What’s Happening

Mother’s Day

We wrote about Valentine’s Day last month and some of the local businesses that could help you celebrate despite lockdown. That feature was hugely popular and although we’re not taking all the credit we’d like to think we played a small part in helping spread the word resulting in orders flying out the door. This month it’s Mother’s Day on Sunday 14 March and so we thought we’d pull together a few suggestions so you can celebrate the occasion in style whilst supporting local.

Manuka Kitchen have a Mother’s Day box, a four course meal for two, and they’re taking orders for home delivery up until 10 March. There’s limited availability so take a look and get your order in quick before they sell out. Their “heat and eat” box costs £72 + £2.99 for delivery on Friday 12/Saturday 13 March and includes cornflour & parmesan madelines, with chilli butter, a starter of your choice, Burrata, Mint & Prosecco Peas/Tuna Tartare and a main course to share, Lamb Wellington or Halibut & Clams dill and ratte potatoes en papillotte accompanied by mixed root vegetables & a Baby spinach, feta and oregano salad. Dessert is Parsons Green mess (love) with rhubarb, lemon cream and meringue. https://bit.ly/3r7WyVA

Archie’s Kitchen can send a nationwide delivery so if your families can’t physically be together you can organise a multiple household virtual gathering and share a Mother’s Day lunch. Their menu which costs £45 per person includes a complimentary homemade edible gift, a Burrata with blood orange, rocket, Iberico ham, toasted sourdough & olive oil dressing starter, Chicken ballotine stuffed with a truffle mousse, crispy chicken skin, swede puree, parmesan polenta chips, purple sprouting broccoli and a white wine jus for main, a Passion fruit tart for dessert and finally Homemade chocolate truffles. Final orders are Wednesday 10 March get in touch with claire@archiesfood.com

Dinner Ladies are just over the river in Putney but we love what they do, they’re tried and tested by us so we always feel they warrant inclusion. The Dinner Ladies are also doing nationwide boxes so you can send them to your Mother, all Mums have been doing rather a lot of cooking during lockdown, or share them en famile over Zoom. Start the meal with Crab, mascarpone & tarragon tortellini, lobster bisque, crispy samphire and then move onto a main of Slow cooked lamb shank with plum, fennel & red wine
Rosemary butter potato fondants, Charred baby leeks, broad beans & pea shoots and Sorrel salsa verde. Dessert is Baked vanilla cheesecake, passionfruit compote with mint and to finish a selection of hand-rolled chocolate truffles. Book before Tuesday 9 March for delivery on 12 March. £40 per person + £6 delivery fee at checkout. We also love that you can add a children’s meal of chicken, mushroom & leek pie, with mashed potato, tender stem broccoli and chocolate brownie for £8 to to make Mother’s Day even easier. Children’s meals are sold as two portions and one portion can be frozen and saved for a later date if necessary. You can also add wine, flowers from Wild Decor and a selection of beautiful gifts from sustainable lifestyle Zero Living. https://dinnerladiesltd.com/home-deliveries/p/mothers-day-menu-nationwide

Baking Street London have limited edition charity postal brownie boxes. Each box includes six classic chocolate chunk brownies a personalised Mothers Day card and signature gift wrapping. For every box purchased a donation will be made to Winston’s Wish, a charity which supports bereaved children and young adults across the UK after the loss of a parent(s). Boxes cost £16.50 and orders should be placed by direct message (DM) on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bakingstreetlondon/?igshid=7f34z1x3tq0n provide the name and address of the recipient and the message which will be hand written on a card and delivered w/c 8 March.

Baking Bella has a gorgeous Baking Bella Fulham Truffle gift set which they have joined forces with Lea and Sandeman Fulham Road on. The gift costs £45 and contains: Champagne Rosé Benedick Grande Réserve Brut 37 cl, a box of 12 Artisan Brigadeiros Confectionery (three different flavours: classic dark, coconut dream and coffee Latte). We’re told the last truffle is a limited edition flavour, x 1 dark chocolate brigadeiro spread 11 cl, x 1 coconut dream spread 11 cl. Baking Bella is taking orders up to 7 March and you can DM them on Instagram to place your order; free delivery for SW6, for other postcodes, please get in touch. The other truffle option is their box of 12 brigadeiros with pink sugary hearts especially for Mother’s Day, same flavours as described above, which comes accompanied with a pretty meticulously hand painted watercolour card created by @sophieameliacreates. £19.00 for the box of Brigadeiros + card. Same delivery options apply https://www.instagram.com/bakingbella_fulham/?igshid=sbysx0ijc60i

The Kaf Larder did you read about their hampers and tote bags on our “What’s New” page? You can also have bespoke bags made up; we love the sound of their “Truffin Mad” bag.

