First up, the very adorable ladies of Batch Bakery.
Tell us a bit about your business, how long has your business been running, and how did it start?
Batch was founded by Justine and Hannah in summer 2012 and we’ve been trading at markets since September of that year. We met while working in the 4th Circle of Hell aka a bakery in Primrose Hill and joined brownie making forces after realising how much better we could do than our boss.
We chose to focus on brownies after noticing that they were the one thing that customers consistently singled out as being a favourite and would come back for again and again. And we like eating them too! Done really well, brownies are an understated, timeless classic: amazing taste & texture, not too sweet and you can put pretty much anything you fancy in them. We’ve made everything from Sea Salt to Carrot Blondie, Lemon Cheesecake to Christmas Pudding, The Dude (White Russian) to Beetroot….
We like to trade locally and both live within 10 minutes of the market, which is how we first noticed it. We went down to meet Jess, the market manager and immediately sensed the unique vibe: Harringay has such a great mix of traders - some of whom like Alley-Kat-Su & Il Baretto - you won’t find anywhere else. It’s very much focused on the super-independent, the fresh and the local which we admire. It’s a small market, less than a year old and Jess and all of us who trade are so passionate about making it work. The collective enthusiasm and determination is so exciting and inspiring. But best of all is LUNCH!! Mmmmmm.
Are there any other foodie markets people can visit you at in London if they can’t make it to Harringay?
Tufnell Park Tavern Food Market aka TPTFM every Saturday 11am – 3pm.
#EatMeUp at Red Market every Friday 11am – 3pm.
We’ll always have a good word to say about Golborne Road. Down the scally end of Portobello, in the shadow of the awesomely terrifying Trellik Tower, we love it not only as it’s where Justine first sold her cake at market (sowing the seeds of Batch) but also because of its low-key mix of great food stalls, old-school antiques and great independent shops. Special shout out to Lisboa Patisserie for the best Pasteis De Nata in London! We have been known to travel from N10 just for them.
The Fields Beneath, a coffee shop in Kentish Town West. Set up last October by Gavin, who we first met when hiding out from cupcakes at his coffee cart in Primrose Hill and business partner in ridiculously-amazing-coffee-and-food crime Sibylle, everything in and about the gaff is wonderful. Delicious coffee, food sourced from really great artisanal producers and truly lovely people running it. GO. NOW!
Hannah is currently enjoying Peanut Butter Cheesecake while Justine’s loving a bit of The Wogan (Irish Whiskey & Prune).
What is your favourite OF ALL TIME? Any flavour catastrophies?
It’s a hard ‘un. But we’ve managed to conclude that Justine’s is Raspberry Mint Choc Chip (which we only do when rasps are in season) and Rice Krispie Cake Brownie which is just….immense. Hannah’s are the more autumnal Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake & Apple Cinnamon Swirl Cream Cheese Blondie. Phew!
The freedom of living life as you choose it whilst working at something you enjoy is the most satisfying feeling ever!
And finally - do you have any grand master plans for the future you can let us in on?
World domination. That’s all.
Follow the girls on twitter HERE, and make sure you swing by and say hello at Harringay Market every Sunday down at South Harringay Primary School from 11am-3pm. I really can not recommend the raspberry cheesecake brownies enough!
These look amazing!
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ReplyDeleteWhat a great feature. I'm a regular at Harringay Market and it's fantastic to see it's good name is continuing to get "out there"!
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