PART ONE : How Surrey Street Cooked up a Storm

The Surrey Street-Food Revolution

PART ONE : How Surrey Street cooked up a storm

Foodie-dom arrived in London in the late 1980s. These were the heady days of the sundried tomato uprising and it’s startling to realise just how radical a change took place in our dietary habits, both at home and when eating out. My well-thumbed 1990 edition of Delia, for example, urges me to sample ‘exciting new recipes like stir-fried mange-tout’ in a manner which suggests such far-out culinary experimentation might all be too much for me.

Times really have moved on – but for a long while Croydon lagged behind. In recent years, however, we have worked hard to ditch our reputation as a foodie desert. Destination dining made its entrance and is flourishing, particularly in the South Croydon Food Quarter. On the day of the first South End Food Festival, Sunday April 15 2012, over 5000 people visited. Buses were re-routed so that white-clothed tables could be laid in the street and terrific venues like Albert’s Table, Fish and Grill and Bagatti’s strutted their stuff.

It was a fine start and gives us much to be proud of. But economic times are hard. Serious money dining flourishes in our city and doubtless always will,but while many of us still love a posh dinner, austerity budgets do not permit. There are two food-banks in central Croydon now. Serious political stuff indeed - the rising cost of a decent diet should concern everyone. A well-paid elite in our country eats very differently from middle-income and lower-paid workers and thisquality gap is far wider than in many other European nations.

Which is where street food comes in.

Street food is a great democratiser. Skilled, committed traders with a passion for their products putfreshly-cooked dishes madewith local ingredients straight into the hands of just about anyone. In 2013 in Croydon, for less than the price of a greasy piece of Mac-crap in a flavour-challenged bun, you can eat fresh and quite deliciously well.

Roots of a revolution –the foodie history of Surrey Street market

Surrey Street market lies at the heart of Croydon’s historic Old Town, which is presently enjoying a revival. The Croydon Old Town Business Association (COBA) was formed in May 2012 and works hard to promote the shops and businesses there and bring the area’s distinctive identity back to life. Old Town is full of history and character - Croydon’s oldest pub, the Dog and Bull (originally the Bell) has stood in Surrey Street since at least 1595. It must have been extremely noisy, for in those days you would find the local stray dog pound right behind it.

In 2012 Croydon Old Town was chosen by no less a figure than Mary Portas as one of twenty- seven ‘Portas Pilots’. In these pilot areas, the Queen of Shops will lead efforts to breathe back life into town centres squeezed by out-of-town retail parks, and of course by the increasing numbers of us who choose to shop online.

The government has made £1.2 million available to fund the Portas initiatives. Mary’s recommendations include free parking, disincentives for landlords who leave retail premises empty, the relaxing of rules restricting night-time goods deliveries and national Market Awareness Days when outdoor shopping will be promoted. It will be fascinating to see how her strategies are received in Croydon Town Centre.

I predict controversy. Everyone hates the bleak environment created by empty shop fronts and will welcome penalties for this. Free parking will be cheered by shoppers and traders alike after recent steep priceincreases. So far, so consensual - but I doubt that environmentalists, or those concerned about traffic congestion, will bequite so enthused. And allowing noisy night-time deliveries in central Croydon sits illwith current plans by the Greater London Authority and the Council to increase the number of people resident there by 17,000.(. ). Watch this space.

What Mary Portas understands is that although online shopping is a boon to many, it has a functionality which does not entirely satisfy. A day spent shopping can be a day of pleasure – time in an attractive environment, soaking up local character, eating and drinking well and participating in the life of a community. Shoppers will visit areas where such experiences are available and it is to be hoped that Old Town Croydon can become one of them. The Croydon Citizen is following Portas developments and will report further on the progress of the Old Town pilot in the New Year.

Surrey Street market, however, dates from long before retail therapy was part of our lives. The village of Croydon received a market charter in 1276 from the Archbishop of Canterbury- it seems that archbishops, rather mysteriously, were in charge of these sorts of thingsat the time. There were market stalls on the site even before this, with the very earliest piece of evidence (a list of stalls) dating from 1236. The first market stood on an open hillside, doubtless looking down into Croindene - the beautiful ‘valley of the crocus’ , which is the origin of Croydon’s name. As the village grew, buildings spread over the site and by 1708 a new purpose-built structure housed The Butter Market. General provisions were sold there until 1874 when the market declined, operating from that point only on Saturdays until 1922.