Stargazy Rum are sending bottles of their Cosmic Caramel Rum liqueur with a gift card. Get 10% off and free delivery with code STAR10. Read our previous feature on them here https://www.urbanvillageldn.com/beyond-the-hood-nov-1?rq=stargazy this liqueur is fabulous if you want to whip up an easy dessert on Mother’s Day. Add to an Affagato or simply pour over ice cream or baked fruit.

Nature’s Delight

If you haven’t been to this gorgeous food deli on Fulham Road that opened up at the end of last year it is well worth a visit to take a look at their range of cheeses, meats and fresh organic fruit and veg, to admire the beautiful ways in which their produce is displayed as well as their stunning in store mural. We caught up with Adam Francourt who told us that this business is the love child of his and business partner Marton Simko. They spent two years working together as management team for Natoora in Selfridges and Adam told us that they “realised after a few weeks that we not only shared a tremendous amount in terms of our love of food retail but also in terms of our broader values as people”.

We asked Adam, why Fulham for their first business venture together? “Firstly it’s a stunning area, which always helps. We only had one chance to pick correctly so we walked vast stretches of London nearly every day for months to try and get a feel for an area before committing. I knew the area fairly well as I used to work for Wholefoods in Fulham Broadway, and I told Marton its definitely somewhere that should be on our shortlist. We needed somewhere with good footfall as well as somewhere that would be receptive to paying more for higher quality produce. Marton and I have always found that, unlike Meat and Wine, it’s harder on average to sell Fruits and Vegetables at a higher price. There tends to be a preconceived notion that because it comes from the earth it should by default be cheaper; even though a flavoursome, well grown tomato has an unbelievable amount of time, love and expertise put into it. The final reason for choosing Fulham was meeting our landlady, Harriet. She’s a Fulham local who already owns a business in the area, Nomad Books, and so was really invested in making sure she brought in someone looking to add value, not simply extract. We presented our business plan to her and she felt immediately that we would be a good fit for the neighbourhood; we hope to prove her faith right. Her and her family have been very supportive from day one and gave us the confidence to put our best foot forward”. Adam recently moved to Fulham and is very happy to be within walking distance of his beloved Chelsea and the business.

Adam talked to us about the large open kitchen space and serving counter at Nature’s Delight and that once lockdown is over they plan to create a range of take home foods (salads, quiches, tarts, cakes) that will change with the season and showcase the deliciousness of food all year round. We loved the story behind the business, their ethos and creativity. “Neither of us set out on this journey with aspirations of getting rich. We got a small glimpse of how incredibly rewarding it is to add more value than you take and decided to make that our larger mission in life. A sympathetic ear for a customer who’s going through a difficult period; a coffee for the delivery driver who drops off our goods 5 days per week; helping to develop a team member who has potential and ambition but lacking in a bit of direction; these things fuel both of us. We’re not unique in this respect, but it is what we hold dear to our hearts. Selling food is the broad context for our work, but adding value to peoples lives is our goal, and we wanted to create a business that always endeavoured to be creative in how it does that. We’ve both come to understand the impact it can have on people when done well and that, ultimately, is what bonds us. Honestly I never had any intention of being a business owner, I always believed the risk to be too high; but working with Marton has done so much to drive me to fulfil my potential that it felt inconceivable that we wouldn’t take the chance and see exactly how good we are.”

