Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
Station House Community Cafe, Stroud Green
A couple of weeks ago a group of people started a 'Community Cafe' in the Mind Centre on Stapleton Hall Road, Stroud Green. The idea is that they make simple, healthy food from ingredients donated from local shops and supermarkets. Budgens in Crouch End are one of the shops contributing - as per usual - they're always generous when it comes to giving food to community events.
At the moment, the cafe is only open between 12 and 2 on a Friday, and the menu was today limited to one starter (carrot and parsnip soup: £1.00), one main (vegetable pasta bake: £2.50) and two puddings (apple pie or banana cake: £1.00). My daughter and I had a lovely lunch, and the other people there seemed to be enjoying theirs, too.
The kitchen is staffed by volunteers, and it's a non-profit making scheme. The idea, as one of the volunteers explained, was to offer people healthy and affordable food, and get people from the community involved with running the place. "It's an alternative to all of the fried chicken places!" she joked.
It was strange to see the hall usually used for Area Assemblies transformed into a little cafe, complete with wooden tables and flowers in jars. I hope it's an idea that takes off; knowing the number of people in Stroud Green who are community-minded, I'm pretty sure it will. I for one have promised a cake very soon!
Post from Sarah Cope's blog
Tags for Forum Posts: foodcycle, station house community cafe
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Maddy on
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Not the first time they've done this, I think. Pretty sure that I remember walking along the Parkland walk to a cafe there in the 80s, when I was living at Archway.
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Permalink Reply by Kamila on
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The Station House Cafe is run by Foodcycle, a charity promoting healthy affordable food donated by local foodstores. See www.foodcycle.org.uk - it explains the concept. The Station House Cafe has its own Facebook page here (sorry - have forgotten how to do this without giving this long address!)
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Haringey/Station-House-Community-Cafe...!/pages/Haringey/Station-House-Community-Cafe/122662037791168?v=wall
I went there today and had the 3 course option with parsnip soup, aubergine and potato stack with a ratatouille sauce, and a carrot cake to follow. This was £4 and I probably won't eat again today! I also bumped into a neighbour (who is also a HoL member!) so we had a good old local gossip. The venue is very pleasant and airy and it will be lovely in summer if we can eat in the garden.
Just to point out - the cooked food is not donated. The workers pick up the surplus food on a Thursday and cook in the evening in the Station House Kitchen which has a high industrial standard so there's no worry about health and safety.
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Permalink Reply by Hugh on
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Has anybody else tried this yet?
Seems to be very much of the moment. Is anyone else watching People's Supermarket?
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Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on
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Yes and I recommend it. At the moment its open only on Fridays between 12 and 14:30 and its proving pretty popular.
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There is at least one Harringay online member who goes, but we live on the Upper East Side of Stroud Green on the border between SG and Green Lanes. If you want to stretch your legs I would recommend it.
Has anyone tried the Old Curiosity cafe at Stroud Green Library on a Saturday yet? I haven't time on a Satruday but apparently you can sell Grandma's inherited antiques (if you have any!!!) and have a coffee and chat (I think it's 10-4 but you'd better check.
http://www.haringey.gov.uk/index/community_and_leisure/libraries/fi...
Haven't watched the people's supermarket - thought it looked good but no time (Sat night is Sarah in the Killing and Sun Night is the wonderful Promise - that's enough TV for me!!)
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Permalink Reply by John McMullan on
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Phoebe and I went there last Saturday. We'd go back. Tea and scone for £1.50 and all the jam you can cram in.
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@John - I must go there one afternoon. Mornings are occupied by a Spanish class followed sometimes by a 121 session at the Apple Shop. The cafe is organised by the landlord of one of the flats in our house! What were the antiques like? A curious idea.
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@ Hugh. People's Supermarket very interesting - although I tend to record it and fast-forward through some parts. Is it still working successfully, do you think? (Didn't David Cameron pay it a visit recently?) I would love to join something like that, though I am not volunteering to set it up! I have friends who are members of the Food Co-op in Brooklyn and it works very well and saves them money.
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Permalink Reply by Alice Mezzo on
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Hello all,
I went to this cafe today and had a three course meal with friends and was asked to pay whatever I felt right (suggested price £4!). Really great food and great approach using food that supermarkets would normally chuck out. Much recommended if you can make a Friday lunch one day.
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Alice:
Did you try the banana cake this afternoon?
I ordered Fruit Salad to end, but later from further down the table I heard effusive praise for the Banana cake. In fact, the lady described it as, and I quote, "orgasmic". Thus, I thought it was probably worth trying. Later on when I was asked if I'd ordered anything to end with, at the last moment I switched to Banana Cake.
A big wedge arrived and it was every bit as good as I'd been led to believe.
We're so lucky to have this wonderful facility.
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Hi Clive,
Oh no! I missed out on the banana cake- I tried the fruit scone which was loverly but wish I'd gone for banana cake now! We are indeed lucky to have this brilliant cafe. It makes me very happy because it counters our terrible culture of throwing away perfectly good food AND provides tasty nourishment for very little money. The more I discover in our neighbourhood the more I love living here!
Alice
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Alas, the banana cake may not come in exactly the same caramelized, mouth-watering form again.
My information is that an American woman, whose speciality it was, is no longer there. Check with Danny next Friday for any update.
Agree about the worth of Foodcycle
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