What’s New & Happening in Fulham

What’s New

Gourmet Salads

Eighteen months after Joelle Hallmark set up her cookery school “Smart Raspberry”, delivering after school classes to budding new chefs, the pandemic and lockdown threw a spanner in the works. With schooling going on line and many extra curricular classes on hold Joelle has taken her passion for food in another direction and recently launched Joelle’s Gourmet Salads.

Joelle supplies a range of freshly made salads using only high quality, carefully sourced ingredients, including beef from Randall’s. Salads on the menu include Orzo and Sunblush Tomato, Thai prawn/beef, Greek and Ventresca Tuna which all sound perfect for summer picnics, dinner parties, buffets or simple family meals. Order by mid-day for next day delivery to your door. Salads arrive in take away packaging or, for a small hire charge/deposit, they can be delivered in bowls ready to go on the table. “I’ve always loved healthy, fresh food and enjoy nothing better than experimenting with new flavours and combinations. Even my teenage sons crave my salads!”.

Servings we’re told easily feed 2-3 people and can be adapted to your taste, needs or dietary requirements. Order by mid-day for next day delivery joellessalads@yahoo.com or get in touch on 07762 105074. Find the full menu on Instagram @joelles_gourmet _salads

Ta’ Mini

This Lebanese bakery, whose name translates as “feed me”, opened at the end of June and is owned and run by husband and wife Ali and Nermin Khamosia who are both Lebanese; Ali from North of Lebanon/Tripoli and Nermin from Beirut. They’ve already had fantastic reviews in the short time they’ve been open and the shop front makes a pretty addition to the Fulham Road (number 801) with fresh window displays and beautifully laid out produce to take away.

They’re a lot more than a bakery with the claim to fame that they’re the first to introduce Ka’ak Lebanese street bread to London. In addition to selling traditional Lebanese baked food including spinach, cheese, halloumi mini bites, which you can order in mixed boxes (6 or a dozen) , Manakish (flat breads with different toppings), date bread and Arabic cookies they also have freshly prepared hummus pots and salad bowls to take away, serve coffee, soon offering traditional Arabic coffee, and have Lebanese produce for sale such as rose water, pomegranate molasses and sumac.

Nermin told Urban Village London “Ta’mini is our first business in London. Ali used to own a bakery back home and I never thought of opening one here in the UK. My Masters was in Child Development, I worked for UCL and the charity Refuge. However, I always loved hosting friends for lunch and cooking for my family. Ali and I decided to open a bakery back in October 2019 and we came across our current shop during the search for the “perfect” location.  We live in Central London and Fulham is a location that never crossed our mind. I remember Ali showing me a picture of the shop online and wasn’t sure, because I had in mind Warren Street or Tottenham Court Road! So, on a cold winter night he convinced me and the boys (we have three) to go and see the shop. From the moment I saw it I fell in love and had such a positive energy about it. We signed the contract a week before COVID-19 lockdown was announced, but deep down I never felt negative about proceeding with our plan. And here we are one month since we officially started our bakery and people in Fulham are amazed with our food and super happy with the vibe”.

We went in under cover, well it was “Face Mask On Friday” to pick up some items to taste test; it’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it. We settled on some humous and a lemonade to take home and were offered a complimentary spinach mini bite to try - how could we say no? We are huge fans of humous - it’s a picky tea staple, light lunch option - and we can report that Ta’mini’s was delicious as was the soft tasty puff of a mini bite. Lemonade is always a favourite purchase of ours at Le Comptoir, now we can enjoy it closer to home so we’ll be back supporting supporting local and Ali, Nermin and their young family. We’re looking forward to picking up an all time fave fattoush salad to go with.

Opening hours: Mon - Friday (8 am - 6 pm)/Sat (9.30 am - 6.30 pm)

Order baked goods and take out food in advance to experience a taste of Lebanon here in Fulham by calling 020 3875 0865 or order via Just Eat. Stay posted for the launch of their own app for orders & delivery and plans to introduce an additional menu and the option to eat in.

Nexus

This family owned restaurant opened on the Fulham Road (number 448 - 450) on 4 July aka Super Saturday. Tamara Ramsey Crockett and her brother Aaron Ramsey are self proclaimed “massive foodies” Tamara told Urban Village LDN “I am originally a film & TV make up artist and I met our chef Jai Harrower as he was catering for Jamie Oliver on the same film I was doing the hair and make up for. Jai first worked touring with Cirque de Soleil, then closely with Jamie Oliver at 'Fifteen' and went on to feature on Channel 4's  “Escape to the Chateau”. Jai’s food has always been technically informed working with seasonal local ingredients to get the best flavours and also bring in influences true to his Guyanese-Caribbean roots”.  