Adam told us they want to build a relationship with residents of the area that will last for decades. Retail has found ever more creative ways to sell more things to people at a faster rate; but often at the expense of any long term relationship. Many businesses get repeat customers because of leverage and market position not because they are trusted or respected. Customer service can become extremely orientated around transactions and transaction value and this can lead to many of the underwhelming experiences people have when shopping. We need to make money as a business and be profitable, we’re not shy about that, but we believe it’s our responsibility as business owners to do so in a way that leaves a person feeling better for visiting our shop consistently. For example we offer complimentary tea and coffee to anyone visiting the shop, regardless of whether or not you purchase anything. We also plan to deliver small seasonal gift bags for anyone who signs up for our newsletter, so customers can make their own mind up about the seasons up and coming products. We try to avoid being too pushy or preachy about what a person should buy; allowing them breathing space to come to their own conclusions around what we’re trying to offer”.

Lune + Wild

Nadia and her cousin Lara founded Lune + Wild last year when she became a Mum and Lara became an Auntie. They were both struck by the lack of nutritious, flavourful and sustainable baby food brands available on the market. They set up their baby and toddler meal delivery business based in Parsons Green in November last year to deliver nutritious and seasonal menus to busy parents who don’t want to compromise quality for convenience. Nadia told Urban Village LDN “supermarket brands often have a shelf life of 12 months+, and are sweetened with fruit making for some questionable flavour combinations! Like lots of parents, I want to raise my family on real and wholesome food, but busy days don't always allow for cooking from scratch. We allow parents to feed their babies and toddlers the most delicious, savoury meals without the compromise. Flavour and variety are our champions, no more bland baby food. We want to help raise confident, curious eaters that will grow up to enjoy a healthy variety of food. We know how hard it can be to home cook a different meal each day of the week; lack of time, space and inspiration. Lara has a diverse approach to her recipes, having worked in many leading restaurants around the world, her experience inspires her to go beyond just the British classics”.

Lune + Wild change their menu seasonally to include a variety of fresh organic produce and a multitude of nutrients, protein and essential fatty-acid sources, to support a child's development from plant sources. They told us that their First Taste Box is the perfect tool kit to begin weaning, 8 single ingredient organic vegetables introduce a rainbow of flavours. For 6 months + they have a Seasonal Menu, with an assortment of 8 recipes packed with over 50 organic ingredients to explore. Nadia told us “We work alongside a Paediatric Dietitian to ensure the meals are nutritionally complete and we lock in the goodness by freezing. The meals are frozen in cubes so that there is far less packaging, and it gives parents the flexibility with portion size to reduce food waste. When it comes to ingredients, we source our produce from Shrub Provisions - a new business connecting us to UK small holders following regenerative, organic methods. We put care into all our decisions, from Soil to Spoon”.

Nadia got in touch with us as now they are well and truly off the starting blocks they want to grow their business and get the word out especially in the Fulham community. Nadia said “We have been blown away by the positive feedback we've received from parents (and their happy babies!). It's really encouraged us to keep going this year, and build our business to reach more parents, making their lives a little easier during this tricky time”. Since launching their business they’ve added pots for toddlers and young children. They have six delicious meals for young children for £25 these can be ordered as a one time purchase, weekly, fortnightly or monthly. Meals include Celeriac, leek and Portobello mushroom pie, Bake cod and cauliflower cheese gratin, Supergreen chicken satay and golden couscous. Congratulations Nadia and Lara on your success with Lune + Wild - another amazingly entrepreneurial business right here on our doorstep.

One a penny two a penny

We always go early as we can’t get enough of Hot Cross Buns but Easter will be here before we know it! Bridge Baker’s hot cross buns will be available in-store from 4 March, and they are taking pre-orders for Good Friday/Easter Sunday (£7.50 for a pack of 4). Made from scratch every day with their own spice mix, finished with a light glaze they are made from honest ingredients, with no additives, lovely eaten fresh or the next day toasted with butter.

North End Road consultation

Chris Patterson the area regeneration Manager for Hammersmith & Fulham council got in touch with Urban Village LDN as “the council is investing in North End Road and want to support the historic street market. As part of our work to improve the high street we are carrying out a survey of market shoppers but we are also interested to hear from people who don’t use the market to find out what might attract them to shop there”. The council would love to hear from you whether you currently shop on North End Road or not and would love subscribers of Urban Village LDN to complete their market shoppers survey. Have your say on plans to regenerate North End Road and the street market before the deadline of 22 March. https://northendroad.commonplace.is/