LOCAL PROFILE
IN A
STEW Stewed! founder Alan Rosenthal on the virtues of one-pot cooking
Why did you decide to set up Stewed! - did you spot a gap in the market? I’ve always wanted to do something foodie and racked my brains trying to think of something that would work. I came up with the idea because there wasn’t a product in-between a soup and a ready meal; I quit my job, went to study at Leith’s cookery school, was a chef for a while and then went back to my initial idea of one-pot meals. Was it hard work? Yes! The hardest part is making the decision to start your own business. I started selling at the Alexandra Palace Farmer’s Market. At that point I was cooking from my home kitchen, although I was able to get branding and packaging sorted from the very first day of trading. I feel that the business has been an evolution - getting the meals into Harvey Nichols and Budgens and then outsourcing production. One thing led to another and the leading supermarkets followed. Did you have any other experience in the industry? I worked with Spanish food specialists Brindisa
and learnt how to carve Iberico ham... I used to teach Spanish to kids and I would set up a tapas bar for the students and their parents. Of course, I was a chef as well, but I found it too stressful.
does the future hold? I do, and I think my background in buying and marketing for national retailers helps. We want to increase our supermarket presence and brand awareness - there’s still a huge part of the population that hasn’t heard of us. There will soon be two kiosks in rail stations.
What’s the Stewed! secret? It’s definitely a ‘foodie’ brand - a good, homemade product that tastes great. I’ve since put out a cookbook and I teach workshops at Leith’s and work with kids in schools. We really focus on the foodie credentials and that’s what differentiates us from the competition.
Where do you like to eat in the local area? I like The Draper’s Arms pub and Patogh on Edgware Road. I tend not to choose places that cost a bomb - I find myself going for Lebanese, Vietnamese or Dim Sum in Hoxton. I take advantage of the wonderful ethnic restaurants we have in London. steweduk.co.uk
The Stewed! cookbook is separated into regions do you like to experiment with ingredients and combinations? I do focus on ingredients - I couldn’t decide what to cook when I was in the supermarket the other day because everything was there. When you shop locally and in independent shops, that drives the recipe decision-making forward! Stewed! products are now stocked by Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Budgens, John Lewis and Ocado. Do you enjoy the business side as well as the creative? What
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OF ALAN’S INSPIRATIONS
Favourite meal or cuisine? Middle Eastern food, for which North West London is great. Favourite album? At the moment... Bombay Bicycle Club’s A Different Kind of Fix. Favourite book? I never have time to read... but I last read The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Favourite holiday destination? Because I go on holiday all the time, ha! Somewhere very hot or very cold!
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