We haven’t had a chance to check Nexus out for you yet, we’re slowly venturing out of lockdown ourselves to “Eat out to Help Out” but Tamara told us the restaurant is “split across two levels” and that you can “expect abstract art, palm trees, gorgeous living walls, neon signs and a sky light conservatory “. We’ve seen some extremely tempting and mouth watering pics of the food on offer from breakfast options including granola fruit bowls, strawberry porridge, blueberry pancakes, traditional fry ups and they have a great breakfast take out offer; £6 for coffee and a bacon sandwich made with “delicious sour dough avocado and aioli”. Sounds perfect as an en route to the tube take out with restrictions lifting and Fulhamites starting to make their way back to work. Lunch and dinner includes eat in or take away options like chicken kebabs on flat bread, Nexus lobster tail, jerk chicken platters come served with coleslaw and a choice of mac & cheese or rice and peas. Nexus are also serving seasonal cocktails, fine wines, a selection of non-alcoholic drinks and their Bottomless Brunch runs all week (Mon - Sat). Choose from either 2 or 3 courses with 2 hours of bottomless sparkling wine, mimosas , beer or selected soft drinks.

Opening hours: Monday/Tuesday (7.30 am - 6 pm), Wednesday/Thursday (7.30 - 9pm), Friday/Saturday (7.30 am - 10 pm)

Their menu is available for takeaway from the restaurant and Uber Eats and Just Eat should be up and running this month.

Bishops Bar

This new bar recently opened on the Fulham Palace Road (399) on the site where Bloom used to be and although they’re still refurbishing we’re told by the new owners that they are family and dog friendly. Their outdoor, front of house wooden deck is perfect for sunny Fulham days where you can sip one of their cocktails including three unique concoctions created by their in house mixologist: Bishops Special (vodka, gin, peach snapps lime & lemonade), Bloom revival (Cointreau, Bloom Gin, Ginger ale, Basil, Lime and the Rum Nation (three rums mixed with a variety of fruit juices to create a Caribbean cocktail; we’re not sure we’re brave enough for the Zombie. They’ve also created a couple of shooters - the Bloody Mary shot 50 ml - and their alcohol licence starts at 9 am if you want to start that early!

On the non alcoholic front they serve fresh coffee, tea, smoothies, milkshakes and juices and items on their food menu, reduced for now, include spicy chicken wings, bruschetta, fajitas, salt and pepper squid, sweet potato chips and they have a breakfast and brunch menu.

We can imagine, if we get past the new normal and eventually return to pre lockdown normal, that Bishops Bar is going to be packed on match days and if you enjoy shisha or you’d like to try it this is another Bishops Bar terrace offer. They also hope to organise an open mic night and DJs in the near future.

Opening hours: 8.30 am - 11 pm (Mon - Fri)/9.00 am - 11 pm (Sat - Sun)

What’s Happening

PR Support for Fulham Businesses

Since 2008 Clemence de Crecy has been running Clementine Com a luxury PR agency on the New King’s Road (52) specialising in Hospitality and Lifestyle PR. The agency offers traditional networking, social media, creative event planning and media training. Clients include the Cowdray Estate, Decanter World Wine Awards and Bamford London.

Clemence recently got in touch with Urban Village LDN about offering support to local Fulham businesses. “Like many others we have been impacted over the past few months but would love to find a way to work closely with local businesses”. Get in touch to hear how they can help, mention Urban Village LDN, let them know you’re based in Fulham for a 20% discount and free media training.

www.clementinecom.com 

info@clementinecom.com

+44 (0) 20 7471 8730 

Police Cadets adapt during lockdown

Urban Village LDN spoke to PC Ronan McDermott who is the Volunteer Police Cadets coordinator in Hammersmith and Fulham. We’d heard from a local resident about how they’d manage to adapt and the wonderful work they’d carried out within the community despite lockdown.

“As with many youth organisations the Hammersmith & Fulham Police Cadets was postponed at the start of lockdown.  This meant we had to think outside the box for the volunteering section of their Duke of Edinburgh awards which they normally do within the community.  The cadets were told they could cover this section by completing home chores, cooking, cleaning, gardening, helping elderly neighbours etc.  They posted their hard work pictures and videos on our WhatsApp group”.

