for the chicken from this recipe by Maria Elia. The low oven temperature keeps the flesh succulent and avoids too much burning of the marinade, although you do sacrifice a little crispiness of skin.

The spatchcocking bit, if you haven't done it before, is easy-peasy, as you can see here.

If you're serving this for one or two people, use the leftover chicken in a salad and/or in a sandwich such as this or this one.

Only a very short time ago, it seemed like the only food event round these parts was bumping into another poor soul at what is officially The World's Most Pathetic Farmer's Market (every Sunday morning outside the library).

No longer. It's now all kicking off here in Peckham food-wise. Just last weekend, for example, no less a personage than Jay Rayner gave Peckham Refreshment Rooms a stonking review; I'll leave it to you to decide whether the fact that (according to Time Out) the "hipness quota really cranks up in the evening, attracting Peckham’s edgy [edgy?] art scene/boho crowd" is a plus or a minus.

If such a crowd exists, you may find their presence difficult to reconcile with Vice's considered opinion that Peckham is now "Dalston without the cunts", but these Jamesian social distinctions are, sadly, beyond my grasp. The last time I was 'edgy' was when I was off my tits on billy whizz at a Toots and The Maytals' gig in the eighties.

But back to the food: this weekend we've got the MUNCH food festival happening in Holly Grove Park (that's the tiny strip of green running along the side of Peckham Rye station):