‘Hi there, the menu is just up here and you can sit wherever you want,’ I wonder how many times I’ve said that, it must be thousands. ‘Various teas, a pour-over coffee and a homemade still lemonade.’
‘Just in there and the light is on your right.’ The same lines over and over, making people comfortable, to settle them in, to welcome them. People can look a little confused when they first arrive, because we are in a shipping container, but more often because the big front door that you have to push to get in has a pull handle on it – something that never occurred to me would be a problem, but now results in, ‘It’s push, just push, PUSH… sorry it’s a bit stiff,’ constantly.
It is quieter in the morning and busy at lunch, which is just the way I like it. It’s a lovely spot for breakfast though, with the sun on the front deck. It’s peaceful in the morning as you sit listening to the birds singing and wile away some quality time, then leave refreshed. We have house granola, but we also make all sorts of fruit compotes and jams depending on the season, toast, porridge with maple syrup and breakfast bowls, which I have just introduced recently on my quest to bring kefir (a fermented milk full of good gut bacteria) to the mainstream, served with fresh fruit, toasted nuts, seeds and honey – it’s delicious.
People are always popping in to ask me about the place, how I set it up, if they can have a recipe for this, can they chat about a food event they would like to put on, do I want to collaborate, they have too many courgettes, do I want some? All sorts, and sometimes when I’m busy or in a bad mood I wish people would stop coming to see me, but in truth it is one of the best things about the place.
Suppliers arrive through the morning; fresh bread comes from a lady just along the road. She is from Kazakhstan but married a guy from Newcastle and has recently started her own bakery. It’s really delicious. The butcher delivers free-range, local eggs and meat while the delivery man likes to chat about his life, his other jobs teaching guitar and working at festivals and the weather. The wholesale veg guy is canny but quite gruff. I miss the old guy, Richie, who was lovely and chatty. I wanted to hug him when he said he was leaving but think it might have been a step too far. I think he went to Scotland. I get organic veg from Ann and Bob in Hexham and Ann will always stop for a chat on a Thursday, about the farm, the piglets and to check how I’m getting on.
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The Ouseburn is an old industrial area of Newcastle, ten minutes’ walk from the city centre, a little valley with the river Ouse running through it that joins the River Tyne. It used to house cattle sheds, coal docks and lots of industrial warehouses, but is now home to creative offices, live music pubs, a city farm and artists’ studios.
It’s an ‘up-and-coming area’ and I was one of the first to start a food business there, apart from 'Carol’s secret sandwich shop'. It’s a lovely area – I wouldn’t be anywhere else in the city. It’s leafy and quiet with sounds of the river, trees, ducks, little boats, pigeon crees and the odd creative wandering around. Footfall is steadily rising but can still be low in the day. My customers are mainly people coming to me specifically rather than passing trade, so sometimes that’s a bit challenging. I use the occasional quiet day to cook as much as possible, see what we have in stock and get pickling, preserving and baking, so as soon as it's busy again we're well stocked with interesting offers.
We have a city farm just down the street from us and have worked with them on various events over the years. As much as possible I like to pop over and pick from their garden – it is so fresh, but does mean I get the task of picking out all the slugs and bugs…
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In the beginning my dad came every day, which was very kind and I know it’s because he likes my food and is the most supportive person ever, but there’s a limit to how often you want to see your parents (please forgive me), so I had to have a word. Then he took offence and didn’t come back for weeks. I think we have found a balance now; actually maybe he hasn’t been for a while, I think he should probably come more often!
Mark who owns the timber yard over the river comes nearly every day – he has cut down from having five lunches to himself each day to two or three. ‘I’ll have… the chicken, the eggs, the beef, that feta thing, a mint tea, oh and some of that cake…’ nearly every day.
We get lots of local business owners, people who have studios in the valley, lawyers and bankers who walk along from the quayside, students showing their parents how cool Newcastle is, old folk out on a walk, family meet-ups, all sorts really; but genuinely all lovely people. Being in our little hidden-away spot I think it makes us quite self-selecting; people have looked us up and chosen to find us and I’d say that 99 per cent of these people are lovely, happy, foodie folk.