Ronan continued to tell us about some of the volunteering the cadets undertook adding that there were so many examples, here are some of the highlights.

“We made a lovely Thank Our NHS & Key workers Video, with cadets in uniform and posted this online via our Twitter, Facebook and Nextdoor accounts. For VE Day, some baked cakes, arranged tea parties, made decorations etc.  Cadet Lilly Fritsche-Mosen made VE Day party packs for her elderly neighbours and delivered them to their doors.  Cadet Ciaran Fitzharris made diners for his neighbours who were vulnerable or self-isolating.  He also purchased & delivered lots of fresh food and drinks to the Ambulance station on Seagrave Road with Dad Dave”.

“Cadets Ciaran Fitzharris, Olivia Maher & Josh Hallmark volunteered in the Clem Atlee Estate community hall with the ‘Smile Brigade’ Charity packing groceries and essentials for people self-isolating across the borough.  They did this in their own time, whilst they still had school work to completle. We celebrated Stephen Lawrence Day, and Mental Health week by making pledges to help people in need.  Even a simple phone call to someone who they knew was finding lockdown hard. They also have been taking part in my weekly online zoom sessions, where we discuss COVID 19 and volunteering amongst other things and hold our own Joe Wickes type fitness lesson”.

 “I am incredibly proud of these young people, when many are simply playing video games, these guys are always trying to find ways to help the area they grew up in.  My job is very easy when we have kids like these”

Anyone interested in finding out more about the Cadets, where and when sessions are held can email FH-VPCLeaders@met.police.uk 

Ready Tech Go

This community-driven, not-for-profit organisation was created in the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic by a diverse, environmentally conscious group of friends. They are all Londoners whose backgrounds include coordinating international aid and cyber-security. In their words “we all have one thing in common: technology has propelled us through life”.

At the height of lockdown many of the founders volunteered by delivering hot meals to vulnerable people within the borough and witnessed first hand how rapidly the digital divide was accelerating and isolating people. By not being digitally connected, which Ready Tech Go quite rightly describe as being “an essential aspect of modern living”, they saw how this adversely affected so many in our community from the elderly who couldn’t see their loved ones to young children trying to do homework on parents smartphones. Ready Tech Go believe that “access to technology should be classified as a right rather than a privilege”.

Ready Tech’s first referral was Mr B who spent lockdown alone and was in desperate need of technology to connect him to the outside world. Thanks to a donor Ready Tech Go supplied him with a tablet and helped support him with his first steps into the online world. Now Mr B is connected to his family around the country is easily making video calls and seeing his loved ones faces for the first time in months.

If you have an old tablet please consider donating to Ready Tech Go, Even if you don’t think its fully functional they have dedicated tech experts who will investigate, wipe all data, sanitise the device and get it to a worthy recipient found through their connections with referral partners including Solidarity Sports and West London Welcome. At worst it will be recycled through proper channels rather than sent to landfill. If you’d be interested in joining Ready Tech Go’s senior advisory board fill in the contact form here https://www.readytechgo.org/our-team

Fulham Town Hall plans approved

Urban Village LDN wrote about the proposed plans for turning Fulham Town Hall into a boutique hotel in June last year after attending the public exhibition. Refresh your memory here https://bit.ly/fulhamtownhall

Now over a year later they’ve finally been approved and we’re all quite excited by the prospect of a boutique hotel in our midst. As many Fulhamites, who’ve lived in the area for a while will know, there have been many failed plans and let’s face it this is preferable to a Mama and Papas showroom which was muted at some point; glad that one didn’t come to fruition. Nobody who lives in the area can disagree that the building is in a bit of a sad way. Over the years it’s former glory has been fading even before the council closed the doors and sold it off. The town hall looks dilapidated and we can’t be the only ones fed up seeing it sat there empty and not in use so we say “yes, hurrah and about time” to this project finally getting the green light. We look forward to watching with interest when the building works and renovations begin. As we said in our first piece we will have a big smile on our faces when we walk past to see the clock on Harwood Road once again telling the correct time. We’ll be even happier when the doors re open and new life is breathed back into the building.

Made in Fulham

It never fails to surprise us what a talented bunch you Fulham folks are. Each month Urban Village Ldn introduces you to THe Fulham face behind an idea, product or business and ask them what they love about being a local resident. This month we talk to Pascal Huser from Pascal Huser Design & Build.

