BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE HOWARD DE WALDEN ESTATE AND THE PORTMAN ESTATE
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HOW GRAYSON PERRY REIMAGINED THE WALLACE COLLECTION
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INTRODUCING THE COUPLE BEHIND ANGLOTHAI, LONDON’S MOST EAGERLY ANTICIPATED NEW RESTAURANT
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HOW MARYLEBONE BECAME THE BEATLES’ SECOND HOME
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Published January 2025
Events, exhibitions, film, music, shopping, talks, theatre and walks
The Wallace Collection’s director on the museum’s groundbreaking show by Grayson Perry, the “Hogart h of our day”
The founders of AngloThai on the unique philosophy behind London’s most eagerly anticipated new restaurant
How, at the height of their success, the Beatles came to find themselves living, working, partying and marrying in Marylebone 35
Charlie Hyman, founder and CEO of the Bloomsbury Footba ll Foundation
A CLOSER LOOK
Food, style, home, wellbeing a nd healthcare
38
Q&A: TIM WILSON
The founder of The Ginger Pig on accidental beginnings, the art of butchery and the pursuit of sausage roll perfection
46
The founder of PLATFORM on handbags and gladrags, sartorial storytelling and the importance of building a home for small brands
56
Paul de Zwart of Another Country on a new collection inspired by the Arts and Cr afts movement
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FILM MUSIC SHOPPING TALKS
THEATRE WALKS
MUSIC
20 FEBRUARY, 7.30pm
VILDE FRANG
Wigmore Hall 36 Wigmore Street, W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk
Violinist Vilde Frang, Wigmore Hall’s artist in residence, is joined by two close friends, Lawrence Power and Valeriy Sokolov, for a programme that opens with the complex counterpoint of Eugène Ysaÿe’s Duo Sonata and Capricci by Vilde’s fellow Norwegian Bjarne Brustad.
THEATRE
UNTIL 22 FEBRUARY
MARIUPOL
The Cockpit Gateforth Street, NW8 8EH thecockpit.org.uk
Written by Katia Haddad and directed by John Retallack, this powerful new play tells the story of Galina, who, in a desperate bid to find her son, an unwilling soldier, journeys to the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in the wake of its destruction by Russian forces in March 2022.
EXHIBITION
For its 30th birthday, Atlas Gallery is celebrating the talent and diversity of the photographic artists in its stable. Following on from an exhibition exploring the works of contemporary photographers, this second show takes in vintage masterpieces from some of the all-time greats, from Henri Cartier Bresson and Eve Arnold to Robert Mapplethorpe and Franco Fontana.
UNTIL 1 MARCH
ATLAS AT 30: PART II
Atlas Gallery 49 Dorset Street, W1U 7NF atlasgallery.com
1. Siglo de Oro, Wigmore Hall
2. Music + Life by Dennis Morris, Daunt Books
3. Absentee #256 (2021) by Sayuri Ichida, Daiwa AngloJapanese Foundation
4. Where We Meet, The Cockpit
MUSIC
23 FEBRUARY, 11.30am
HERMÈS QUARTET
Wigmore Hall
36 Wigmore Street, W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk
The highly acclaimed Hermès Quartet are joined by pianist Philippe Cassard for a performance of the Piano Quintet in F minor by César Franck, the French composer’s remarkable return to chamber music decades after his first ventures in the genre.
TALK
26 FEBRUARY, 7pm
DENNIS MORRIS:
MUSIC + LIFE
Daunt Books
83-84 Marylebone High Street, W1U 4QW dauntbooks.co.uk
Legendary photographer and long-term Marylebone resident Dennis Morris to discuss his life, work and the music that helped shape them both, from Bob Marley and the Sex Pistols to The Stone Roses and Radiohead.
MUSIC
Spanish vocal ensemble Siglo de Oro explore the 15th and 16th century music of Lent, marked by both the sacred and the profane, including the riotous madrigal comedy of Adriano Banchieri and three transcendent Holy Week motets.
2 MARCH, 7.30pm
SIGLO DE ORO
Wigmore Hall
36 Wigmore Street, W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk
EXHIBITION
UNTIL 2 MARCH
KEEPING TIME: CLOCKS BY BOULLE
The Wallace Collection Manchester Square, W1U 3BN wallacecollection.org
Working at the court of the Sun King, Louis XIV (1638–1715), André-Charles Boulle created clocks that combined cuttingedge science with staggering artistry, the influence of which spread far and wide. This free display brings together five of Boulle’s timepieces.
EXHIBITION
UNTIL 7 MARCH
ESAYURI ICHIDA: TRANSI NT Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation 13/14 Cornwall Terrace, NW1 4QP dajf.org.uk
Drawing from her personal experiences of loss, grief and life abroad, Japanese artist Sayuri Ichida’s delicately processed monochromatic photographs reflect on the complex ways we experience time and memory.
MUSIC
7 MARCH, 6.30pm RIOT ENSEMBLE SIDE‑BY‑SIDE WITH BRETT DEAN
Royal Academy of Music Marylebone Road, NW1 5HT ram.ac.uk
For this free concert, Academy students take the stage alongside the Riot Ensemble ‘super-group’ in a performance directed by internationally recognised composer, conductor and viola player Brett Dean.
DANCE
Presented by Unwired Dance Theatre, Where We Meet is an interactive dance performance that invites audiences to experience the inner thoughts of the characters and participate in gentle moments of shared movement, thanks to the innovative use of wearable devices and headphones.
28 FEBRUARY – 2 MARCH WHERE WE MEET The Cockpit Gateforth Street, NW8 8EH thecockpit.org.uk
EXHIBITION
UNTIL 10 MARCH
MARINA ABRAMOVIC: HEALING FREQUENCY
Moco London
1-4 Marble Arch, W1H 7EJ mocomuseum.com
Moco London’s first temporary exhibition brings together 12 works from Marina Abramovic’s long-running series Transitory Objects for Human. Chairs, beds and benches adorned with the artist’s signature crystals invite public interaction.
MUSIC
13 MARCH, 7.30pm
ERIC LU Wigmore Hall
36 Wigmore Street, W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk
Chopin and Schubert have been central to Eric Lu’s repertory since his early teens. The American pianist travels from the dream-like realms of the C sharp minor Nocturne to Schubert’s ravishing Impromptus and onwards to Chopin’s impassioned Polonaises and fiery Scherzo.
1. EXHIBITION
Featuring a typically inventive palette of artistic materials –Lego bricks, buttons sourced from the now-closed Brown & Co Buttons factory, and various Second World War military artefacts – this exhibition of new works by the great Ai Weiwei invites audiences to engage with a rich tapestry of ideas and emotions, both big and small.
UNTIL 15 MARCH
AI WEIWEI: A NEW CHATPTER
Lisson Gallery
27 Bell Street, NW1 5BY lissongallery.com
TALKS
13 – 14 MARCH
DAUNT BOOKS FESTIVAL
84 Marylebone High Street, W1U 4QW dauntbooks.co.uk
One of the highlights of the year for literary London, the Daunt Books Festival returns for its usual two-day extravaganza of talks, readings and Q&As, featuring some of the biggest names in fiction and nonfiction. Look out for more tantalising details in the coming weeks.
MUSIC
15 MARCH, 5pm
MOZART REQUIEM
St Marylebone Parish Church
17 Marylebone Road, NW1 5LT stmarylebone.org
Performed by a full orchestra and choir and a stellar line up of soloists, this concert is one of the highlights of the St Marylebone Festival. Mozart’s dark, turbulent Requiem is paired with three shorter works by his successors: Bruckner’s two motets, and Brahms’s Schicksalslied.
MUSIC
16 MARCH, 12pm
RESOUNDING SHORES: THE FRENCH WAY
Royal Academy of Music Marylebone Road, NW1 5HT ram.ac.uk
As part of the Royal Academy of Music’s Resounding Shores series celebrating 17th century masterpieces, students from Paris join the Academy Baroque Soloists to explore the music of the French and English royal courts.
EXHIBITION
UNTIL 16 MARCH
COCKY: FROM THE DIVINE TO THE EROTIC Gallery of Everything 4 Chiltern Street, W1U 7PS gallevery.com
This exhibition surveys diverse artistic renderings of the penis, from Paulus de Groot’s jaunty obscenity to the insistent eroticism of Brazilian sculptor Chico Tabibuia, to the mysterious Woodbridge figures found in the 1960s in a hut in New Jersey.
EXHIBITION
5 – 21 MARCH SPRING EXHIBITION
Thompson’s Gallery 3 Seymour Place, W1H 5AZ thompsonsgallery.co.uk
This group show features new works by well-known exhibitors at Thompson’s, exploring subjects and themes beyond their usual focus and highlighting their willingness to push boundaries. The exhibition also debuts some new artists, including fresh talent from South Africa.
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This exhibition of early and rare works from the 1960s and 70s tracks British painter Peter Joseph’s development as an artist, from vividly coloured geometric compositions and shaped canvases through to the muted rectangular and square works of his Cinema Paintings series.
UNTIL 15 MARCH
PETER JOSEPH: THE EARLY WORKS
Lisson Gallery 67 Lisson Street, NW1 5DA lissongallery.com
The Wallace Collection’s director on the museum’s groundbreaking show by Grayson Perry, the “Hogarth of our day”
Interview: Mark Riddaway
Portrait: R ichard Ansett
MUSIC
18 – 21 MARCH, 7pm
ROYAL ACADEMY OPERA: DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE
Royal Academy of Music Marylebone Road, NW1 5HT ram.ac.uk
MUSIC
21 MARCH, 1pm
RACHEL PODGER DIRECTS THE ACADEMY CHAMBER ORCHESTRA
Royal Academy of Music Marylebone Road, NW1 5HT ram.ac.uk
Q: Grayson Perry’s Delusions of Grandeur is the most ambitious contemporary art exhibition ever hosted by The Wallace Collection. In commissioning it, what purpose were you seeking to achieve?
A: The Wallace has an astonishing collection – objects, paintings, furniture, armour and so on. The challenge for us is how you make the collection relevant, how you bring its stories to life. A contemporary voice can really help with that. We’ve done a few contemporary shows before, but it’s tended to be artists doing their own thing without really interacting with the collection. With Grayson, it’s been the opposite. For three or four years, he spent day after day here, looking at and engaging with the objects.
Q: Beforehand, what had his personal relationship with the col lection been?
In an enchanted realm, the Queen of the Night plots against the high priest Sarastro. Follow a noble hero, his loveable sidekick and a princess in mortal danger as they navigate trials to pass to enlightenment, performed by the opera stars of tomorrow. 2.
Rachel Podger, a leading interpreter of music from the Baroque and Classical periods, directs the Academy Chamber Orchestra in a performance of pieces by Haydn, including Notturno No 8 in G and Symphony No 104 in D.
A: He hadn’t been for a long time. I’m afraid a lot of people say the same: “Oh, I haven’t been for 20 years.” That’s what we’re trying to change. But he grew up with soap box cards – the pictures you used to get in your washing powder – so he knew the Frans Hals Laughing
Cavalier. He’d also come across Boucher’s Madame de Pompadour in a children’s encyclopaedia, and he says it had a big impact on him: the king’s mistress, dressed so beautifully. I’m not saying that alone is what inspired him to cross - dress, but he was always fascinated by the image of her in her finery. And of course, there’s the ceramics, the porcelain. He doesn’t love a lot of our Sèvres porcelain, but as a potter he’s certainly inspired by how elevated that artform became in 18th century France.