That was the year Croydon Corporation revived and re-launched it as a vigorous six days a week operation. Prince Charles came to visit in 1994 and in 1997 Croydon Council instigated an annual ‘Good Stall Award’ to encourage good trading practices. Surrey Street today is primarily a food market although household items also feature, and more recently still clothes (of the hippy-ish variety), scarves and jewellery have made an appearance.

The world is in Surrey Street, with fresh coriander, chillis, lemongrass, yams and coconut milk to be found amongst the apples and pears. The market still retains its seasonal character, selling local asparagus in May, strawberries in June and fresh cranberries at Christmas-time. Its atmosphere has always, in my experience, been alively and cheerful one, with the traditional cries of London market traders promoting their wares and footfallbrisk from early in the morning until nightfall.

However it was not until around 15 years ago that our street food story began in earnest with the arrival of the first of the Surrey Street food pioneers.

Next time - meet the Surrey Street food traders and learn about one of Croydon’s most exciting areas of growth.

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PART TWO : Fresh and dedicated – the street food traders’ stories

George Whatle’s Caribbean outfit was the first of the present-day street food traders to set up in Surrey Street, Central Croydon’s medieval street market.

Photo of menu here

On the freezing winter’s day when I visited his stall, George was serving Jamaican patties, jerk chicken and jerk pork, curried goat with rice and peas, goat soup, fried fish and – for anyone with space remaining – heroic slices of fruit cake. Despite the zero temperatures, there was a queue in front of the counter and I chatted with Caribbean food enthusiast Johnny Newell who works at Metropolis Publishing and comes over with colleagues to buy lunch twice a week or so - ‘too often’, as one of the colleagues observed, patting his belly ruefully.

Photo of Johnny Newell here + photo of queue

George Whatle’s food has a well-deserved and faithful following spread over a wide area. His customers regularly make their way down from the Home Office on Wellesley Road to Surrey St to buy lunch. Along with the food, friendly efficient service is part of his appeal and watching George and his team at work, it is obvious that he take his responsibilities to his local business regulars seriously – the stall trades five days a week to meet their needs.

Which all sounds pretty much how any small businessman works to build up his reputation. George’s story, however, is less straightforward.

In February 2010 George Whatle was taken seriously ill with a brain aneurysm and required two life-saving operations. Doctors warned his recovery would be slow and that he would be away from work for at least a year – daunting news for anyone, and more so for a man who has built his own business and takes real pride in what he does.

By October 2011 George Whatle was fit enough (not to mention determined enough) to return part-time and in December 2011 he was once again running the business full-time. The return of the ‘jerk chicken king’ featured in the local paper on December 21 2011 and it was clear from the warmth of his welcome-back how important a place he holds in the Surrey Street community. It also speaks volumes for the community of Croydon which regularly takes a media bashing as the most negative stories about us are relentlessly broadcast and re-broadcast. Meanwhile, very different stories - about good neighbours, supportive communities and our numerous endeavours to create civic bonds, grow businesses and build a strong future together - go untold.

A point, in my opinion, that we should make at every possible opportunity.

Next to open up in Surrey Street was Thomas Liu, who with his wife Mei runs Faith Wok Chinese Food. The most striking thing about the Lius is that despite becoming such a part of the Surrey Street scene, they are not local – the couple travels in to Croydon from Kent 6 days a week to prepare and serve their speciality food.

Spring rolls are the Lius’ claim to fame, along with stirfry prepared while you wait. Fresh ingredients stand chopped and waiting for the wok and the best featureis that your lunch is served just the way you want it - patrons can customise their own dish both in content andin level of spiciness. Like George Whatle, Thomas and Mei Liu also have as their regulars many office workersMonday to Friday, then on Saturdays see more local customers as Croydon residents pay their weekend visits to Surrey Street.

Photos

Sunny Quinton’s Mexican Ambulance sounds like an arthouse movie – but her delicious street food is a regular feature of Surrey St. Sunny hails from California and the brightly decorated ambulance brings a distinctly West Coast ambience to the grey English winter scene – as do the terrific dishes on offer there. Spicy burritos are her speciality, with slow-roasted pork or steak the best sellers, and it’s worth noting that Thursday is always charity day, when Sunny’s sales help raise money for local causes.

On the other side of the road, Rahim Toufiz is busy selling rice, lamb and Afghan wraps – a kind of flatbread, prepared as you watch on an iron griddle, to which a topping of your choiceis added before the result is folded in half. I chose chilli sauce and coriander and the result was ideal street food – hot, fresh and easy to eat one-handed,as well as spicy and full of flavour. Rahim described his ambition to provide authentic food for Croydon’s Afghan community of between 6000 – 7000, by raising the funds to buy a community oven to prepare their traditional bread.