How long have you called Fulham home? After graduating in Fine Art in 1985, I rented a flat on Hurlingham Road as well as a studio in South Ken, though I spent most of my time painting from my flat.  There was definitely a surge of young people moving to the borough and both the Fulham Road and New Kings Road was buzzing with wine bars, restaurants and delicatessens.  As a young twentysomething, it was the place to be!   

Tell us a bit about yourself/and your family. I am French, have lived and worked in Paris and Zurich, but London (Fulham) is where I feel totally at home.  We are fortunate to have found a great house next to Bishops Park.  I am married to Kate, my childhood sweetheart, with whom we have 3 children.  No dog yet, but it’s a constant topic of conversation.  

What’s your favourite local haunt and why?   I feel it’s about sharing the best of experiences with friends.  There are too many places to name as each are unique and as much about the people who own or run them.  But if one place truly stands out, it's The River Cafe.  

What is your slice of Fulham heaven and why? So many like walking the bridges, but I prefer to stick to this side of the river.  I enjoy seeing the changes taking place, new buildings/developments and restaurants opening such as Sam’s, Brasserie Blanc and The Blue Boat.  

What have you missed about Fulham life during the pandemic? The beauty of the internet and Zoom is that we could stay in touch with friends and family regardless of where they were.  There was a tremendous sense of community and local support, which I hope will continue post Covid-19.  It was really sad seeing shops and businesses close, but a huge relief to see them re-opening again.  

What local shop/service/business has helped make life easier during the pandemic? As my business continued throughout, we were reliant on suppliers delivering materials such as Hitchcock & King (Carnwath Road) and Action Building Supplies (Dawes Road) - there were uncertain times at the beginning of lockdown, but the message was clear - businesses had to continue doing business!  On a personal/family level, obviously local supermarkets and the tremendous Parsons Nose and Bayley & Sage.  As we are fortunate to have a large garden, there’s been a lot of BBQs!

If you could do one thing to improve Fulham what would it be?  Replace the current parking permit with one you can use throughout the entire borough, such as in Kensington & Chelsea.  I would be happy to pay more for the privilege.  

Tell us about Pascal Huser Design & Build and how it came to be.  From an early age, I have always been quite practical.  Art and Design stills remains a constant passion of mine.  Having been on the receiving end of some ‘pretty average’ refurbishment work in my first home, which for many was seen as the norm, I saw an opportunity to offer a service of real care and exemplary execution.  Everything matters!  That philosophy still remains true - bringing together talented in-house Architects, Interior Designers and trusted construction experts, setting us apart for over 20 years.   

What advice would you give to anyone thinking of starting their own enterprise?  Always put yourself in the place of a client.  What would you expect?  Have high standards, you don’t have to be different, just better.  Detail is everything?  If you love and are passionate about what you do, then you will succeed.  And read your email twice before you press send!

What is the key piece of advice you always give to clients? Transparency, trust and honesty.  This a wonderful creative opportunity on which to travel together.    

Spotlight  

with LOCKDOWN ending and businesses trying to get back on their feet, uRBAN VILLAGE LDN shineS A light on a different FULHAM company each MONTH. in this isssue we talk to fulham resident and Designer Allison RODGER

I could say that I commenced my business in 1976, when still at school in Newcastle!  I received regular commissions for bridesmaids dresses and tailoring, which was all good experience, and brought in extra cash to fund my love of quality fabrics used for making my own clothes.

In 1979 I moved to London to “do” Fashion Design at Harrow School of Art, which was fabulous. A work experience position with the Emanuels in 1981, led to my first job with them as Assistant Designer, during really exciting times in their company.  I embraced the design work, and couture skills performed in their workrooms until 1984 when I left for a role as childrenswear designer - briefly.  My designs were so successful that a number of companies asked me to design their collections, and I turned freelance, designing everything - childrenswear, evening wear, wedding dresses, tailoring, knitwear and separates.

The first incarnation of Allison Rodger Designs was in 1987, when I married and moved out of London.  I designed and made six sample wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses, made an appointment to see the bridal buyer at Liberty, and she ordered four of the designs. This was my green light to proceed with my collection, which I sold to bridal boutiques all over the UK.  In 1990 I opened my own boutique in Uppingham, where we were very busy making wedding and bridesmaids dresses - until the recession hit.  In 1993 I was forced to close my business.  Eventually I found a job in London, producing Jasper Conran's designs for Caroline Castigliano - a very brief stint, before becoming Production Manager at Catherine Walker, followed by similar roles with other designers.