Q: How did your collaboration come about?
A: It all began with our exhibition
of Frans Hals’ male portraits. The show was all about male identity, and Grayson is very interested in image, taste, fashion and gender, so I invited him to do the audio guide. The Frans Hals show forged a friendship, and then over lunch, he said: “Look, I’m going to be 65 soon, I want to do something to celebrate my 65th birthday.” He’s very keen on marking milestones in his career. This seemed the perfect way to do it. I’d seen his British Museum show, the Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman, and was fascinated by
how he used the collection and his own art to serve a narrative.
Q: This exhibition certainly has a strong narrative. How did it take shape?
A: We got talking. He’s very good at listening and asking questions. Richard Wallace was a fascinating character: an illegitimate child who was handed this collection by the 4th Marquis, then gave it to the nation for everybody to enjoy. But the thing that really struck a chord with Grayson was the
fact that in 1942, when the entire collection was sent out of London for safekeeping, Supported by Clementine Churchill, a series of exhibitions were held here to raise money for the Russian Aid Fund. Contemporary artists were invited to exhibit and sell their work, one of whom was Madge Gill, recognised as a forerunner of the outsider artist movement. She was an eccentric East End woman with a difficult upbringing, sent to a Barnardo’s family as a young girl. A tough life. She did these visionary paintings, weird calligraphic drawings, which were created in a sort of trance – she would communicate with a spirit she called Myrninerest. Her story inspired Grayson to create his own character, Shirley Smith, whose life is the foundation of the exhibition.
Q: What’s the story he came up with for Shirley Smith?
A: She has a very difficult upbringing, with a series of mental health issues. But she comes to the Wallace because it’s free and it’s welcoming. While here, she has a seizure. When she wakes up, she believes she’s the heir to The Wallace Collection and that her real name is The Honourable Millicent Wallace. She starts to make art for the collection based on her visions. Grayson’s exhibition is a homage to her as an artist. It also reconstructs her Islington council house, which she decorated with the works she made. It’s going to be a bit of a headspinner for some, but the audio guide will have his voice talking you through the life of Shirley Smith and her delusions of grandeur.
Q: That’s a lot of story!
A: Grayson has always been a storyteller. When you look at the tapestries he did back in the late 1990s, early 2000s, they all had a really strong narrative. They were like morality plays, but quite mocking and witty. I consider Grayson to be the Hogarth of our
day – a very British wit. Here, he’s a national treasure, but whenever I explain what we’re doing to an American, a Frenchman, an Italian, they don’t really get him. He really is the quintessential Br itish artist in t hat respect.
Q: What form do his / Shirley’s a rtworks take?
A: He has really stretched himself. He’s made a helmet, he’s made a commode, he’s made a tapestry, he’s of course made his usual vases. He’s even made a gun based on one of our guns. As he said himself: “My juices are running.” One thing that might surprise people is his interest in AI. For the past three or four years, he’s been using AI to create pieces based on the Millicent Wallace idea. The early ones are pretty ghastly, but he’s been astonished by the later ones. A selection of those pieces will punctuate the show. He’s critical of AI, but he’s also fascinated by it. He’s an artist who’s very in tune with his own traditional training and practice, but also in tune with what’s happening now.
Q: Your exhibitions are usually based on the works of dead artists. What’s it like collaborating wit h a live one?
A: That’s an interesting question. From my point of view, those dead artists are still very much alive. So, for example, working on Goya, his pictures still have relevance – you’re trying to channel the artist using the knowledge you have, almost like method acting. But, yes, it’s true – the curator makes all the decisions. With Grayson, the art was being produced as we were working on the show. There were new things that suddenly came up as his creativity was unleashed. His gun, for example, won’t be in the catalogue because it wasn’t ready for us to photograph. That means we’ve had to be very flexible. But I’ve really enjoyed just letting things develop. There’s been a
lot of discussion along the way. Thankfully, of all the artists I’ve worked with, Grayson is the one who talks most wonderfully well. He’s very eloquent, very clear about his ideas, keen to communicate but very involved in the making, in the practice. He’s got a lot of experience and a great outlook.
Q: By working with one of the country’s best-known artists, are you hoping to draw a new audience into the collection?
A: Eight years ago, when I applied for the job, I hadn’t been here for ages. I don’t know why, but it was slightly off the grid. When I prepared for my interview, I couldn’t believe the quality and range of the art. What spurs me on now is that this needs to be known by people, it needs to be used. Richard Wallace wanted this treasure to be shared and understood, admired and enjoyed. He was one of the
greatest philanthropists of the 19th century, and yet people don’t talk about him. People talk about the Rothschilds, but would Shirley Smith enter Waddesdon Manor? She’d probably feel too intimidated. The beauty of the Wallace is that it’s in the middle of London and is free to enter. Absolutely anybody can come in, walk around, seek solace, seek answers and inspiration. In Shirley Smith, Grayson has created a character from nowhere, from the East End, from a working-class background, somebody who had to live rough for a few years, ended up in a mental asylum. And yet here she is, being celebrated. It’s a story that speaks to why museums are so important.
28 MARCH – 26 OCTOBER GRAYSON PERRY: DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR
The Wallace Collection Manchester Square, W1U 3BN wallacecollection.org
I Know Who I Am, 2024 by Grayson Perry (cotton fabric and embroidery appliqué, 234 x 234cm) © Grayson Perry, courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro
Saint Millicent Upon Her Beast, 2024 by Grayson Perry (brass, 98.2 x 29.5 x 71cm) © Grayson Perry, courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro
Grayson Perry, Alan Measles and Claire meet Shirley Smith and The Honourable Millicent Wallace, 2024 (detail) by Grayson Perry © Grayson Perry, courtesy the artist and Victoria Miro
12 – 22 MARCH HAMLET
The Cockpit Gateforth Street, NW8 8EH thecockpit.org.uk
Shakespeare meets film noir in this streamlined re-telling of Hamlet produced by The Bridge. Set in a glamorous 1940s nightclub and framed by performances of numbers from the great American songbook, it incorporates the noir motifs of dark city nights and femme fatales.
MUSIC
22 MARCH
JACK QUARTET FOCUS DAY
Wigmore Hall
36 Wigmore Street, W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk
Architects often produce their finest work when confronted with the challenge of designing for a difficult site. This free exhibition explores remarkable feats of architectural achievement in the face of tricky terrain, awkward urban plots and other challenging briefs, from the 190 0s to today.
UNTIL 29 MARCH DIFFICULT SITES
RIBA
66 Portland Place, W1B 1AD architecture.com
With concerts at 11.30am, 3pm and 7.30pm, this full day of performances from JACK Quartet, an American contemporary music ensemble, explores works by composers as diverse as Philip Glass, Helmut Lachenmann, John Cage and Eduardo Aguilar.
MUSIC
26 MARCH, 7.30pm BOULEZ 100TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
Royal Academy of Music Marylebone Road, NW1 5HT ram.ac.uk
Marking 100 years since the birth of Pierre Boulez, Susanna Mälkki conducts the Academy Manson Ensemble in a programme of his fiercely ambitious, precise music, including the seldom-heard Sur Incises.
MUSIC
23 MARCH, 3pm
CLOSE UP: MUSIC FOR CURIOUS YOUNG MINDS
Wigmore Hall
2. Saint Millicent Upon Her Beast by Grayson Perry, The Wallace Collection
3. Pierre Boulez, Royal Academy of Music
4. Nedd by Mary ArnoldForster Architects, RIBA
5. Magna Science Adventure Centre by Wilkinson Eyre, RIBA
36 Wigmore Street, W1U 2BP wigmore-hall.org.uk
Perfect for 7-11-year-old children, this lively family concert features five wind musicians performing classical favourites from the like of Britten and Debussy, alongside more recent works by the likes of Anna Meredith and Valerie Coleman.
EXHIBITION
Scottish artist Helen Tabor, known for a painting style that manages to be both expressive and delicate, combining often vigorous brush strokes with impressively fine detail, returns to Thompson’s Gallery with a solo exhibition of landscapes, seascapes and figures.
26 MARCH – 11 APRIL
HELEN TABOR
Thompson’s Gallery 3 Seymour Place, W1H 5AZ thompsonsgallery.co.uk
MUSIC
27 MARCH
ONE PIANO, FOUR HANDS
The Hellenic Centre 16-18 Paddington Street, W1U 5AS helleniccentre.org
Dimitris Karydis and Petros Moschos usually perform as a classic duo, playing one piano each. For this highly entertaining performance, they will be sharing a single keyboard, presenting a programme that includes works by Schubert, Bizet and Ravel.
MUSIC
26 – 29 MARCH
DON GIOVANNI
The Cockpit Gateforth Street, NW8 8EH thecockpit.org.uk
Accompanied by the Hastings Philharmonic Orchestra, Ensemble OrQuesta presents the first of three operas at The Cockpit this spring: a new adaptation of Marcio da Silva’s 2017 minimalist production of Mozart’s opera, which dives deep into the darkness of the piece.
EXHIBITION
30 MARCH – 5 APRIL
THE ART OF EDWIN LA DELL
67 York Street Gallery
67A York Street, W1H 1QB 67yorkstreetgallery.com
Edwin La Dell, one of the most influential printmakers of the post-war period, promoted printmaking as an affordable artform in a time of austerity. This exhibition draws from his family’s collection of prints and previously unseen watercolours and oil paintings from the 1950s and 60s
THEATRE
27 FEBRUARY – 13 APRIL WHITE ROSE: THE MUSICAL Marylebone Theatre
35 Park Road, NW1 6XT marylebonetheatre.com
First shown Off Broadway and now making its premiere in the UK, White Rose: The Musical is based upon the inspiring true story of a small group of university students in Munich who secretly met to write, print and distribute leaflets exposing Hitler’s lies and Nazi deception.
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Curated by Glenn Brown and his husband Edgar Laguinia, this exhibition explores humanity’s pursuit of significance in a resolutely indifferent universe. It features 70 diverse artworks by 28 artists, spanning the past five centuries, including new pieces by Brown.
UNTIL 2 AUGUST
THE LAUGHING STOCK OF THE HEARTLESS STARS
The Brown Collection 1 Bentinck Mews, W1U 2AF glenn-brown.co.uk
4.
MUSIC
26 APRIL, 1pm
BOB CHILCOTT: COME AND SING
St Marylebone Parish Church 17 Marylebone Road, NW1 5LT stmarylebone.org
Bob Chilcott, one of Britain’s leading choral composers and conductors, leads a workshop for keen amateur singers: an afternoon learning some of his music, followed by a 4pm performance for friends and family alongside professional soloists.
