Author: Patrick

It will feel like spring this weekend and even if the clouds are not currently forecast to break the crocuses are out and the birds are singing — so we are restocking our popular ice cream from the heart of the Weald of Kent. We are also rolling out another English country favourite; the Dorset sheep’s milk yoghurt that has been a big seller at Parliament Hill Fields Lido is now also available in Queens Park and you can order it online for home delivery.

Our second week making falafel wraps and salads for NHS staff in St Leonard’s, the hospital of Edith Cavell and the first hospital in World War 2 to receive casualties from the Blitz. St Leonard’s is just over half a mile from Hoxton Square where we first started selling falafel nearly 17 years ago.

Until last week we were able to sell our excellent Breton cider for a very good price of £5 a bottle. But since Brexit the cost to us has gone up to more than that so we have had painful task of passing on the price rise. But we are delighted that we can hold our prices on the large consignment of wines from small Burgundy growers that we shipped right at the end of last year.

Hoxton Beach bought a van-full of oranges at the doors of the organic growers Ave Maria near Seville just before Christmas and we have some to spare. Just drop in at one of our cafés and leave your email details. They make great marmalade and you can always buy ours, but everyone’s taste is different (we go for lowish sugar).. The oranges were one of three bulk imports we made just before Brexit — the others were organic Burgundy and organic Greek olive oil.

Lockdown 3 rules mean Hoxton Beach can’t sell alcohol at our park cafés, but we can organise a home delivery from Highgate Wood or Queens Park. It’s particularly sad we can’t offer our popular mulled apple juice with calvados or mulled wine. But we can sell mulled apple juice so maybe if it’s close enough customers can run home and splash in some of our Somerset Cider Brandy while the apple juice is still hot.