A popular Borough Market greengrocer has claimed they were banned from selling their famed chocolate-covered strawberries sparking outrage from fans across social media.
The stall, named Turnips, receives hordes of visitors from across the world to sample its pot of strawberries covered in chocolate sauce.
Costing £7.50, the tasty treat has sparked a social media storm - but Turnips say it was forced to stop selling them as Borough Market deemed it neither “fruit, veg or related produce”.
Outrage spread to social media with many people expressing their disappointment ahead of planned visits to London, with one person writing: “I am coming all the way from America and was so excited to try this.”
In the TikTok video, which has gained over a million views, a staff member tells disappointed customers that the mushroom risotto was also banned as it was not being prepared in an approved hot food area.
“If you’re outraged that we’re closed today and you can’t get your beautiful chocolate covered strawberries, make a complaint to the Borough Market administration,” the staff member adds.
“We are allowed to trade fruit, veg and related produce out of anywhere in our shop but they’ve shut down the whole front of our operation and not let us trade today on the basis that our chocolate covered strawberries do not count as fruit, veg and related produce.
“So if you find that outrageous, make a complaint, call in and let them know.”
One woman even travelled across from Australia to taste the treat. The stall then uploaded a video on with more than 400,000 views, and 57,000 likes, which read: “POV: You saw the TikTok so you came from Australia for the strawbs.
“It was worth the trip apparently.”
Only in London you go to borough market and they have chocolate coated strawberries 🍓 pic.twitter.com/emdc9t9HMK
— Hannah ➰ (@hessaclacefitzs) July 30, 2023
Due to the overwhelming backlash across social media, the staff member claimed that Borough Market had reversed its decision.
In a second video, the staff member said: “We’re back in business, we won! We’re back in business guys due to popular demand, our chocolate-covered strawberries are open again.
“They were disputing our rights to sell our chocolate-covered strawberries but we won, we freed the strawberry.”
In response, a spokesperson for Borough Market said: “At Borough Market, we work closely with all of our traders to ensure that we provide the best possible shopping experience for our visitors. Turnips are not being prevented from selling any of their products.”
