KERB LIFE
42 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsAs KERB celebrates a decade in the capital, we wanted to look back at the era in London food that we sprung up out of - how it has evolved since then, and how we, as a community and a business, have shifted with it.
This KERB LIFE special is a 3 part series to mark a decade of KERB and a decade of huge change in London food.
Covering the wave of change following the crash of 2008, fuelled by recession, social media and a mass of people going ‘screw this, I’m off to do my own thing’ a raft of new flavours and experiences were suddenly out there on the streets and Londoners couldn’t get enough of it.
The series charts this time and then, how we as a business - and a community of food entrepreneurs - navigated these tides of change, going from the wild abandon of start-up energy to figuring out how to make money out of it, how to keep it good while big business piled in - through opening a food hall, being knee-capped by Covid and now, how we cope with the headwind of a ravaged hospitality industry.
Expect lots of opinions, reflections, characters - and a plunge into London food from a kerbside view.
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Episodes
Built To Last
October 27, 2022 07:47 - 31 minutes - 43.3 MBStrengthening the platform and securing KERB's future by both barnacling and going back to our roots. In the final episode of our 10th birthday podcast series, we show how we have emerged from the pandemic more determined than ever to keep building a KERB that is robust enough to be around for another 10 years, whatever comes our way. We have partnered with larger entities and grown bigger than we’d ever imagined in the process - requiring a whole new level of professionalism. But throu...
KERB LIFE Special: Change, Growth and Stoicism...
October 19, 2022 13:53 - 30 minutes - 27.9 MBWe're back with episode two of this KERB LIFE Special to celebrate a decade in London food. Here we move out of the wild abandon of start up energy and learn on the hoof about what works and what doesn’t. As ‘street food’ continues to establish itself, larger opportunities present themselves - with hundreds of thousands of KERB dishes sold in ever more unexpected places - but not without some bumps and bruises along the way! Patience, resilience and “controlling our own stoicism” is the ...
KERB LIFE Special: Band of Brigands!
October 17, 2022 17:50 - 28 minutes - 38.6 MBAs KERB celebrates a decade in the capital, in the first episode of this KERB Life special, we look back at the era in London food that our street food collective sprang up out of – the fun and chaotic thrill of start-up energy and all the opportunities coming our way at a time when London seemed to be bending into a whole new culinary shape. It was bao buns, carnitas burritos, green chilli cheeseburgers, pork-fat fried schnitzel sandwiches, Holy Fuck slathred rib rolls and warm caramel d...
KERB on the Inside: Catch ups! #8 (with Tieyan Eweka of Jollof Mama)
October 09, 2020 10:10 - 18 minutes - 17.1 MBWhen selling jollof on the streets is your life but the opportunities to sell jollof on the streets continue to be reduced, what do you do? How do you adapt? And what are the opportunities emerging out of all this difficulty? Jollof Mama's Tieyan Eweka fills me in...
KERB on the Inside: Catch ups! #7 (with Tom Bickers of Truffle Burger)
October 09, 2020 09:59 - 21 minutes - 20.1 MBReopening at Seven Dials Market, launching his first standalone site in Soho, packing away the meal kits (only to be plotting the secret next level of the meal kit), all while contending with hospitality curfews and a gutted central London, Tom Bickers' head is getting a bit done in, though his game face remains on point as he bikes around London, ensuring Truffle's survival...
KERB on the Inside: Catch ups! #6 (with Simon Mitchell of KERB)
September 23, 2020 12:36 - 25 minutes - 23.1 MBTwenty minutes in the life of Seven Dials Market from the inside and what the hell are we going to do if we are once again forced to close - but this time with no support? From a deck chair in Hyde Park, Simon Mitchell and I mull over our options, so many of them sitting on uncertain ground...
KERB on the Inside: Catch ups! #6 (with Simon Mitchell)
September 23, 2020 12:36 - 25 minutes - 23.1 MBTwenty minutes in the life of Seven Dials Market from the inside and what the hell are we going to do if we are once again forced to close - but this time with no support? From a deck chair in Hyde Park, Simon Mitchell and I mull over our options, so many of them sitting on uncertain ground...
KERB on the Inside: Catch ups! #5 (with Luke Dawes)
September 23, 2020 12:33 - 18 minutes - 16.7 MBFresh from his first weekend off in months, Only Jerkin's Luke Dawes is breaking back onto the streets and the festival circuit, albeit of a whole different texture and with a lot less dancing allowed...
KERB on the Inside: Catch ups! #5 (with Luke Dawes of Only Jerkin)
September 23, 2020 12:33 - 18 minutes - 16.7 MBFresh from his first weekend off in months, Only Jerkin's Luke Dawes is breaking back onto the streets and the festival circuit, albeit of a whole different texture and with a lot less dancing allowed...
KERB on the Inside: Catch ups! #4 (with Melissa Thompson of Fowl Mouth's Food)
September 23, 2020 12:30 - 24 minutes - 22.4 MBInside the world of the food writer and recipe developer, Melissa Thompson who refused to stay silent about racism in her life and industry anymore. here we are catching up on virtue signalling, representation and the triumph of the setting coconut custard...
KERB on the Inside: Catch ups! #4 (with Melissa Thompson)
September 23, 2020 12:30 - 24 minutes - 22.4 MBInside the world of the food writer and recipe developer, Melissa Thompson who refused to stay silent about racism in her life and industry anymore. here we are catching up on virtue signalling, representation and the triumph of the setting coconut custard...