Perhaps the most thought-provoking tale I heard in Surrey Street came from Amir, who runs the doughnut stall. He arrived in England as a teenage refugee from Afghanistan and did not enter education here until the age of 15. His English at this time was not good, and as a result he initially struggled in school.

Amir was determined to take every opportunity that came his way. He worked hard to learn English, and now, almost five years later, he is studyingengineering. His immigration status makes it hard for him to obtain funding for his studies and thethriving Surrey Street doughnut business he runs was set up to support him as he works to fulfil his ambitions. In short, if there was ever a way to ease my guilt at buying doughnuts, Amir’s stall is it - I bought four for just a pound and I recommend them.

A few days later I met Rachael and her husband Chef Zak, newcomers to Surrey Street and joint proprietors of the smart black Zanylicious stand. Rachael and Zak sell soup, gourmet sandwiches and your food critic’s choice that day, a wonderfully warming spiced apple tea.

Chef Zak lived in Jamaica until he was 18 when his family moved to the US, giving him the opportunity to study at the Culinary Institute of America. After graduation he worked first as a chef in the States, then in London. Having combined forces with Rachael both personally and professionally, the couple are now their own bosses and Zanylicious trades at Brick Lane in London’s East End, at Camden Market and at numerous festivals and events. What is most exciting is that right now this savvy pair sees their new stall in Surrey Street as an opportunity to grow their business and go on to even greater things.

But of course, not all the news in Croydon is good. In September 2012 Allders department store closed its doors for the last time, a loss felt even more acutely during its celebratory 150th year of trading. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say there is real mourning for Allders in Croydon, where so many of us remember its glittering heyday from our childhoods. Our central shopping area has entered a kind of visual mourning too, with funeral drapes (bright and colourful as they are) screeningAllders’ bleak empty windows and hidingthe gathering decay within from public gaze.

A sad time indeed, but for most of us it will be a temporary sadness, as retail in Croydon looks forward to the arrival of either sexy Westfield or less-of-a-household-name but still highly prestigious developer, Hammersons. Town Centre regeneration prospects look good either way, butfor the 850 employees who lost their jobs three months ago,the reality of Allders’ endingis very much still present.

One of these employees was Charmaine Laurent, formerly employed in fashion retail, who has just opened her new Surrey Street business, Love Some Cake. Cake is a happy-making thing at any time, but my meeting with her left me in a particularly good mood. The stall looks great, the service was warm and friendly on a dank and soggy day and the cakes really were out of this world. In austere economic days, Charmaine Laurent’s story is genuinely uplifting. For her, Surrey Street food offers a real way forward.

A final flourish

Two other Surrey Street traders caught my eye, not for the meals they sell, but for the garnishes. Three days a week, trader Qais Sedi sells pure Mediterranean gorgeousness - olives, sundried tomatoes, dolmades, marinated garlic cloves and more - at his stall near the Church St end of the market. And the Mad Ass team – Dave, Tony and Sue – offer their superb locally-made sauces and relishes (including the most aptly-named Dare Ya) each week from Thursday to Saturday. These two businesses are simply ornaments to Surrey Street, both in professional presentation and in absolutely excellent quality. They do Croydon proud.

In my final instalment, I’ll show how we can all draw on the inspiration Charmaine Laurent and others provideand consider ways to make Croydon’s dreams into reality.

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PART THREE : Fuel for our future

Heat on the street - why here, why now?

Fiona Woodcock, Surrey Street redoubtable market inspector, is fascinated by the growing numbers of street food outlets in Surrey Street market and delighted by their quality. Always on hand to support and advise traders and the general public, Fiona’s view is that the British street food market has been growing gradually since the late 1990s but that a recent, sharp surge in confidence is detectable. Events in Surrey Street right now are definitely part of something bigger.

She believes the quality of street food has risen as better equipment becomes affordable – modern small single canister gas burners, for example, are as powerful as the older ones which took up far more space and needed strength to lift and manoeuvre. George Whatle is a good example– by using three such burners, he can offer a wide choice of cooked hot dishes within a small working space.

But whilst visibly proud of what the market already is, Fiona is not satisfied. She intends a still larger future for its food traders and sees Surrey Street as a stepping stone for small businesses, showing people what is possible and encouraging them to greater things. Croydon Business Venture , accredited Enterprise Agency for the area, has already advised a number of former Surrey Street food traders about financing that crucial and often nerve-wracking next step into becoming a larger operation. This often means launching themselves onto the huge national festivals and events catering market.