No, this post isn’t about some kind recipe book sequel to erotic novel The Story of O. It’s about a new sandwich shop in Shoreditch (try saying that three times quickly).
O-food is a pop-up sandwich bar on Rivington Street that originally popped up or ‘soft launched’ in August (that’s marketing newspeak for opened without a grand opening). It was the official launch last week and I went along to sample some sandwiches and find out what it’s all about.
O-food aims to bring sustainable, healthy and tasty fast food to London. How? First of all, they don’t use any meat, because it’s a highly energy intensive food to produce. Secondly, they don’t use any of the ‘big five’ fish, the most popular and over-fished varieties (haddock, prawns, tuna, cod and salmon), while the fish they do use is sourced from low impact fisheries in Kent. Thirdly, all the vegetables used are sourced from British farms, meaning they don’t have a gigantic carbon footprint from their jumbo jet flights into the UK from overseas.
Since fish and vegetables are generally lower in fat than meat, and since you won’t find these sandwiches slathered in butter and mayonnaise, that’s the healthy bit covered. As for deliciousness, having sampled several miniature versions of the O-food speciality sandwiches like the Hastings (a fish patty with romaine lettuce, tomato and gherkin) and the Portobello (mushroom, mature cheddar, tomato, red cabbage and pesto) I can vouch for the tasty factor. And they all come wrapped adorably in white paper packages tied up with string. You can also get salads, coffee and a few breakfast bits.
The shop was set up by Jens Hannibal, Daniel Flosser and Roel Philippart. The trio met while studying in London and discovered they wanted to combine their interests in sustainability and business.
‘We’re not people who think that meat-based fast food is inherently bad,’ Hannibal explains. ‘We just think that someone needs to take the lead to show people delicious, low impact, alternatives to meat and mainstream choices of fish.’
Hannibal and co have been so pleased by the response to O-food that they’ve decided to keep the shop popped up even longer so they can continue to spread the word. So you’ve got until 23rd September to get down to the ’ditch and experience the future of fast food for yourself.
O-food, 54 Rivington Street, LondonEC2A 3QN, will be open daily from 8am to 4pm until 23rd September 2012. Visit www.o-food.co.uk.
Having worked in central London for nearly two years now, my purse strings have finally caught up with my heart and I am now proud to say I now live in London. However, this city, it be mighty expensive, and thus I have been looking at what cheap (or even free) thrills there are to have in our dear nation’s capital. And boy, there are a lot. Seriously, am I the only one who hyperventilates when I scan through Time Out magazine? With all eyes on Stratford for the next month or so, providing the World with its sporting fix, it is easy to forget there are many other experiences to be had through which you can avoid becoming olympified.
First on my free(ish)-thrills agenda are the floating markets that can be found along Union Canal. Having headed over there last week one evening in the gorgeous sunshine, you are more than welcome to sit on the grass outside the Palm Tree Pub at Mile End and soak up the atmosphere. Imagine old world barge boats along the canal serving drinks, food (BBQ style straight off the boat), selling books and playing live music onboard for your delight. It’s old-school charm and offbeat location means it can provide a dose of respite if you are looking to escape the hoards of tourists from the Olympic Park (ironically located just down the road). So if you fancy getting your float on, head down before the 11th when the barges are set to sail off down stream.
Secondly, and I say this with much anticipation, Sacrilege is in town. If you haven’t yet heard about Jeremy Deller’s work of art, well, think of it as a giant inflatable Stonehenge. Because that’s exactly what it is my friend. A GIANT INFLATABLE STONEHENGE! The pagan king of all bouncy castles is currently on tour around the UK (dates can be checked here) and you too can do it like a Druid for absolutely free in and around London’s parks throughout August. Seriously, how can anyone not be excited by this?
So for all you guys who fancy a break from the Olympics, like we haven’t heard enough about it for the last 7 years, go check out my little findings if you haven’t already, and feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments box below. My purse strings and I will be much obliged.
Get to know these names now and we promise it won’t be long before they’re climbing up the ranks in the biggest fashion houses or storming London Fashion Week with their own independent labels. We are of course talking about this year’s fresh-faced fashion graduates who tore up Earls Court this week: here’s some of our favourites.
Joanna Pybus at GFW 2012
Joanna Pybus, University of East London
At Graduate Fashion Week, we like to play a little game when we’re watching the shows. We try to guess who we think each graduate’s favourite fashion designers are. Looking at Joanna Pybus’s collection, we’d plump for Marc Jacobs, Giles Deacon and gone-into-administration-but-not-forgotten Luella Bartley. Why? Because her designs possess the same mix of 1960′s shapes, stripes, ladylike whimsy, and, cartoon eyeball graphics that those three designers also favour. And we mean that as nothing but a compliment. Pybus said she wanted to bring ‘an awkward feeling of humour, absurdity and the bizarre,’ and that she did. But she managed to paint that picture against a backdrop of infinitely wearable jersey tunics, felted wool cocoon dresses and one heck of a Jackie O-worthy pink and red skirt suit.
