Meet Farang's Sebby: food writer, accidental chef, and rising TV star
At the tender age of 27 Sebby Holmes is already a published author and restaurateur with a promising career as a TV chef ahead of him. The down-to-earth chef, who shares an agent with Jamie Oliver, launched Farang Thai restaurant in Highbury recently with help from a £4,000 loan from his granddad and he hasn’t looked back. It’s one of over a hundred independent businesses to join the Local Buyers Club, offering discounts to members (info here). Sebby’s food career began at th
Getting serious about coffee. Six of our favourites in Hackney & Haringey
It’s the world’s most popular drink - 55 million cups of coffee are consumed each day. But even those who mass produce a basic cup of Joe get it badly wrong. We’ll never forget an article by A.A. Gill about Starbucks. He wrote: “I can’t remember the last time I was served something as foul as its version of a cappuccino. “How can anyone sell this stuff? How can anyone buy this twice? And this was only a small one – a baby. The adult version must be like sucking the outlet of
Chatsworth's Venerdi draws Martin away from his mountains
From the mountains of Slovakia to the hubbub of Hackney – Martin Kicura has worked in restaurants all over Europe but London feels like home. The 30-year-old helps run Venerdi, a popular family-owned Italian restaurant in Clapton. It’s the latest business to offer a discount to members of the Local Buyers Club. (15% off - info here) He said: “Big chains can put more into marketing and PR and squeeze prices down and that makes things harder for family businesses like ours, bu
Meet the adman who rolled into Indian street food
Four years ago, Mark Wright’s taste buds were awakened during a six-week trip to India. The experience was so monumental that he came home, quit his job in advertising and set up a business serving Indian street food. Today Rola Wala employs over 40 staff and serves customers in Spitalfields, Leeds and Oxford. It's the latest business to offer a discount to members of the Local Buyers Club (20% off food, info here). Mark, 35, said: “Before I went travelling I wasn’t such an a