LECTURE SERIES
9 APRIL, 7 MAY, 4 JUNE, 2 JULY
SENSORY HISTORY: SIGHTS & SOUNDS OF MARYLEBONE
St Marylebone Parish Church 17 Marylebone Road, NW1 5LT stmarylebone.org
This lecture series takes a journey through the senses to uncover stories of Marylebone’s rich past. Using sight, sound, smell, touch and taste, it will offer a unique insight into the area’s streets, and landmarks such as the pleasure gardens and workhouse.
Introducing the Chapel at Elmtree, a one-of-a-kind venue where timeless elegance meets modern convenience.
Discover a historic gem in the heart of Marylebone, designed to transform every gathering into an unforgettable experience.
Visit spacemade.co/the-chapel-at-elmtree or scan to find out more!
SCAN TO DISCOVER THE CHAPEL
The founders of AngloThai on Thai flavours, British producers, and how it’s possible for a restaurant to be both child-friendly and good
Words: Clare Finney
Images: B en Broomfield
“I just love the colour purple,” Desiree Chantarasak declares, dressed in a purple jumper, with a purple sofa behind her and a lilac water bottle by her side. The co-owner and general manager of AngloThai and I bond briefly over the joys of having a signature colour – mine’s pale pink – before discussing what purple means for the Chantarasaks and their debut restaurant.
“It has so many layers for us – because there are so many iterations,” she explains. These range from the rich opulence of their restaurant’s private dining room to the warmth of the lilac on the landing of their home in Battersea. Purple can be regal, magical, ethereal and brooding. Certain shades are “reminiscent of wine. It’s not a colour you see often in restaurants,” Desiree continues – “but then, that reinforces how unique we are.”
And unique it most certainly is. AngloThai is a classy restaurant that welcomes kids. It serves Thaiinfluenced dishes made with British produce, British-grown Thai ingredients like holy basil and chillies, but no rice, because that would have to be imported. And it’s a debut restaurant that has over the years already popped up in locations around London and the rest of the world. What you see on Seymour Place is not the restaurant’s first iteration, but it is their first bricks and mortar site.
“It’s the smoothest restaurant opening I’ve even been involved with – and I’ve had a few!” laughs co-owner and chef John Chantarasak, Desiree’s husband, who, being of both Thai and English heritage, fully embodies the AngloThai concept. Having cut his teeth at Som Saa in Spitalfields, one of the first regional Thai restaurants to open in London nine years ago, John went on to travel Thailand extensively, hoovering up inspiration from his Bangkok-based
grandmother as enthusiastically as his did from leading Thai chefs.
“That’s when I turned a corner in terms of learning about Thai food. I lived for 18 months in Bangkok and saw my grandma every week. I once asked her if I should use green papaya and holy basil in London – and she said no, I should go to the market, see what’s there and use that instead. It really resonated with me. Why would you import loads of ingredients in order to cook food you like from another area of the world?” he questions. “To take our local larder and then apply my experience and understanding of Thai cuisine: that felt far more authentic to my upbringing in the UK and my experience of travelling around Thailand, to my conversations with my Thai grandma and my understanding of different seasonings and techniques.”
That is why John feels comfortable with calling his food ‘fusion’, despite restauranteurs having steered clear of the word in recent years due to its connotations of cultural appropriation and Frankenstein-like concoctions.
“I know it’s a banished word in the 21st century – but I’m not making green curry linguini or anything like that. Thailand will always have a strong imprint on what I want to cook, but I do so with the utmost respect. I’m fortunate in my dual heritage – I feel like I have a bit more legitimacy in binding the cuisines together.” Like Ravinder Bhogal of Jikoni, another Marylebonebased chef unafraid of melding her cultural influences, John is himself a combination of multiple culinary inheritances. This, plus the chefs’ innate creativity and collaborative approach to running a kitchen, makes the ‘fusion’ practiced by Jikoni and AngloThai beyond reproach.
The latter is key, John says; more so than the produce, the purple decor or “anything we put
I know ‘fusion’ is a banished word in the 21st century – but I’m not making green curry linguini or anything like that. Thailand will always have a strong imprint on what I want to cook, but I do so with the utmost respect.
on the plate. We’re not going to be successful if the team isn’t happy and respected, if they feel like just another cog in the system. Our guests are important to us, but we feel strongly about building the right culture in the restaurant –and that means treating our staff like the most important people in the building.” In return for good pay, fair working hours and daily staff dinners where work chat is forbidden, the Chantarasak ask that each member of their team identifies one small thing they can improve, two or three times a week. “If everyone commits to regularly trying to be one percent better, we will grow together and push to the same targets,” John says. Launching in grown-up Marylebone rather than the edgy, ever-shifting environment of east London, “was a tactical move. I’m moving towards my 40s, my wife her late 30s; our ambition is to have a restaurant which stands the test of time, and which we
want to spend time in as well as our customers.” Family is key to this; their restaurant ‘family’, as they refer to their staff, and their own literal family: John, Desiree and their young kids, who are often at AngloThai if both parents are at work.
“It’s all intertwined,” explains Desiree, who met John when he was already a chef, so was under no illusion as to what the lifestyle entailed. Indeed, after years of popping up in restaurant kitchens around the country, having their own place has “made our family stronger and enabled us to move forward. There is no right time to have a restaurant, any more than there’s a right time to have a baby,” she points out. The couple’s second child was born seven months before AngloThai opened, and Desiree remains upbeat about juggling their three fledglings’ demands. “We take each day as it comes, but it’s been very empowering
to have a successful restaurant and two children and still feel supported,” she says.
They are, she hopes, a model of how possible it is to both work in hospitality and be a (good) parent. “It’s nice for the younger team to see that you can do this,” John agrees. “We spent the best part of 10 years cancelling holiday and other things and putting having a family on hold.” Though several chefs are doing their best at upending preconceptions around cheffing and childcare, the Chantarasaks remain the exception not the rule. “Hospitality is notoriously hard work, and a lot of hours. It’s easier not to have kids,” John concedes. “But our team see our eight-month-old daughter and our three-year-old son here all the time and recognise that we’re a family-run restaurant. I hope they don’t feel they can’t obtain their dreams if they do this.”
One of the first things the couple said when designing
We were always going to be family-oriented. We were always going to source the best possible produce, with respect for the producers and the environment. I don’t understand why people who don’t do those things still get accolades.
AngloThai was that they must have baby changing facilities and highchairs: a bold move in a city where the words ‘child-friendly restaurant’ tend to evoke colouring books, buggies and burgers. “We don’t think it affects our chances of accolades, but if it does, so be it,”
John says firmly. “We were always going to be a family-oriented restaurant. We were always going to source the best possible produce, with respect for the producers and the environment. I don’t understand why people who don’t do those things still get accolades,” he shrugs. “It feels very contradictory to me.”
Indeed, if culture and family form the heart of AngloThai, then originality is its spirit. “It’s what spurs me on to get out of bed in the morning: to scour the list of produce we’ve got from suppliers and think, what could we do with the menu today?” John enthuses. “We could settle on always doing the same dishes – but why do that,
when we can evolve and get better, and incorporate more seasonal produce?” At the time of writing, a curry of Windsor Estate venison, peppercorns and jerusalem artichoke is on the menu with – in place of rice – sides of wholegrain spelt or naked oats. It’s a dish that captures John’s values, his commitment to British producers, and his ambition to push the boundaries of what Thai cuisine means in the UK beyond pubs and takeaways. “What comes before is important,” he acknowledges. “For many people, their first interaction with Thai cuisine is through takeaways and pubs. Those are their touchstones.” This means that Thai cuisine is now close to those of India and China in terms of familiarity, he continues – “but for some reason it took a while for people cooking this food in the UK to push it into a different sphere.” That transformation has been happening to Indian and Chinese cuisines for some years now, and it
has finally started happening for Thai food, with several restaurants now representing highly regional Thai dishes. “Som Saa was one of the first places that moved people to think there is regional food in Thailand,” John says. He also cites the success of the JKS Restaurants group, whose Thai restaurants include Kiln, Speedboat Bar and Plaza Khao Gaeng, expressing his admiration for how they’ve gone about “taking a snapshot of something singular, and showcasing it to a London audience. I’m really happy there has been such interest – because I think it’s one of the most interesting cuisines out there,” he enthuses. John is trained in classical French cooking and has worked with numerous cuisines since, but it was “the techniques, seasonings, flavours and ingredients of Bangkok which blew me away.”
“His food has got better and better,” Desiree observes. “However frustrating the nomadic lifestyle has been at times, it’s been incredible for John to cook in all these different pop ups and residencies across London and Europe. With a growing network and all these influences, he
has only got stronger and more definitive. It’s cemented why it’s so important to do what we’re doing.” The same goes for her wine list, which has evolved in lockstep with her husband’s food. “I only got into wine after meeting John; before, I was a graphic designer, and I started studying wine as something to do in the evenings while he was working. I fell in love with it, and it snowballed from there.”
This unconventional introduction means Desiree has always considered wine through the distinctive lens of John’s cooking style – meaning an emphasis on “aromatic, textured whites and lighter, more ethereal reds that are less tannic, and so allow for more complexity in the food” have defined her style of curation. “I wanted this list to be a tale of two halves,” she explains. “You have the story of where we’ve come from – the Austrian and German wines which really lend themselves to Thai food and reflect our strong relationship with our Austrian-focused importers. Then on the other side, looking at how John’s food has evolved, I wanted to bring in wines that have that level of precision, which are a little more premium: pinot noir, chardonnay, Burgundy grapes,
left: Brixham crab, Exmoor caviar & coconut ash cracker
as well as newcomer wines from lesser-known regions like Slovenia.”
Like John’s ingredients, each of Desiree’s wines is meticulously sourced, from “producers which, if they aren’t working biodynamically or organically, certainly have a clear focus on ecology and the bigger picture.”
Like many restaurants, AngloThai opened at the start of December, the most lucrative and exciting month for hospitality. But a good restaurant isn’t just for Christmas. Its ethos, produce, people and, yes, distinctive purple decor all suggest far more than a flash in the pan. John and Desiree don’t have much time to spare – so busy are they, I feel privileged to have grabbed 40 minutes – but their time, together with skill and experience, is what they’re offering the Marylebone community. “It will be brilliant to live the rest of our lives with our customers and evolve our experience with everyone who comes to dine with us,” Desiree enthuses – and with that, duty calls. It’s time to end the video call between my pale pink phone and her purple one.
ANGLOTHAI
22-24 Seymour Place, W1H 7NL anglothai.co.uk
How, at the height of their fame and success, the Beatles came to find themselves living, working, partying and marrying in Marylebone
Words: Mark Riddaway & Jean-Paul Aubin-Parvu Images: Mirrorp ix, PA Images
Paul enjoyed the Ashers’ musical taste, intellectual conversation and surprisingly liberal attitude towards him sleeping with their teenage daughter.
57 W impole Street
The close ties between the Beatles and Marylebone can be traced back to a specific place and time: in the Green Room of the Albert Hall in the interval between rehearsals for a variety concert in April 1963, when Paul McCartney first locked eyes with the 16-year- old Jane Asher. There on a photographic assignment for the Radio Times, and already famous for her acting and TV appearances, this radiant young woman made an instant impression on the Beatle. Following the concert and an after- show party at a journalist’s house, Paul dropped her off at her family’s Wimpole Street home and asked for her phone number.
