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Kate Buffery (seated left) and Julie Friend |
The best in the land
TV actor Kate Buffery and Times restaurant critic Giles Coren talk to
Peter Gruner about their favourite places to eat out
FOR years local activist Kate Buffery had been campaigning for the re-opening of the empty and boarded up shops opposite her beloved Tufnell Park playing fields.
So when Julie Friend moved into the corner shop in Campdale Road, a former haunt for drug addicts, Kate was a little suspicious.
Kate, a mother of two, said: “There’s a small parade of empty shops here, some of which I suspect are being kept closed as a way of speculating on the property market.
“When Julie moved in my first thought was that she would turn the property into flats, which is what everyone seems to be doing these days.
“We were pleasantly surprised when she established a small neighbourhood deli with a table and chairs
outside.”
That was nearly two years ago. And despite doubts that a small food business in a semi suburban area – close to the main eating out establishments in Kentish Town and Holloway – would catch on, Flavours is an unqualified success.
So much so that Julie has, with the help of family and friends, even opened another small eight-seater deli in Torriano Avenue, Kentish Town.
Julie was the chief executive of the medical charity Medic Alert Foundation when she won a BBC Master Chef cookery competition.
Buoyed by her success and with an overwhelming passion for food, she decided to take the plunge and open her own small family-run deli with a loan from the bank. She often arrives at 6am with helpers to cook and prepare homemade bread, cakes and soups.
Kate said: “Who would have thought someone could turn a shop that had been empty and boarded up for years into a going concern. Julie is an inspiration at a time when rising rents, developers and the big outlets are threatening small shops.
“Most importantly Julie paid attention to what people locally wanted.”
“She provides simple home cooked food like home made sausage rolls and quiches.”
Kate added that most days if she is at home she decides to go to the deli instead of making a sandwich.
She said: “It’s easier to go to Julie’s, plus the fact that I’ll get a much nicer sandwich or pastry.”
Giles Coren, The Times restaurant critic, who lives in Kentish Town, enjoys Pane Vino restaurant, a passion he shares with Channel 4 TV newsman Jon Snow.
“When I’m not reviewing restaurants I want something simple but tasty and Pane Vino is perfect,” he said.
“There’s a Sardinian speciality dish called spaghetti ala bottarga, which contains mullet’s roe grated on to linguini with olive oil and chopped parsley. It’s delicious and that’s all I have every time.”
Coffee in the morning is also important but you don’t want it to weak or too bitter, says Giles.
He added: “I’ll go to the Café on the Hill which is run by one man with a ponytail. It’s just great coffee. I always have a double espresso and that will last me all day. If I have a hangover I’ll have two.
“Sometimes I’ll go to Kalendar, in Swain’s Lane. I try and avoid Starbucks because they are a big chain.”
Giles believes Camden is the best borough in London for eating out – “which in my book makes it the best borough in Britain”.
The prices, he added, are usually good but the only unfortunate aspect are the “traffic wardens who won’t ever allow you to eat in peace.”
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