OLD STREET STATION POP UP

If you live in London, commute to work by tube and have taken a break from your newspaper or electrical device of late, you may have noticed that something’s happening to the retail offering on the underground.

TFL have been working to transform several stations into an inspired environment for Londoners choosing this form of transport. And Appear Here, now partners with TFL, are responsible for the new and improved commercial offerings at Old Street Station. The famous Silicon roundabout is now popping up with all kinds of fresh and young food, fashion and tech businesses in the form of industrial looking market stalls and newly developed units.

We were lucky enough to Pop Up for two weeks as part of the launch of the new Old Street development. Our location was a bespoke market stall made from, essentially, scaffolding – perfect for catching the creative East London crowd on their way to and from work during the week. Our fellow Pop Ups included new companies:

Press London: Cold pressed juice – a new health craze brought over from California by the enthusiastic pair Ed and Georgie who fed us with some of the most invigorating juices we’ve ever tried. Look out for their new shop in Soho coming soon

Mallow and Marsh: 100% all natural marshmallows – like you’ve never tried before

Fully Charged: An electric bike company, which Jonny (a bit of a bike keeno) clocked on day one.

Driftrock: An edgy digital marketing company

Bailey Nelson: A very fashionable opticians

Makers Academy: Educating the nation to code

The highs?

Annie: “meeting other cereal enthusiasts, and converting a few non-cereal eaters!” 

Jonny: “meeting Jamie Oliver’s Mentor, Gennaro Contaldo”


The lows?

The Tube strike threw a bit of the spanner in the works, which put Spoon trading on hold for a couple of days!

With the strike behind us, this was a great bit of exposure for Spoon and we were delighted that people decided to mix up their morning routine to try some of our cereal.

We look forward to seeing what more TFL has to offer – cross fingers for a more permanent location for Spoon very soon! 

Annie x





Photographs taken by Marc Sethi

BREAKFAST BRAIN FOOD

When I struggle to get out of bed in the morning it is often difficult to think of the more alert, sharper version of myself that inhabits my body later in the day. As someone who is not always the most eager to get out of bed I like to know that, aside from the morning shower and the (often very much needed) caffeine-fix to boost my energy levels and alertness in the short-term, there is a breakfast that can help sustain me through the morning and keep my synapses crackling until lunch. I used to cycle to work every day and so would have used up a good few calories just by the time I got to the office and fired up the computer. This led to the inevitable sugar-cravings in the mid-morning

As we have developed the recipes for our cereals, granolas and toppings here at Spoon, we have done so with nutrition and health and energy-levels in mind. We always come back to what tastes the best but if it is a choice of two ingredients that both taste equally good, then we will go with the one that adds the most in terms of kick-starting your morning in the best possible way. Research has shown (in a study published in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition) that the best way to boost your alertness between breakfast and lunch is to eat a meal at the beginning of the day that is high in both fibre and carbohydrate. The high-fibre and high-carb meal was associated with the highest level of alertness when compared to a low-fibre carbohydrate-rich breakfast and two high-fat breakfasts.

With this in mind, our mueslis and granolas, as well as the toppings that you can put on them, have been designed to give you a healthy morning dose of fibre and complex carbs from high-quality, great-tasting and low-GI sources. Don’t just take our word for it, have a look at some of the foods that the BBC Good Food recommends to ‘get your brain in gear’: http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/10-foods-boost-your-brainpower

We love the taste of wholegrains, nuts, pumpkin seeds and blueberries and love incorporating them into our recipes - it appears that our brains are quite happy to have them included too. So as well as giving you the energy you need to stay alert our cereals can help support healthy brain activity. Which, when it comes to the mornings, is very welcome help indeed!

Jonny