Jane Asher’s father was a doctor specialising in endocrinology. Her mother was a professor of music at the Guildhall, where years earlier she’d taught the Beatles’ producer George Martin to play the oboe. In no time at all, the couple, much taken by their daughter’s charming, talented new boyfriend, had invited Paul to make their Marylebone home his London base. He was given a small bedroom at the back of the house, where he would live for the next three years, enjoying the Ashers’ musical taste, intellectual conversation and surprisingly liberal attitude towards him sleeping with their
teenage daughter. The family even arranged with one of their neighbours an exit route through the rear of their property that allowed the pop star to sneak out without alterting the hordes of surly photographers and vibrating teenagers bunched up at the front.
Mrs Asher had a music room in the basement, complete with an upright piano. In this room, Paul – at times accompanied by John Lennon, who often dropped by – would begin the composition of some of the greatest pop songs of the 20th century: I Want to Hold Your Hand, We Can Work it Out, Yesterday and many, many more. It was Paul’s affinity for the area, together with its appealing proximity to the Abbey Road studios and the nightlife of the West End, that shifted the Beatles’ centre of gravity from Liverpool to Marylebone. Lennon may have had the biggest mouth, but McCartney was the band’s real leader. Where he went, the rest soon followed.
The short-lived HQ 95 Wigmore Street
In January 1968, the Beatles’ recently established Apple Corps conglomerate leased space on the fourth floor of a 1950s office block at 95 Wigmore Street. After deciding to manage the company themselves rather than recruit someone who knew the first thing about running a business, the four men spent many a day in the office ineptly throwing money at, in Lennon’s words, “records, films and electronics, and – as a sideline – manufacturing or whatever”. Banned from playing instruments or records during office hours and worn down by the disdain of the more respectable, suit-wearing tenants who resented the presence of these noisy, dope-smoking interlopers, they were gone by the summer, moving to a new HQ on Savile Row that July.
34 Montagu Square
As 1965 got going, Ringo Starr’s life was in a state of flux. Less than five years previously he’d been playing a three-month residency with a band called the Hurricanes at a Butlins holiday camp in Wales. Now he was one of the most famous people in the world and about to b ecome a dad.
When Ringo’s girlfriend Maureen Cox had discovered she was pregnant, the Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein set about averting a scandal by arranging a rapid registry office wedding, while Ringo, who at the time was sharing a flat with George Harrison, began looking for a marital home. He alighted upon Flat 1, 34 Montagu Square, conveniently close to Paul’s Wimpole Street lodgings.
The sudden arrival of a Beatle was big news in this quiet residential enclave – and the welcome wasn’t universally warm. The neighbouring Swiss Embassy complained that fans were defacing their building with graffiti. “Our back wall is now very unsightly and we shall have to redecorate,” a spokesman moaned to The Morning Record. “Our chauffeur, who is French and took part in the First World War, says the language some of these young people use is worse than anything he ever heard in the trenches.”
After less than a year, the Starrs would join a general exodus of Beatles from small London flats to massive great piles in the Surrey commuter belt, but rather than get rid of his Marylebone property, Ringo started lending it out to his mates. Paul set up a small demo studio in the basement where, among other things, he began work on Eleanor Rigby. In December 1966, Jimi Hendrix moved in with his girlfriend Kathy Etchingham and his manager Chas Chandler. Within a few months, complaints about the noise – hardly a surprising turn of events – and some un-sanctioned, LSD-fuelled interior design resulted in Starr politely asking them to move out.
In 1968, John Lennon and Yoko Ono moved in while the band recorded the White Album at the nearby Abbey Road studios. At 11:55pm on Friday 18th October, five detectives, two dog handlers and some hastily tipped-off journalists turned up with a warrant to search the place for drugs, sparking a lengthy stand-off wit h an enraged Beatle who ba rricaded the door and refused to let them in. Detective Sergeant Norman ‘Nobby’ Pilcher led the raid –a shameless self-publicist who had previously felt the collars of
both Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton. John, who had himself been tipped off by one of the journalists, had already hastily cleaned out the flat, but a small quantity of cannabis resin was nonetheless ‘discovered’ by one of Pilcher’s bobbies. Despite being fined £150 for possession of the drug at Marylebone Magistrates Court, Lennon maintained that
The iconic image 20 Manchester Square Between 1960 and 1999, the record companyEMIbaseditsheadquarters in a sleek modernist block at 20 ManchesterSquare.Itwashere,hanging over the rails of the stairwell, that the fresh-facedBeatleswerephotographed byAngusMcBeanforthecoveroftheir debut album Please Please Me (1963). Theyreturnedtorecreatetheposesix yearslater,farhairierandalittlemore careworn,foranimagethatwouldlaterappearonthefrontoftheir1967-1970 compilationLP.
In the early 1960s, John Riley’s Harley Street cosmetic dentistry practice was a regular destination for showbiz types looking to sort out the snaggle of discoloured teeth typical of a post-war British smile. George Harrison, whose scraggly smile needed particular attention, was a frequent visitor to Riley’s surgery in 1963 and 1964, and all four Beatles ended up in the dentist’s chair at one time or another. The relationship ended abruptly in April 1965, when Riley invited John and George, together with their wives Cynthia and Pattie, for a meal at his flat, then proceeded to spike their after-dinner coffee with a strong and completely unsolicited dose of LSD. After a wild, terrifying, life-changing night
94 Baker Street
Come the winter of 1967, the Beatles were at the height of their creative powers, flush with money and excited by the idea of their latest venture: a clothes shop in the heart of Marylebone.
The aim of the Apple boutique was to create “a beautiful place where beautiful people can buy beautiful things”. The band had leased a four-storey Georgian townhouse at 94 Baker Street – an unquestionably beautiful place. They knew lots of beautiful people. Now all they needed were beautiful things for those people to buy. For this, they turned to The Fool, an influential design collective. In September 1967, The Fool received £100,000 (around £2 million in today’s money) and the instruction to design and stock the new Apple shop. Armed with a tonne of cash and total artistic freedom, they set to work during the autumn and early winter.
The Fool delivered with interest. For their clothing designs, no clash of colour was judged too extreme, and when it came to fabrics their choices included lavish
silks, tapestry and velvet. Lots and lots of velvet. The outlandish threads were mirrored by the shop’s exterior: a gigantic, fourstorey psychedelic mural depicting an Indian goddess surrounded by swirling images of outer space. Even the chimney pots received the full cosm ic treatment.
On 7th December, the doors of the boutique were opened to the public. In terms of footfall, it was an instant success. But when it came to actual sales the enterprise was a disaster. As the months rolled on it became clear that Londoners were treating Apple as a tourist attraction but had no intention of actually buying anything. This had everything to do with the price of the clothes. The Fool had used the most expensive fabrics available and insisted on having silk labels in every piece of clothing. Alerted to the problem with pricing, John Lennon responded: “We’re not business freaks, we’re artists.” While the stock may not have been selling, it was certainly disappearing.
Undeterred by the stoned hippies running the place, shoplifting became a significant form
of acquisition.
Worse was to come. A stream of complaints about the shop’s psychedelic mural had been made to Westminster City Council. On discovering that no one at Apple had bothered to apply for the necessary permissions, the council issued an enforcement notice requiring that the mural be painted over. In May 1968 the shop’s exterior was duly whitewashed, with the word ‘Apple’ painted on each fascia in cur sive script. Completely disillusioned, the Beatles decided to pull the plug. In one last act of countercultural impulsiveness, they announced they’d be giving away the entirety of the remaining stock. The great giveaway began on 30th July 1968, lasted two days and required a police presence to prevent absolute chaos from ensuing. There ended The Beatles’ brief and hilariously inept foray into t he rag trade.
In The Beatles’ first film, A Hard Day’s Night (1964), Marylebone station plays not one but two different roles. At the start of the story, the Fab Four leave on a train from Marylebone, which is masquerading as Liverpool – as convincing a performance as any by the film’s non-professional actors. They travel through Paddington and arrive at… Marylebone. This time, there are huge crowds waiting for them, and they have to run away to prevent themselve s from being torn limb from limb by hundreds of sobbing baby boomers.
The Old Marylebone Town Hall, Marylebone Road
On 12th March 1969, The Old Marylebone Town Hall register office on Marylebone Road was the venue for the marriage of Paul McCartney and Linda Eastman. The event was meant to be a secret, having only been booked the previous day, but word quickly got out. Dozens of reporters and photographers, together with countless fans, many of them inconsolable at the crushing of their own matrimonial dreams, stood outside the venue for hours in the relentless rain, in a fervid atmosphere described by the Guardian reporter as having “something of the air of a Grosvenor Square thump-up, the faintest trace of a prayer meeting, and a tangible suggestion of a communal suicide pact”. The couple entered by a side door but exited down the main steps, triggering utter carnage. McCartney would enjoy
The party apartment 9b Portland Place
Cilla Black, a fellow scouser, had been a good friend of the Beatles since their days at the Cavern Club, and it was their gift to her of a Lennon-McCartney composition, Love of The Loved, that launched her career.
Cilla’s apartment at 9b Portland Place, bought during the first flush of her success as a pop star, became something of a party venue as London began to swing. One famous New Year’s Eve party at her place in 1967 was attended by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and a whole host of other marginally less famous pop stars and models. As midnight approached, Ringo Starr was sent out to find a piece of lucky coal (a Liverpool tradition), but no one could hear the buzzer when he returned and the unfortunate drummer was left out in the freezing cold for two hours.
A route around the Fab Four’s Marylebone
1. The film location Marylebone station, Melcombe Place
2. The wedding venue The Old Marylebone Town Hall, Marylebone Road
3. The rock star crash pad 34 Montagu Square
4. The failed boutique 94 Baker Street
5. The iconic image 20 Manchester Square
6. The short-lived HQ 95 Wigmore Street
7. The Asher house 57 Wimpole Street
8. The wicked dentist Somewhere on Harley Street
9. The party apartment 9b Portland Place
Introducing the people behind central London’s vital charities and community organisations: Charlie Hyman, founder and CEO of the Bloomsbury Football Foundation
Interview: Jean-Paul Aubin-Parvu
Images: Orlando Gili
I started playing football around the age of three or four. I quickly became absolutely obsessed with the game and played literally every day. When I was about 15 or 16, everybody at school was expected to do some volunteering. There were lots of options, but I didn’t fancy any of them, so I asked the school if I would be allowed to help out with my younger brother’s football team, basically picking up the cones in the park and chasing away all the dogs who stole the footballs. They said yes. The coach running the group was amazing and I loved every minute. I guess that was my first experience of coaching. I was never going to be good enough to play for Arsenal, so instead I did my coaching badges. That’s what eventually led me to set up the Bloomsbury Footbal l Foundation.