Helen Butcher at GFW 2012
Helen Butcher, University of East London
Still playing our ‘who’s her favourite designer?’ game, we’d have to go for Mary Katrantzou this time. Helen Butcher’s graphic monochrome motifs, like the faces of skyscrapers rendered straight on to the front of short, sassy silk dresses, brought to mind the Katrantzou’s trompe l’oeuil style. Again, this is a serious compliment, and not a comparison we make lightly. As well as her art deco photoprints (courtesty of artist David Ballinger), Butcher’s other major forte with this collection lay in how she struck a neat balance between the girly (flippy chiffon hems, hints of raspberry pink) and the gamine – boxy cropped jackets and baggy pants. No wonder she cites Coco Chanel as a reference point. A swishy, va-va-voom gown rounded off this consummate collection.
Claire Acton, University of Central Lancashire
Perhaps it was purely coincidental, but the pop art references were coming thick and fast as the first half dozen graduates’ collections hit the catwalk at the UCLan show on Sunday. Head and shoulders above the rest was Claire Acton, with her clothes seeming to owe more to hairdressing that they did to fashion. Fabric was cut into three cape-wigs in acid yellow, orange and black, and strewn with oversized hair clips, to frame faces that were printed on the front of tunics, thereby turning models into veritable wig blocks. Those hair clips reappeared in their hundreds, multicoloured and covering the entirety of a skirt and the bottom half of a minidress. For us, this is the perfect kind of graduate collection. It may not be the sort of thing you’d expect to see on anyone without Anna Dello Russo-like levels of fashion courage, but it shows great creativity, not to mention a GSOH. On a day when you’re competing with sometimes 20 other collections at a time it’s hard to stand out, but if you can do that by making people laugh (in a good way – there are always some laughably disastrous grad collections) you’re on to a winner.
Kellie Fountain at GFW 2012
Kellie Fountain, Northumbria University Bowing down at the altar of Miu Miu, Kellie Fountain showed a wonderfully wearable collection of autumnal oranges, mustards and blues and adorable plane motifs. If you watched Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom recently and hankered after a 60s dress (as we did), these pieces will sate your appetite for ultra-feminine and playful ensembles. The washed-out rainbow coloured brogues were a delightful finishing touch and as the graduate herself puts it: this is “the true tale of [the character Ginger's] hidden personality, telling her story through textured print and detail.” Simply swinging.
Natalie O’Hare, University of Salford Offering a more understated elegance than many of her classmates, Natalie O’Hare’s soft tailoring and colours that wouldn’t look out of place on a Celine or Chloe model were a big hit with the Style & Then Some team. She mixed gold, sequinned tulle, wool, cashmere and silk like a pro but kept things (literally) edgy with geometric shapes. We’ll place our order for the final floor-length coat now please Natalie. You can see her whole collection (amongst others) in the University of Salford finale video above.
Now that Graduate Fashion Week has wrapped up, we’ll update our ‘Best Of’ with more names from the Gala shows. Let us know below which other graduates caught your eye this week.
Catwalk reviews by Katie Wright, Sophie Cha.
All images: Faraz Pourreza-Jorshari. See more at Boomson.com and click the images to enlarge our GFW 2012 gallery.
Boxpark, supposedly the world’s first pop up mall made entirely from shipping containers, has arrived in Shoreditch. I work just around the corner from this new phenomenon, and have been enjoying the strange scent of freshly laundered fabric (don’t ask me why Boxpark smells like Fairy non-bio detergent gone crazy, it just does) wafting through the air as I walk down Bethnal Green Road.
The lower (ground level) section of the mall is mainly devoted to brands such as Calvin Klein, Irregular Choice, Onepiece and Nike, while the upper level has got large seating areas which will be lovely in the summer, and plenty of familiar foodie names like Frae Frozen Yogurt and Crussh. My favourite find by far, however, is the cafe Foxcroft & Ginger at the Shoreditch High Street end of the complex on the upper level, which I first heard about through Emerald Street. Not only do they serve all their hot drinks in an assortment of pretty, vintage cups and saucers, but they also happen to make the most delicious french toast I’ve ever tasted. (It’s got a honey and mustard sauce addition, which really works.) Most definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area.
Here are a few cheeky snapshots from a trip I took to Broadway Market not long ago. Having never been here before I fell in love with the sense of community spirit and the feeling I may bump into Frank Butcher or any other East Lannndannites while dodging in and out of the old school stalls. Selling everything from clothing (absolute gem if you are after vintage Levis or Hawaiian print shirts!), old vinyls, flowers and chocolate brownies as big as your face, it was refreshing to see a market still thriving instead of being destroyed by city supermarkets. And if any movie makers are reading this, this could possibly serve as the best location for a mdoern day Oliver!