In 2000 I worked on a few fashion stories for the Daily Mail, which brought me more private commissions, including Nigella Lawson, whose shift dress and 50’s style dresses we made for many years, and Cherie Blair, and others. In 2002 my second incarnation commenced, with the opening of my boutique and workrooms in Pimlico, from where we made bridal, evening, tailoring and special occasion wear.

The business moved twice, in 2010 to Ebury Street, Belgravia, and 2015  to Elystan Street, Chelsea Green, before moving to Fulham in 2017. I was familiar with New Kings Road, because for many years I passed through on my journeys into work from Barnes where I lived until 2017. To be honest, I was pushed out of Chelsea by my rent doubling and very costly business rates, which became unaffordable for my small independent business.  Fortunately I was able to buy my current premises in New Kings Road.

We make clothes to order for women, which I’m regularly told make them feel fabulous, and complimented by others on their appearance.  Whether this refers to a work suit, a wedding dress or special occasion outfit, during the creative process we find how best to fit and flatter the wearer.  We can cut sleeves, allow for a more generous bust or hips, and provide lengths to make the most of leg shapes. After discussing the design and fabrics, we make a pattern and toile (mock up), so we can perfect the fit and proportions before cutting the fabric. I only use quality fabrics from UK, Italy and France, and have longstanding relationships with my beaders and suppliers, so we create individual clothes which are timeless - and like reliable friends, enjoyed being worn numerous times. 

Due to COVID all of our summer weddings have sadly been postponed to 2021, and left a massive void in anticipated workload and income. We began making scrubs in early April via the Scrub Hub, and at the same time, my Doc friend Emilio in New York sent instructions they’d been issued with for making cotton face masks. I perfected the face mask pattern, and needed 100% cotton fabrics, which we don’t use very often.  I remembered I had a bag of vintage Liberty tana lawn from the 70’s, and scraps of cotton shirting, which I used to trial my new project.  I posted the first batch on Instagram, and sales came in from UK and worldwide!  These led to recommendations, and the word continues to spread. I received a couple of commissions from a client in New York for the Trikini, which became the feature for my fun window display for the face masks, and sales continued to rise.We were commissioned to make ‘uniform’ face masks for The Bridge Baker in WBR, and my stock is sold there also.

We’ve made hundreds of face masks!  Everyone loves the cotton shirtings and Liberty prints, and this experience has been a complete eye opener.  I’m supplying and selling to customers who are local to the area, but who would not need special occasion wear - especially during this time.   I’ve been inspired to design an off the peg clothing collection using Liberty tana lawn prints.  The fabrics will arrive any day - watch this space, and my shop window!

Beyond the Hood

During lockdown it all began to feel a bit groundhog day with either the radio or the news on in the background constantly. In the end we had to limit the news to once or twice a day because to be honest it was all beginning to feel a bit depressing and seemed like we were hearing the same old, same old sounds on a certain national radio station.

We’ve always been a bit eclectic when it comes to music and picking up on new artists, discovering tracks from a variety of places so when a friend sent over a link to Amateurism Radio, an on line global community radio station that started broadcasting 24/7 at the start of lockdown, we were intrigued, even more so when we headed over to their website to see their brilliant tag line “Think local, act intergalactic!”.

Amateurism was founded in 2011 by London based DJ/promoter Leo Walton “to bring together a group of people with a similar spirit for unearthing records of a certain vibe”. They describe themselves collectively and have been described to us as a “tribe of good people, an inclusive club, bringing people together through music and shared experiences” pre COVID playing at festivals. Obviously that all came to an end so Amateurism radio was created and their inaugural broadcast was aired on 28 March.

If you’re interested in making some musical discoveries tune in you’ll very quickly find your favourite genres, musical curators and shows. We’ve enjoyed various programmes including one based on the stories behind some of Wes Anderson’s film soundtracks, a two hour tribute to Ennio Morricone and Rob Leggatt’s “righteous selections” of a Sunday.

We have to admit that during lockdown we even shed a small tear or two on a couple of occasions. Once when Leo Walton passed the show baton on to his Mother Mama Walton signing off with his children saying love you Granny and when a poem was read out about the power of music, how we are not alone, that if we have music we are united. Yes we know we sound like right old over emotional woke softies but we all agreed that music was even more powerful and quite frankly a life saver during lockdown. Wish we could remember what that poem was called so we could get hold of a copy!

Find Amateurism Radio on Spotify, archives on Mix Cloud or listen on line https://www.amateurism.co.uk/