Having grown up obsessed with football, I had experienced the benefits that come from regular team sports. There are the obvious ones, like being active – which is great for both your physical and mental wellbeing. But then there’s all the other stuff that comes from it, such as making friends and meeting people who you might never have come across otherwise, building confidence, learning how to speak well, learning how to work as part of a team, how to win, how to lose. When I started coaching, I could see that lots of kids were not being given the chance to gain those vital experiences, because they couldn’t afford to play. Pitch space in London is very expensive. It costs hundreds of pounds a year for a family to pay for the fees, boots and equipment. We have a huge problem with children being inactive, sitting on their phones, being overweight, having poor mental wellbeing. Sport is such a great way to help tackle all of that, and football is the most popular sport. But if young people can’t access it, they’re never going to get those benefits. I knew I wanted to do something to help.
I’d worked hard to build up my coaching skills. I knew how to improve young players, how to organise other coaches, order kit, book a pitch and so on. What I wanted to add to that was a way of making sure that my coaching was accessible to everyone. I set out with that ambition after graduating from university. That was September 2018. It was just me, a bag of footballs and four players on a pitch in Camden. My idea that I >
This all started with just me, a bag of footballs and four players. To see how much impact we’ve had in such a short period of time is incredible.
would create this great football programme – one that every young person had the opportunity to participate in. And in doing so I would be able to help improve those children’s lives.
At Bloomsbury Football Foundation our work is targeted at the most disadvantaged young people. We have identified the areas in London with the highest levels of deprivation and established ‘communities’ within each one. Half of the coaching programmes take place in schools while the other half take place on weekday evenings, weekends and during school holidays. On top of that we run football and futsal leagues for those children who wouldn’t engage with us unless we offered something that ran several times a week and had a competitive edge to it. We have a big focus on getting more girls playing, and we have a special project for children and young people with disabilities and another for refugees and asylum seekers. You need to build a programme that is really tailored to their needs in order to get them engaged. But once you do, the benefits for them are incredible.
We currently work with about 5,500 children every week, all across London. From day one, the model has been that we will never turn a child away, regardless of their ability to pay or play. Our financial assistance model means that everyone is welcome. This does two things. It means that you get children from all sorts of backgrounds mixing together – a massive part of the work we do is about community cohesion and bringing society together. And it ensures that those who generously support us with donations know that their money is going to those who need it most.
Our football and futsal coaches are incredible. We pick brilliant people, first and foremost. Obviously, it’s great if they’re already experienced coaches, but we invest a lot of time in training them. We run in-house training sessions every week, and our head of coaching goes out and observes our team to ensure that the football part of the session is of the highest quality, and so too is the pastoral care. There’s a massive focus on how we help these young people develop as better citizens, build their social skills and improve their emotional regulation.
Our work is transformational. Getting young people outside, getting them active and mixing with each other
has huge benefits. Our football sessions are a positive way to engage young Londoners, thereby reducing the chances that they get involved with antisocial behaviour and crime. On top of all that, the skills they build from working with an amazing coach, being part of a team and turning up every week for their programme help them perform better in school and give them a better chance of extending their education. It has an impact on each young person, but also at a community level.
We measure the impact of our programmes, so we know they really work. For example, the percentage of physically active young people at Bloomsbury Football Foundation is almost twice the national average – and the difference is even greater when you look just at the girls. Because our programmes are working, we want to do more of them. We’ve set ourselves an ambitious target of reaching 20,000 children each week by 2028. We believe we have the operating model and the infrastructure to run high-quality programmes on that scale, as well as the brand credibility, network and partnerships to be able to take this way beyond London and to thousands more young people around the UK. It’s a really exciting ambition, and we’re on track to meet it.
We rely on the support of companies and individuals to allow us to do our work, so to be supported by both The Portman Estate and The Howard de Walden Estate is amazing. Their support helps us with our programmes in and around the Marylebone and St John’s Wood areas, most notably our holiday programmes, our refugee and asylum seeker programmes and our work with girls.
It’s always nice to hear from both parents and young people when they tell you firsthand about the impact that our work has had on their lives, and how much they appreciate our support. I didn’t set out with a plan to make Bloomsbury Football as big as it has become, but I think our growth just demonstrates the importance of the work we’re doing. To see how much impact we’ve been able to have in such a short period of time i s incredible.
BLOOMSBURY FOOTBALL FOUNDATION bloomsburyfootball.com
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Paul de Zwart of Another Country on a new collection inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement
The founder of The Ginger Pig on accidental beginnings, the art of butchery and the ongoing pursuit of sausage roll perfection
Interview: E llie Costigan
Q: You started with three pigs and a market stall. Now, you’ve got nine stores, three cookbooks and an almost cult-like following for your sausage rolls. How did that happen?
A: There was never a plan. I bought an old farm – not to farm it, but to make it into a house a nd cottages. I ended up buying three pigs just to keep the place looking interesting. I learned how to make sausages, then I had a go at making pork pies. Eventually, I got a little farm shop in Nottinghamshire. That was when Borough Market came along. A girl called Henrietta Green had heard about me and asked if I’d do a stall at something called a Food Lovers’ Fair there one weekend. We started doing it the third Saturday of every month, then every weekend.
The Marylebone shop came about in a similar way. I was selling a chap some meat one day and he said: “Why don’t you open a shop in Marylebone?” The day went on and a food writer, whose name escapes me, also said I ought to open a shop in Marylebone. I thought, that’s odd, twice in one day. So, I tootled off to The Howard de Walden Estate and they told me they’d been meaning to get in touch! Patricia Michelson of La Fromagerie had suggested to them that I open up next to her on Moxon Street. It just grew and grew. If something seems right, you’ve got to have a go.
Q: You used to produce all the meat yourself, but now source from other farms with the same commitment to quality. How do you find those farms?
A: People come to me because they want to change their farming practices, or because they’re already very committed. You know who the good guys are. When somebody asks to supply us, I say: “Okay, I’ll come to the farm and have a cup of tea with you, have a look around, see what you’ve got.” You can tell if it’s a good or bad farm as soon as you walk in. It’s not about having smart
new sheds, well-trimmed hedges or a £200,000 tractor in the drive, it’s about how the farm looks and feels. Recently I met a lovely couple down in Kent who said they want to sell through The Ginger Pig. They only have six cattle, dexters. Dexters are usually too small to make money out of, but they sell the meat and milk and use some of the milk to make camembert. I was captivated. I took it all – the meat, the milk and the cheese – because what a great story. These are the sort of people I tend to work with: enthusiastic family farmers.
Q: How important to your business is the skill of t he butchers?
A: You need to start with an animal that’s lived well and been fed properly. The killing is also very important. I’ve used a couple of abattoirs for donkey’s years, both family run, very small. They slaughter in the traditional way: pigs are stunned and cattle and lambs are shot, very humanely, one at a time. Having dispatched the animal, the carcass needs to cool down gently – it doesn’t want to go from warm to stone cold in two hours, it needs a day and a half. Once you’ve got the animal right, it’s down to the skill of the butcher to make the most of it. It might be bigger or smaller,
Annethe Nathan, founder of TotallySwedish, on the flavours of home, the eating habits of Swedes and the pleasures of working with small producers
Interview: Ellie Costigan
I’ve always been interested in eating new foods. I’m from a small town in Sweden, but I travelled a lot and was always open to trying things on the menu that perhaps others weren’t. When you move to another country, though, you always miss the flavours you grew up with – that taste of home.
When it comes to food, Sweden has very high standards. When I came to the UK almost 30 years ago, things that were big in Sweden, like good bread and coffee, weren’t so big here. I remember thinking, my god, this coffee looks like tea!
After around 10 years in England, I decided I wanted to open a Swedish shop. We sold a lot of products that you couldn’t get in the UK. Swedes would come into the shop and say how much they loved finding that connection to home. There was a lot of: “My grandma used to make this!” I’d get lots of requests – I’d just write everything down. I didn’t sell spices at first, but people just kept asking for them. The same with the Swedish crisps.
We bake with a lot of cinnamon and cardamom in Sweden. They’re good strong spices – the flavours of my childhood.
For lunch, English people maybe have a sandwich and a bag of crisps – we have something called ‘husmanskost’ or ‘daily meal’. It’s a proper homemade meal, usually a meat or fish dish – meatballs and mash or a pork stew and veg, perhaps with a salad or lingonberry juice. Something simple and inexpensive, but filling.
Swedish people eat early in the morning and breakfast is always big – porridge or rye bread. Then we have a very early lunch. If you call a Swedish company at midday, you’ll get their voicemail. Same with dinner: if we see someone
but every muscle is in the same place on each animal – the butcher’s job is to know exactly where the knife goes to produce the different cuts. They need to know how much pork belly to trim off to go into sausages, while leaving the best bit to sell. No one wants to buy the scrag end, but it can’t go in the bin – partly because it’s disrespectful to the animal, but it also costs a lot of money. A good butcher is the difference between making a profit on an animal or not. So yes, ver y important.
Q: Is it hard to fi nd butchers?
A: The art of butchery is on the decline. Good butchers are very
at a hotel abroad eating at 6pm, my husband will joke: “Ah, they must be Swedish!”
I work with a wonderful small fish company in Gothenburg, Pappa’s, who make fantastic pickled herring. We can only bring their herring in three times a year but when it arrives the shop is always busy. We have a surprisingly large number of non-Swedish customers who are nuts for it.
Pick and mix is a big thing for Swedes, particularly ‘salmiak’, the salted liquorice. Scandinavian and Dutch people love it, too. The other thing that’s got really big is Bubs candy. When we first got it in the shop, we put it on Instagram and people were queueing around the corner for it! It’s big in the States, too. We weren’t able to order any for months, because they couldn’t produce it quickly enough.
We’re a small company and I like to work with other small companies. We get most of our produce from Sweden, but we work with people in the UK for the baked goods – we get cardamom and cinnamon buns from Fika By The Sea bakery in Brighton. Around this time of year we also have semlor – cardamon-fragrant buns filled with almond paste and topped with whipped cream – which are traditionally
hard to get hold of. Back in the day, lads tended to work in the butcher’s shop on a Saturday. They’d start off scrubbing the floors then eventually move on to making sausages. Then, when they left school, they’d work in the butcher’s shop. They were brought up with it, rather than learning it in a formal way. That doesn’t really happen here anymore. Whereas, in certain parts of eastern Europe, Australia, New Zealand, butchery is a skill. You leave school, you go to college, and you learn how to do it.
I like to take on people who’ve been in some sort of industry –worked in an abattoir or a boning
eaten on Shrove Tuesday. We have someone in the UK doing our gravadlax and we get sausages from a very good chef who works closely with a butcher here to make sure it’s the exact recipe we want. It’s also very important we have lingonberries and blueberries in the shop.
Swedish culture – and Nordic culture more broadly – has become so popular in the UK in the last decade or so: the food, but also interior design, novels, Nordic noir TV and movies. Ikea has certainly introduced people to some of the food, though when people ask if they’re competition, I’d say it’s more the other way around!
I’m always surprised when non-Swedes like Kalles caviar. It’s creamed cod roe that comes in a squeeze tube. It’s very popular as a sandwich topping or as part of egg dishes. Many people who aren’t Swedish won’t have tried it, but when they do they often come back for more. It’s a bestseller in our store!
TotallySwedish is celebrating 20 years this year. We have big plans for marking the occasion. Wait and see!
