Towpath cafe - Hackney

Puppy-walking along the canal on the Islington / Hackney borders has often been a solitary and thankless task. Fortunately I'm often inspired by desolation, floating bicycles and windy afternoons.

Why else live in London!

Now I have somewhere to head for as a little less than ten minutes walk from my front door the wonderful and American Laurie has opened a Cafe on the Towpath, somewhere to cherish and walk to with gusto. With homemade cakes, soups and revitalising coffee it's the perfect definition of a hidden London treasure.








Facing the canal and open to the elements (but with heaters) it's a haven for dog-walkers, trendy hackney folk and (judging from my eves-dropping!) members of the anarchist publishing fraternity.

This afternoons rain never felt so good - Thank you Laurie.

The Rosslyn - Hampstead

Its instantly clear why this Hampstead fixture regularly places in the top five delis in London. The admittedly old fashioned window displays of The Rosslyn are cared for and fun and the 'a board' outside promises home made salt beef (highlighting an understanding of local custom) Inside the shelves are at times a little bare but this is understandable on a Tuesday morning in February, plus time has also been spent dressing out the gaps with point of sale and thought. I love the care that was taken in wrapping my really very good & possibly home made sausage roll with logoed waxed paper. Lastly they have adorable fliers promoting Valentine's breakfast : Champagne, smoked salmon bagels, mini croissants, orange juice, fresh strawberries and heart shared truffles all delivered to your door. Heartwarming.

Kandana - kilburn

It looks like Minkies Deli has some competition on its hands and tough competition too! Only a few hundred yards down the hill is Kandana.

When I daydream about the perfect Deli I imagine a place where beautiful women come to sit and relax, spend lots of money and feel comfortable enough to do some knitting. Don't ask!. Kandana is evidently that place. A real deli that feels at the heart of it's community without looking like a community centre. The girls serving even noticed that I looked a bit glum and suggested a peppermint teas to cheer me up. Now suggesting someone looks unhappy is a high risk thing to do, but when served up with such charm it worked. A dozen customers at 10am on a rainy Tuesday speaks volumes. These guys know who to create an atmosphere, they know how to keep shop.

Minkies Deli - Kensal Rise

Customers want to experience new things, try new flavours and feel inspired thus the toughest part of retail is playing the curator. Fashion retailers are past masters at this new products are constantly introduced and old favourites updated in new and exciting ways. The food arena sometimes stick to the tried and tested.

Minkies has for a long time been one of my favourite places to shop or ponder. It's housed in a simply delicious glass structure with a balanced mix of new and old fittings inside and out. It's adorable. Homemade brownies, excellent coffee and a small selection well chosen grocery / produce. I particularly love the 1/4 bottles of cellier de boal organic cider and prosecco - both perfect for a picnic basket. They've also one of my favourite oriental snacks - Kasugai Green Peas. . I love them, I love there catering and I love the way they have taken responsibility for the community they serve with petitions and farmers markets and an active hand.

Yet what strikes me is that Minkies needs some newness. It's going to be a tough decision to make but selling Byron Bay Cookies seems a little tired. I'm sure they are a top selling line and I'm sure they garner no complaints, Byron Bay make great cookies and when I first discovered them in Harvey Nichols a few years ago I was very impressed not only with the taste but the ethicality and branding too, yet there comes a point in the life of any product when it's ubiquity becomes a drawback.

I've seen these cookies recently in motorway service stations and coffee franchise trolleys at Excel Exhibition Centre. So think to yourself Minkies: are they still a product for the independent retailer? Do they shout to the customer 'shop with us... we are exciting!' After this take a look at the rest of the shelves and see if any could be replaced or dropped. There may be one or two more.

Wholefoods - Kensington

Much of the negative press and industry analysis for Wholefoods apparent failure to light the public imagination centre on price or the lack of car-parking- I sense the issues go far deeper. 

Are you really trying to seduce me with your big blackboards and some empty paper bags? Caress, amuse, tickle my fancy, tempt me with offers or amaze me. Please don't preach - You're ethical We get it! You might get away with this dire window in suburban Texas; We expect more. Harvey Nichols and Harrods are your closest competitors - take a walk.

It may seem unfair to compare you with Harvey Nic's but we consumers do compare, we compare local heroes and chain stores, department stores and supermarkets. We choose where to shop.

Whilst I will admit that many of your in-store displays are truly great, I'd argue that management are sleeping on the job. Who allowed the huge display of Charcoal? 60 thousand lines in one store and you can't find something else to promote? FYI It's February and it's raining

Are your floor managers paying attention? Do they care? Valentines Days is moments away and not a single bar of chocolate in this 6 foot high space has a shelf edge label. Salisbury's, Tescos et al would never make this mistake. Walk the Floor 4 x 4, twice a day!

I did however learn from the POS that 'Annie loves Choxi bars because they are full of antioxidants... Yummy'


Lastly where exactly are your hero products? I spent an hour in your presence and walked out with nothing. Sell me something I can't get elsewhere. Give me a reason to visit.

Jan Vormann - Lego Art

Artist Jan Vormann travels the world finding holes in buildings. When he finds a hole he fills the hole with Lego. This is the most wonderful thing. I'm in love. So in love I'm off food shopping!

The 2010 City Food Lecture - Guildhall

The Annual City Food Lecture is fast becoming the must have ticket for the Food Industry. This Year 600 heads of Industry, Editors, Critics and me sat rapt while Sir David King gave it to us straight.

In the 1400's the Chinese damaged the yellow river so extensively that the Loess Plateau became barren and unfarmable. With so much space they built the Forbidden City thousands of miles away in Beijing then moved the entire population. For nearly 600 years this land (the size area as France!) was forgotten. The adjacent before and after photos show the uplifting transformation.

Sir David was illustrating that with central government help, money and local co-operation eco disasters can be reversed. In Rwanda education of improved farming techniques and better water management have led to self sufficiency; a state many western governments can only dream of.  As always the good news led to bad news. Sir David sees the only way forward for the earth is an increase reliance on GM foods.

 As you can imagine the panel debate was a little hot-tempered but the buffet that followed and the drinks that flowed doused the flames of anger. Next year get yourself a ticket. You might even sit next to Sheila Dilon! 

Princi - Soho

Taking one of the worlds finest architects, London's most reputed restaurateur and Milan's finest baker is a path to my kind of retail experience. Princi took this triumvirate and forgot about the customer journey. Result - the most incredibly slick shop, lip smacking food, bread to die for and an awful experience.

I've been to Princi three times now, I'm willing it to work. I want it to succeed. John Pawson is one of my favourite architects, his true minimalist style and use of sexed up materials is a joy. But maybe he was the wrong man. Signage seems to be a criminal act in a minimal world - Princi lays the signs down flat so as not to break the line of a surface; the flies are the only ones who know where to go. The tills are hidden under a wealth of marble beauty.  Customers just stand around wondering where to pay.  

And the customer journey?

It felt like I was stranded eternally on a P&O ferry, eating for necessity from an 1970's canteen. You pick up your Tepid Cannellini from one place, then queue for a side salad from another, a coffee ? over there, a breaded treat? over there. Then you try and pay and maybe sit down.

If you visit Princi and eat your food while it's still hot and before your headache starts buy a lottery ticket. Today is your lucky day.

I nearly forgot - the Armani clad staff ignore you, chat amognst themselves in Italian, never smile and look fantastic. Reminds me of a trip to Milan I once endured.