88 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9RT.
We try to work with small, local and ideally organic suppliers wherever we can. We think it’s the right thing to do (see our values) – but it also makes life more interesting. Here are a few of the companies that we count ourselves lucky to work with:
We think Born & Bread make some of the best bread in London. All of their loaves are handmade using a natural sourdough starter, and baked in a wood-fired oven. We particularly like the Pagnotta – a two kilo beast of a loaf, 100% sourdough with no added yeast, it makes great sandwiches and fantastic toast.
We buy delicious apples, pears and pressed juices from this organic fruit farm in Kent, along with soft fruit in the summer. Look out for Chegworth Valley at your local farmers’ market.
The organic-Fairtrade Peruvian Arabica beans that go into our espressos, cappuccinos and lattes are freshly roasted for us at Climpson & Sons’ tiny but state-of-the-art roastery in East London. A medium-dark roast brings out the beans’ rich, chocolatey flavour.
Brighton-based workers’ co-op Infinity Foods specialises in organic and Fairtrade wholefoods. They supply us with pulses, grains, nuts, dried fruit and baking ingredients, as well as environmentally friendly cleaning products.
Every Thursday, Matthew Unwin of Longwood Farm in Suffolk supplies us with fantastic quality organic meat and eggs. Longwood is unusual in that the farm produces beef, lamb, pork and poultry (eggs are from a neighbouring farm), and Matthew is a skilled butcher as well as a farmer.
You might think it strange to get excited about a dried apricot. But that would be because you haven’t tried a dried Hunza apricot from Tropical Wholefoods. Their dried mangoes and chewy banana chips are pretty fine too, and as a company they have a very strong fair trade ethos, with many of their products certified organic, Fairtrade, or both.
When providing wine for an event, we turn to Vintage Roots, the organic wine experts. They also supply organic beers, ciders and spirits, and sell retail as well as wholesale.