TOTALLYSWEDISH
32 Crawford Street, W1H 1LS
totallyswedish.com
factory – who want to refine their skills and become the absolute best. The challenge is finding the ones who’ve got the knife skills but are also good with customers. It’s hard to find people who can do both: sometimes you have someone on the counter who might not be the best butcher but knows how to smile. Then maybe the best butcher is in the back doing the heavy prepping, because that’s what they enjoy. It’s a case of finding out what everyone’s skill is and building the right team.
Q: The experience of going into The Ginger Pig – a warm greeting and expert advice – is
all part of it. Is that what keeps people coming back?
A: I think it’s a combination of that, the quality of the meat and its provenance. People like the fact that we know where it’s come from. It’s not from a factory farm, it’s not been reared on genetically modified feed. These are the sorts of questions we get, which I never got asked years ago. We also have customers who come to us because they want something that’s difficult to find. They might want 60 quail’s legs for a cocktail party. They might want pig’s trotters to make zampone – an Italian sausage that requires the trotter to be totally boned out without splitting it. It usually takes about half an hour to do – a trotter is basically all bone and most butchers don’t know how to do it. I’ve got a butcher who can do it in 10 minutes. We’ve got the skills and the knowledge to make sure that people aren’t taking home the wrong thing. But most importantly, we sell good things with a lot of flavour. You’re never going to please everybody, but we don’t get many complaints.
Q: Meat consumption is on the decline in the UK. Has that affected The Ginger Pig at all, or are people finally buying less, but better?
A: People are eating less meat and that’s for two, maybe three reasons: the state of the planet, the state of people’s health, and cost. Meat is only going to get dearer, there’s no question. But what people are doing is using meat for the flavour and then supplementing it. Rather than having a thick lump of steak with a pile of chips, which was the order of the day 30 years ago, people are now buying smaller pieces – some fillet steak to maybe shred and toss among vegetables in a stir fry, or bacon with mushrooms in pasta. It’s no longer the main event, it’s part of it. I think that’s going to happen more and more. But I’d much rather that than people buy lots of meat then waste it. Our
Avobar
Established in Covent Garden in 2018 and now relocated to a brand-new home on Chiltern Street, Avobar is a thoroughly modern cafe. Its food menu explores the versatility of the nutritious American fruit that inspired its name – but the avocado is far from the only ingredient put to good use in the creation of healthy balanced dishes, which range from eggs and toasts to salads and sandwiches. The food, available to eat in or take away, is complemented by speciality coffee, sourced and made with requisite care. The space, arranged across two floors, is bright and appealing, with clean lines and cosy pockets of seating.
AVOBAR
60 Chiltern Street, W1U 7RB avobar.co.uk
customer numbers are the same, interestingly – or maybe even increasing – but what they’re buying has changed tremendously.
Q: The popularity of The Ginger Pig’s famous sausage rolls never seems to falter. What’s the secret?
A: They are incredibly popular and I’m delighted about that. Last year I met the most amazing guy, Marius, and he told me he’s a pastry chef, so I went and got him one of our sausage rolls. I asked him what he thought of it, and he said: “Well, the pastry’s not very good. You’re putting your butter, flour and water into the mixer for far too long and
it goes sad.” I asked him to come and work for me – I could tell he’s a pastry man through and through. He cost me an arm and a leg, but what a great fella. Our sausage rolls are now a bit bigger, the pastry is a bit better – we use the same French butter and very good, high-grade flour, but he’s pushed them to the next level. That’s what I get the most pleasure out of – meeting people who say: “That’s good, but let’s make it even better.” I’m a lways amazed by what people can produce.
THE GINGER PIG
8-10 Moxon Street, W1U 4EW thegingerpig.co.uk
Luke Ahearne, head chef of Lita, on a warming, boldly flavoured pasta dish
Interview: Clare Finney
In a nutshell
This dish is a celebration of tradition and bold flavours. It’s a rich and comforting combination of tender duck ragu, delicately clinging to hand-extruded strozzapreti pastai.
The inspiration
Inspiration came from a visit to a charming trattoria in Verona, where I enjoyed the most delicious duck ragu. Completely unforgettable. Drawing from that, I created our own version with a unique twist – one that, dare I say, even surpasses the original!
The purpose
This dish has become a beloved favourite among our guests at Lita, earning its place as a permanent feature on our menu. Its rich, warming, comforting qualities make it an undeniable crowd-pleaser.
The technique
We begin with Aylesbury duck legs, which are dry cured overnight in a spiced salt blend – a symphony of spices like coriander seeds, black peppercorns, star anise and green and black cardamom, which infuse the duck with warmth and depth. The cured legs are gently rinsed, then sealed with duck fat and aromatics before being slow - cooked confit-style overnight, until the meat is so tender it nearly falls from the bone.
The confit duck is hand-shredded and added to a velvety ragu, the result of a meticulous three-day process. The base begins with a traditional mirepoix of vegetables and a carefully balanced reduction of port and madeira. To this we add a house-made tomato sauce, which brings richness and subtle sweetness. The heart of the ragu lies in a ‘jus gras’, made using roasted veal and chicken stocks.
The strozzapreti pasta is made in-house, its unique twisted shape perfect for catching every bit of the ragu. As the pasta cooks, its starches meld with the ragu, creating a sauce that clings to each piece, ensuring every bite is a harmonious blend of textures and flavours. The dish is completed with a sprinkle of Calabrian chilli and a grating of aged parmesan. The cheese is used sparingly, allowing its nutty, umami character to enhance the ragu without overpowering it.
The secret
What makes this dish special is the complexity and flavour of the sauce. It is essentially a blend of three separate sauces that unite to create a wellbalanced, yet indulgent ragu with a deep flavour profile.
LITA
7-9 Paddington Street, W1U 5QH litamarylebone.com
Francesco Limongi, general manager of The Italians, on a Tuscan red produced by a couple with a deep understanding of the local environment
Interview: Vi el Richardson
Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is a really interesting wine made by an Anglo - Italian couple, Katia Nussbaum from west London and her Italian husband Gigi Fabbro, who together bought a vineyard outside the Tuscan town of Montalcino. Their wines are organic but the couple’s approach to viticulture goes far beyond conventional organic practices. They see themselves as stewards of the land, working closely with geologists and agronomists to understand the delicate balance between the soil, the vines and the overall environment. Their deep commitment to the health of the land means they only produce very small runs. With the Riserva, this means a production of just 3 ,000 bottles. While they produce a Classico every year, the Riserva is only made in the years when growing conditions have combined to create the best possible grapes, making it the purest expression of what they’re trying to do as winemakers. The wine is aged in French oak for four months before being moved into Slovenian oak barrels to continue its development.
This creates a wine with a complex character – a deep, intense, rich red with a bit of fruitiness and strong tannins. It can be drunk now but it will also improve if you lay it down for a few years.
For any wine connoisseur, this a great wine for enjoying with friends and discussing the many taste and textural nuances it offers. But if you’re looking for a meal to accompany it, this also works wonderfully with food. It pairs best with strong flavours – an aged Parma ham or a good parmigiano Reggiano, something with a lot of character. For more substantial meals, it works beautifully with a steak.
This is a wine that definitely needs time to breathe. Open it the night before you want to drink it, then place the cork sideways on top of the bottle so the aeration is very slow. Pour it into a decanter two hours before you serve it. This may seem like a lot of effort, but this is a beautiful wine and will reward you for it. It has taken a lot of work but with Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, Katia and Gigi have created one of the region’s most loved and respected wines.
THE ITALIANS
27B Devonshire Street, W1G 6PW theitalians.co.uk
The founder of PLATFORM on handbags and gladrags, sartorial storytelling and the importance of building a home for small brands
Interview: Lauren Bravo
Images: Nyla Sammons, Mark Hazeldine , Indira Bott
Q: Do you think it’s getting harder or easier to run an independent fashion brand?
A: I think it’s easier than ever to start, but harder to become successful. You can set up a website in a couple of clicks, there are so many resources available online to get your product out in front of people – but because those lower barriers to entry have attracted so many more people, it’s more difficult to grow and maintain a brand. Big businesses are spending so much money to drown out everybody else. I was looking online for a pair of shoes the other day and everything that came up was Amazon, Temu, Shein… even some of the big fashion houses aren’t being seen because they’re being outspent by these online companies, so imagine how much harder it is for small brands.
Q: You started off as a small brand yourself – what was that journey like?
A: Back when I was working in finance, workwear was a lot more conservative. I was living in shift dresses, and the only area in which I could be a bit more expressive was shoes and bags. So, I started designing clutch bags. I took an evening course at the London College of Fashion while working at a hedge fund and quickly realised that the best part of my week was doing my homework. I enjoyed it so much, it gave me the confidence to make the leap and start selling my bags. But even though I had a really good website, really good press and really good photography, I felt like people needed to touch and feel the bags to understand their quality. I handpicked a couple of London-based friends who were making beautiful things and asked them to join me when I started PLATFORM..
Q: So, teamwork made the dream work?
A: Yes, and that initial spirit of
collaboration has continued. It’s amazing for me because I get to work with my friends. We’re very community focused. We have a WhatsApp group with all of the designers in it, where everyone supports each other. All the designers come and work in the store as well, selling each other’s products. Being a solo founder can be really lonely; you can only understand the pressures and the stresses if you’ve done it yourself. That’s why we go out of our way both to serve the customer and help these small br ands thrive.
Q: Was it a culture shock, moving from financ e to fashion?
A: I think I was very naive when I first entered the world of fashion. I just thought that if you make something beautiful, people will buy it. I focused so much on the production aspect that I didn’t realise the amount of work it takes to get things in front of people. It was a learning curve. But the biggest
change was that I was suddenly working alone and putting on every possible hat. When you’re selfemployed, every decision is your decision. If you make a bad decision there’s nobody to be in trouble with, but there’s also nobody else to fix it. However, I think the resilience a business background gives you is helpful. As a small business you hit so many different roadblocks, and it came naturally to be flexible at problem-solving, to say: “Well, how do I get around this?”
Q: What sort of problems were you encountering?
A: There are so many challenges on
Jojo Jiao, founder of Jovonna London, on being inspired by London, working with a closeknit team, and the joys of controlling every element of production
Interview: Ellie Costigan
I’ve wanted to be a designer since I was very young. My grandmother and mother were both very well put-together and they always made an effort. They could also both make their own clothes. For my grandmother it was more out of necessity – she didn’t work, so it was a way of making some money. My mum was a professional patternmaker. I can just about sew a button or hem!
When I first started Jovonna London, I designed all the collections myself. Now, we have an in-house team, although I still do all the core pieces and choose the fabrics, and I’m still responsible for the
a daily basis. I remember a setback I encountered early on when I began my leather accessories brand. I’d spent months developing my first clutch bag samples and when they finally arrived, mobile phones started getting bigger and bigger! I refused to sell a bag that wouldn’t fit a phone, so I had to recast and remould all the shapes I’d invested in. In the meantime, I took this opportunity to expand the collection, designing and making larger totes, backpacks and a workbag.
Q: How do you choose what to stock? Is it more about the look or the ethos?
final decisions, down to every button.
We have our own factory –I say factory, but it’s more of a workshop with two production lines. This means that any leftover fabric can be reused. Trims will be made into hair ties, for example. We have zero waste. I think my mindset of not being wasteful is to do with my background: in Asian households, if you find a biscuit tin, there’s never a biscuit in it! It’s always being reused for something.
I’ve grown with the brand and so has our customer. Our style is definitely more elevated now – more versatile and better
quality. Design-wise, it’s become more sophisticated. We lean towards classic, timeless shapes.
I’m a fashionista, always looking for the next thing! I always feel like there’s something missing from my wardrobe.
I wear all my prototype coats a season ahead, to see what works and if it styles well with my current wardrobe. Only when I am confident do I bring it to the customer.
We want to be in control of who we work with, how we work, how we manage waste, how we control the cost. I tell all my
wholesale clients that I want to oversee things from the initial design to the material, to the factory it’s made in.
Everyone in HQ has worked here for decades, which is testament to how we run the business. I’ve seen some of my team through from graduating to getting married, to having kids – it’s like a big community. I am very close to them.
Marylebone is our second store and I don’t mind telling people it’s my favourite. It’s the most spacious, it’s not too busy, and I love the aesthetic –the tiles in particular. It’s our flagship store and even though we have others with more footfall, we love it. All our store assistants are so friendly. They could almost be personal shoppers, they know the brand so well. I’m also so proud that they’re all from different backgrounds. We provide opportunities for people from all over the world.
The brand is inspired by London’s buzzing fashion scene: don’t try too hard but consider what you put on and what the dress code is in a subtle way. We like our style to be relaxed. If your outfit is too glammed up, it puts you under pressure to act that way.
The fact that I’m now dressing the women I was
We try to find that crossover point: clothes that have a sustainable ethos but which people also really want to wear. I told someone the other day: “I don’t want you to buy it if you don’t love it. I want you to be excited to pull it out of your closet and wear it.”
Q: You’re approached by so many brands making big claims. Are you fluent in greenwashing?
inspired by feels like such an achievement. I still feel the buzz when I see people on the street wearing Jovonna.
We’ve been working with the charity SmartWorks for around four years now: we donate clothes to them and they either sell them in their pop-up store, with the proceeds going to help women, or they’re given directly to people who might need clothes for an interview or a new job. What you wear is so important. It’s the first impression you create and it’s what gives you confidence.
For work I like to wear something comfortable. That might be linen trousers and a shirt. It might be a tweed jacket with tailored trousers. For going out, I wear a lot of lace-trim blouses with an exaggerated sleeve or pearl button – that’s where you get the compliments; it’s in the details. My most worn item is my double-faced wool coat. It’s a belted wrap coat, which you can wear with a jumper or blouse, or even a blazer underneath for colder weather. That’s the ultimate Jovonna look, with boots in the winter, loafers in the summer.
JOVONNA LONDON
19 George Street, W1U 3QN jovonnalondon.com
A: People say they care about climate change, and they want to shop sustainably, but they still aren’t making purchasing decisions that way. So, the idea is that I’m selecting things that are well made from natural materials and have that story behind them, but I’m also curating great design. A lot of independent brands can be really avant garde, very runway, but the average person might find that difficult to wear. And on the other side you will find things that are really focused on sustainability but they’re… I don’t want to say ‘potato sack’, but certainly a bit less interesting in terms of wearability. >
A: Honestly, I don’t normally read the sustainability ethos on a brand’s website, because it’s probably written by ChatGPT. It’s always going to say: “We’re sustainable, we’re not fast fashion, blah blah
blah” – but then all their clothes might be synthetic. Instead, we look at the garments and see what they’re made from. If everything’s virgin polyester or the jumpers have acrylic in them, that doesn’t work for us. Next, we look at where things are made. Most of the pieces we sell are made here in London, but if their production is being offshored to somewhere else, we look for a reason. For example, we’ve stocked Safarahh, a linen brand which is made in Kenya, where the founder is from, and works to support local women in Nairobi. If a brand is making things abroad, there needs to be a reason other than ‘it’s cheap’.
Q: Which designers should we be getting excited about this year?
A: I’m excited about everybody! A lot of the brands I’ve been working with for years and there’s always a home for them to come to. They can bring us new collections as they make them. We don’t have drops, it just kind of rolls. We have two or three new jewellery brands that are moving in. EdNerat is a lovely new coat brand that uses British fabrics, all handmade here in London. We have our staples like Valentina Karellas, who makes beautiful zero-waste knitwear. But there are so many brands in the store and I could tell you the story behind all of them.
Q: In this era of online retail, how important is it for us to still have real-life spaces to shop?
A: For us, the in-store experience is really important. I think it builds trust. People will come in to see our store in person and then think, ok, the quality is good, I can buy online later. And vice versa: they might see something online but then want to try it on instore. People want to see things in person. Sizing can be so different across different brands, especially for women – things fit differently on different people’s bodies. There might not ever be a huge shift back to real-life shopping, but for small
independents I think it’s really important to have a phy sical space.
Q: After pop-ups in Mayfair and Sloane Square, what made you settle i n Marylebone?
A: Once we got to Marylebone, you could immediately feel the difference. It was like, this is our customer, this is our area. It’s got that villagey feel to it, but at the same time it’s right in the centre of everything. And what’s great about Marylebone is that people want something unique; they’re not shopping for the brand name. In this area people like that it’s not a brand they’ve heard of, and they can recognise the quality
Farm Rio
FARM Rio has nothing to do with farming and absolutely everything to do with Rio. The brand, which was founded in Rio de Janeiro in 1997 by two friends, Kátia Barros and Marcello Bastos, started with a small booth in an independent market and went on to become one of Brazil’s best-loved contemporary womenswear labels, reflecting the energy, diversity and colour of its home city. FARM Rio’s second London boutique has now arrived on the high street in typically brash style. Designed by Brazilian architect Renata Gaia, the new space seeks to reflect the lush beauty of Brazil’s fauna and flora, with artists from around the world collaborating to create its stunn ing interior.
FARM RIO
26 Marylebone High Street, W1U 4PQ farmrio.uk
without needing a label on it. They can see the detail and the work that goes into everything, and that has value to them.
Q: What spots are in your Marylebone address book?
A: The Ivy Café has been so welcoming to us – it’s such a great neighbourhood staple. It’s similar to us in that when you go there, you feel like you’re coming home. And because I’m here almost seven days a week, I’ve eaten lunch at every possible place in the area. I love Lina Stores, and I love Panadera, the Filipino bakery, which does amazing sandwiches.
Q: As well as fashion, you’ve branched out into homewares and art. Are boutiques becoming more about selling us a lifestyle?
A: It comes back to that idea of craftsmanship and telling a story. It extends through everything. We get regular customers who sometimes just want to be supportive, and maybe they don’t want to be supportive with a jumper because that’s a bigger purchase, but they might want to buy a coaster or a tea towel. We also have a lot of people who keep us in mind for gifts. It’s about creating that whole experience for people, of coming to a store that’s really welcoming.
Q: So yours isn’t one of those intimidating boutiques where you’re scared to sneeze, then?
A: Not at all! Far from it. We talk to every single person who walks in – maybe for too long! I get to hear lots of stories about people’s backgrounds, where they’re from and what they do, their divorces, who they’re dating, everything. I love it. It’s all part of that community feel. And we’re also very dog-friendly, so please bring your dog so I can play with them!
PLATFORM
49 Marylebone Lane, W1U 2NT platform-store.com
Tis the season to be suited and booted –with an emphasis on the latter. No shiny pair of formal shoes will see you through the vicissitudes of late-winter weather without risk to leather, life and limb. Yet finding boots that actually suit a suit (or even just smart-casual workwear) is no mean feat. We’ve trodden that icy path so that you don’t have to, unearthing the best boots made for walking to work. Hopefully, that’s just what they’ll do.
OLIVER SPENCER MONKEY BOOT OLIVER SPENCER, £265 oliverspencer.co.uk
Founded in 1881, Northampton-based shoemaker Solovair made its name making high-quality boots for the British Army – so they know their stuff when it comes to making tough footwear. The monkey boot is one of the first created by Solovair in a long-running collaboration with Oliver Spencer, and this season they’ve brought it back, in the form of a great allround boot that you can wear with everything from jeans to a suit; and which in style, is like a retired general: both rugged and refined.
MARTEL+RAM, £325 martelandram.com
Pay no heed to the ‘desert’ part; these boots are more designed for London streets than they are any sand dune. The soft suede is water resistant and virtually unlined to create a relaxed, comfortable fit, and the exclusive Vibram Morflex sole is equally hard-wearing and flexible. The rounded toe, reminiscent of a derby shoe, is classic – but the cutting- edge technical features are anything but.
WINTERFOLD
R DERBY BOOT JOSEPH CHEANEY & SONS, £460
cheaney.co.uk
The clue is in the name: the Winterfold derby boot is crafted from brown waxy commander leather, known for its robustness and water-resistant properties. Its rubber soles boast extra grip, and a stork welt – raised rather than flush, basically –enhances water resistance further still. In short, this is a boot that’s purpose built to withstand whatever the weather brings this winter. And, if last year is anything to go by, spring, autumn and possibly summer too.
Ray Kelvin, creative director of Sealskinz, on a look that blends urban style and rustic practicality
At Sealskinz, we don’t believe in choosing between city style and outdoor practicality – why not have both? This look is designed to take you seamlessly from urban streets to mountain peaks.
The four-colour jacquard fleece is a standout piece. With its bold yet earthy pattern, it strikes a balance between style and functionality. The soft, quick-dry fabric keeps you warm and comfortable, whether you’re grabbing coffee in the city or trekking through the countryside. We’ve packed it with smart details: a cinchable bungee hem for a tailored fit, deep hand pockets to warm cold fingers, and a zip chest pocket to stash essentials.
Then there’s the waterproof sherpalined ear warmer cap, built to handle everything from icy winds to sudden downpours. It’s fully waterproof and breathable, and the cozy sherpa lining makes it a dream to wear, while thoughtful touches like the adjustable ear flaps and foldable peak make it endlessly versatile. It’s the kind of hat you don’t realise you need until you wear it – and then you won’t want to take it off.
And in this shoot, the jacquard fleece truly shines, blending beautifully into the raw, natural surroundings. It’s proof that exceptional design doesn’t have to compromise between style and function – it can celebrate both worlds, inspiring adventure wherever you go.
SEALSKINZ
1 Hinde Street, W1U 2AY
sealskinz.com
ABRAHAM MOON & SONS EASTWOOD SPORTS JACKET GREY FLANNEL, £895 greyflannel.co.uk
CALF LEATHER BELT LUCA FALONI, £120 lucafaloni.com
MATTIS CHARCOAL BASEBALL CASHMERE CAP CASELY-HAYFORD, £295 casely-hayford.com
BLACK WOOLLEN JAM TROUSERS AGNÉS B., £295 agnesb.com
CASHMERE SWEATER IN NUTMEG THE WORKERS CLUB, £395 theworkersclub.co.uk
OXFORD SHIRT SLOWEAR, £220 slowear.com
Paul de Zwart, founder of Another Country, on a new collection inspired by the Arts and Cr afts movement
Interview: Vi el Richardson
The Series 5 is the first numbered collection we’ve introduced since 2018. Giving a collection a number signals that we see it as embodying our core design ideals: sustainability, a commitment to craftsmanship and functionality, but with a fresh design perspective.
The Series 5 dining table embodies this ethos. The pill-shaped top introduces a softer, more organic aesthetic – the first time we’ve used this shape. Not only is it inviting but also practical, accommodating more flexible seating arrangements.
A key aspect of this is the undercarriage design. We worked through several iterations before landing on the inverted T-leg design. This enhances usability by removing obstructive corner
legs, ensuring a clear, open space for those sitting at the table, while adding to the table’s almost baronial sense of presence.
We never design in a vacuum – there is always a theme or concept that guides our design decisions. With this collection it was our deep admiration for the Arts and Crafts movement of the early 20th century, which championed craftsmanship, authenticity and a connection to nature, in reaction to the industrialisation and urbanisation of the 19th century. We see resonances with today’s society, where many people are seeking more natural, tactile experiences in our digitally dominated world. The Arts and Crafts ethos also aligns with our philosophy of designing
furniture that stands the test of time, both aesthetically and practically. But this isn’t all about nostalgia. Like the Arts and Crafts pioneers, we’re interested in balancing tradition with the contemporary world. For example, an important consideration was the country’s housing stock, especially the narrow proportions of Victorian terraced homes. The dining table is slightly narrower than would be typical, making it ideal for these uniquely shaped living areas while retaining the sense of a gathering place that fosters comfort and community.
Process Series 5 is an interesting example of the different ways we go about producing a piece. We have long-term
relationships with several producers and during the design process we need to consider which one will be the preferred option for each item. With the dining table, we knew that our principal supplier, who is based in Portugal, had the facilities and skills needed to create this directly from our design specifications. We sent the design and talked it through with them, and the tables they produced were beautiful from the start. With the Series 5 barstool, we worked with a different company and knew that there would need to be some design iteration with them before we arrived at the finished product. For the most bespoke or complex pieces, we might work with an artisan craftsperson to create the finished piece and then send that to the final producer to set
up production. So, the process can vary depending on the piece itself.
Materials
We are wood people. We love this material. It is durable, renewable and inherently comforting in its texture and appearance. It also fits seamlessly into the Arts and Crafts tradition, which valued honest materials and craftsmanship over superfluous decoration. We introduced cherry wood alongside oak for this collection. The decision to work with these woods was guided not only by aesthetics but also by environmental considerations. Oak is a classic choice, wellloved for its strength and timeless appeal, but it has high demand, making us mindful of its sustainability.
Cherry wood offers a lovely alternative. It has a warmth and subtle richness, but it’s less commonly used than oak, meaning it supports greater biodiversity and sustainability. Cherry’s lower demand also reduces its cost, allowing us to offer a more affordable option without compromising on quality. As with all our pieces, we want to show that a sustainable approach does not have to mean sacrificing beauty or quality.
Philosophy
The design philosophy of Another Country hasn’t really changed since we opened in 2010. It is anchored in creating functional, enduring pieces that feel both purposeful and human-centred. Each design aims to enrich daily life by focusing on simplicity, quality materials and
thoughtful details that make furniture visually engaging while emphasising usability and comfort. Sustainability underpins every aspect of our work, with materials chosen for their environmental benefits and durability as well as beauty. Manufacturing processes prioritise efficiency and minimal waste and our finishes are natural and safe, reflecting a commitment to healthy living spaces. The Series 5 collection brings this philosophy to life, combining clean, inviting shapes with practical features. Its design language reflects a connection to nature and a desire to offer furniture that is built to last.
ANOTHER COUNTRY
18 Crawford Street, WH1 1BT
anothercountry.com
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Interview: Vi el Richardson
Q: What is obstructive sleep apnoea?
A: It is a breathing disorder which causes repeated interruptions in breathing while a person sleeps. This pause, known as an apnoea, happens when the airway becomes partially or completely blocked. The brain then wakes the person up just enough to resume breathing. Symptoms include loud snoring, daytime fatigue, poor concentration and not feeling rested despite spending long hours in bed. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t realise they have the condition since they may not fully wake up during these events, but their overall sleep quality deteriorates significantly.
Q: Wh at causes it?
A: The most common type, obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), is caused by the muscles in your throat relaxing too much, therefore narrowing the airway. Several factors can lead to this. Carrying extra weight around your neck can make the throat muscles overly relaxed, as can alcohol or sedatives. Genetics can play a role, with some people having a naturally small airway or a jaw shape more likely to lead to snoring or apnoea. Even sleeping on your back can worsen it, as gravity can pull the tongue and tissues back into the airway.
Q: What is your approach to treating sleep apnoea?
A: I take a very personalised approach. It starts with understanding the patient’s symptoms, general health and lifestyle. I then seek to determine the severity of their condition through a sleep study. My primary treatment is the use of custommade mandibular advancement devices. I also explore lifestyle changes, like weight management and reducing alcohol intake, which can significantly improve symptoms. My aim is to find a solution that fits seamlessly into my
patients’ lives, improving both their sleep and overall wellbeing without relying on treatments they find diff icult to use.
Q: How do you categor ise severity?
A: The severity is determined by how often a person’s breathing stops or slows significantly during sleep. This is measured using the apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI), which counts the number of these interruptions per hour. A mild case involves five to 15 interruptions per hour. Moderate cases involve 15 to 30 events, enough to significantly affect sleep quality. Severe sleep apnoea, where over 30 events per hour occur, poses the greatest risks, leading to extreme fatigue and increasing the likelihood of serious health problems. We use sleep studies, often at the patient’s home, to evaluate the AHI.
Q: What is the current treatment for t he condition?
A: The current gold standard treatment for moderate to severe sleep apnoea is the continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine. This device works by blowing a steady stream of air into the airway through a mask worn over the nose or mouth during sleep. This pressurised air helps keep the airway open throughout the night. It is highly effective and significantly improves sleep quality for many people. However, some people find CPAP machines challenging to use. They can be bulky, the pump makes a noise and some people struggle with weari ng the mask.
Q: Are there any alternative treatments?
A: A mandibular advancement device (MAD) can be used to treat snoring and mild to moderate sleep apnoea. I recommend them when my patients cannot tolerate CPAP. It is placed in the mouth and gently moves the lower jaw >
“As dentists we understand this region of the body really well, and by working closely with other specialists we can attack sleep apnoea from every angle.”
forward, helping to keep the airway open. It’s discreet, portable, comfortable and highly effective. In more extreme cases, surgery to remove excess tissue or adjust the structure of the airway is an option. For milder cases, positional therapy, where you train yourself to sleep in a certain position, or the use of breathing exercises to strengthen throat muscles can reduce symptoms.
Q: Do MADs work for people with missing teeth or who wear dentures?
A: Mandibular advancement devices can be constructed for patients with missing teeth. My MADs are all tailored to the individual, and I often collaborate with dental technicians to ensure a precise fit. There are also specialised devices designed to fit onto the gums or soft tissues. These devices are highly effective, and I’ve seen great results, but they need to fit the individual perfectly. I’m passionate about finding a solution for everyone, regardless of their dent al situation.
Q: What happens if you decide CPAP is required?
A: As a dentist, I cannot prescribe CPAP devices. Their prescription is managed by medical professionals trained in the clinical management
of sleep disorders. However, I work closely with such specialists as part of a multidisciplinary team to ensure that patients receive the best possible care.
Q: Other than prescribing CPAP, what other shape might those collaborations take?
A: I often collaborate with myofunctional therapists to help patients achieve better longterm outcomes. These specialists work to improve the function of the muscles in the mouth, tongue and throat area using targeted exercises. Weak or poorly functioning muscles in this area can contribute to airway collapse during sleep. They can teach techniques to improve tongue posture or breathing patterns, which are crucial for maintaining an open airway. This is especially effective as part of a broader treatment plan, complementing devices like mandibular advancement devices, as a means of addressing underlying issues that exacerbate sleep apnoea.
Q: There’s an evolving treatment called hypoglossal nerve stimulation. Can you explai n what it is?
A: This procedure involves a device that stimulates the hypoglossal nerve, which controls the
movement of the tongue. It works by using an implant to activate the nerve during sleep to stiffen the tongue muscles and prevent the tongue from collapsing backward and obstructing the airway. A sensor detects breathing patterns to ensure that the stimulation is synchronised with your breathing. This treatment is not right for everyone and is also very new so we have to assess how it goes, but it does look very exciting.
Q: It seems that managing sleep apnoea can be quite complex.
A: Yes, it is much more complex than most people realise. Many patients come in thinking sleep apnoea is a simple inconvenience but it’s so much more than just noise. This condition can adversely affect both your physical and mental wellbeing – that’s why I take a holistic approach. Every patient is unique, requiring a treatment plan tailored to them. Finding the right solution takes effort but is always worth it for the transformative impact on their health.
Q: How do you see the treatment of sleep apnoea progressing?
A: This is an exciting time. I see the future of treatment moving towards more personalised, multidisciplinary care. As dentists we understand this region of the body really well, and by working closely with other specialists we can attack the condition from every angle. There has also been a shift towards increasing awareness, not just among health professionals but also the public. The more people understand the risks of poor sleep, the more proactive they’re being in seeking treatment. I’m passionate about being at the forefront of this progress, helping to educate the wider public and delivering innovative solutions.
MONTAGU DENTAL
47 Montagu Mansions, W1U 6LD montagudental.com
Our services include:
Private GP Services: Personalised care from experienced Harley Street doctors for the whole family.
Health Screening: Comprehensive health checks, from basic packages to executive, with full-body MRI scans.
Chiropractic: Bespoke treatments for back, neck, and joint pain, including sports injuries.
Counselling & Psychotherapy: Support for mental health, emotional wellbeing, and personal growth.
Our same-day private GP clinic is open to everyone, offering a friendly and easily accessible service for all your healthcare needs.
“I recently visited the London Harley Street Practice for a health check and was thoroughly impressed. The staff were incredibly friendly and welcoming, making me feel at ease from the moment I arrived. The entire process was straightforward and efficient…Overall, I would highly recommend the London Harley Street Practice.”
This two bedroom apartment, located on the second floor, comprises of entrance hall, reception room, two bedrooms with built-in wardrobes, bathroom and a separate kitchen. The building benefits from a passenger lift and communal gardens.
The building is located on the west side of Marylebone Street close to the junction with Weymouth Street. Bond Street and Baker Street underground stations together with the shopping facilities of Marylebone High Street are within close proximity. The open spaces of Regent’s Park are also nearby.
Leasehold
£1,150,000
This refurbished three bedroom apartment in the heart of Marylebone Village, located on the third floor (with passenger lift), has been extensively refurbished to provide generous living accommodation.
The accommodation comprises master bedroom with en-suite shower room, two further bedrooms, family bathroom, separate fully fitted kitchen and stunning double-aspect lounge / dining room featuring wood flooring. The building also benefits from a day porter.
Bond Street and Baker Street underground stations, Marylebone High Street and the open spaces of Regent’s Park are nearby.
Unfurnished
£2,000 PER WEEK
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