KERB on the Inside: Catch ups! #3 (with Meriel Armitage of Club Mexicana)
September 17, 2020 10:47 - 25 minutes - 23.6 MBJust on the verge of opening her first stand alone site in Soho, lockdown curtailed her plans and sent Meriel on a different path towards feeding the NHS. Now that she has finally been able to get back to Club Mexicana I go and visit her to catch up on where she is with it all.
KERB on the Inside: Catch ups! #3 (with Meriel Armitage)
September 17, 2020 10:47 - 25 minutes - 23.6 MBJust on the verge of opening her first stand alone site in Soho, lockdown curtailed her plans and sent Meriel on a different path towards feeding the NHS. Now that she has finally been able to get back to Club Mexicana I go and visit her to catch up on where she is with it all.
KERB on the Inside: Catch ups! #2 (with Jonathan Downey of Hospitality Union)
September 17, 2020 09:59 - 28 minutes - 25.9 MBHere I am with JD at his house in Dalston, catching up with him as he prepares to head off on a vision quest to work out what we do about all this f**kry.
KERB on the Inside: Catch ups! #2 (with Jonathan Downey)
September 17, 2020 09:59 - 28 minutes - 25.9 MBHere I am with JD at his house in Dalston, catching up with him as he prepares to head off on a vision quest to work out what we do about all this f**kry.
KERB on the Inside: Catch ups! #1 (with Zan Kaufman of Bleecker Burger)
September 16, 2020 12:59 - 18 minutes - 17.3 MBIt's September and a lot has shifted since we locked down and launched KERB on the Inside back in April. What's everyone up to now? I want to find out. Here we go, back with Zan from Bleecker Burger - catching up on the last few months of life in London food and the reopening of her burger joints.
KERB on the Inside: Catch ups! #1 (with Zan Kaufman)
September 16, 2020 12:59 - 18 minutes - 17.3 MBIt's September and a lot has shifted since we locked down and launched KERB on the Inside back in April. What's everyone up to now? I want to find out. Here we go, back with Zan from Bleecker Burger - catching up on the last few months of life in London food and the reopening of her burger joints.
Trading again! (with the KERB team)
June 24, 2020 04:30 - 20 minutes - 18.5 MBWhat’s it like to open a bustling market when bustling isn’t allowed? How do you create a safe and enjoyable space that is also busy enough to sustain the traders? Welcome to some of our current dilemmas - and to our new spot, KERB National Theatre - the tiniest and most low-key market we’ve ever hatched, but it feels monumental after the last 3 months of screen time. Hosted by KERB founder Petra Barran, with audio production from KERB stalwart Robin Leeburn of Fairly Media and music ℅ pio...
Jerk - Roots and evolution (with Luke Dawes)
June 17, 2020 09:05 - 32 minutes - 30.1 MBJerk is a big deal, inciting strong feelings and deep pride amongst people of Jamaican heritage. So what happens when you grew up with it - where even your Sunday roasts were jerked - but you decide to play with it? This week I speak with Luke Dawes, co-founder of Only Jerkin’ - and creator of the ever-popular ginger beer battered fried jerk chicken nuggets. With so many conversations swirling right now on: Where do we go from here and why do we care about going there On food, id...
Jollof, tokenism and representation (with Tieyan Eweka-Olorunfemi & Samuel Olorunfemi)
June 10, 2020 13:43 - 33 minutes - 30.8 MBWe have always liked to think of KERB as a space for democratic cooking and democratic eating. A glorious representation of London and its many cultures. But are we really? In our efforts at building greater awareness and change around racial equity, inside and outside our company, I want to talk to some of the black business owners in the KERB community about how inclusive it is: what obstacles they’ve experienced due to racism and what changes are necessary for a more equitabl...
Racism and the London food industry (with Melissa Thompson)
June 03, 2020 15:42 - 36 minutes - 33.3 MBAmerica’s on fire, and so are our social media feeds. The centuries old pandemic of state violence on black bodies in the US, flared up again via the death of George Floyd and the other pandemic, is forcing many of us to rethink how racism operates. Not just in America, but here on British soil and within the multi-cultural-seeming walls of our own industry. Joining me this week is founder of food and recipe project, Fowl Mouth’s Melissa Thompson. To follow Melissa and discover her lis...
Inside our shuttered food hall (with Simon Mitchell)
May 27, 2020 13:48 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MBWelcome inside our shuttered food hall. With income down to zero and debt mounting, we take a walk around the empty floors of Seven Dials Market and look at the reality of our situation and what hope we have to reopen. This week, the conversation is with someone close to home - my business partner and KERB and Seven Dials Market CEO, Simon Mitchell. To see what KERB and our traders are getting up to on the inside, head to our Keep the Wheels Turning Campaign. Hosted by KERB foun...
Inside the Truffle burger kit (with Tom Bickers)
May 20, 2020 08:54 - 24 minutes - 22.2 MBTruffle’s Tom Bickers was left with a load of excess stock when we had to close Seven Dials Market. Through packing it up and sending our team home with it, he created the prototype for a burger kit that would save his business. We talk to him about this whole new way of feeding his customers. To see what KERB and our traders are getting up to on the inside, head to our Keep the Wheels Turning Campaign. Hosted by KERB founder Petra Barran, with audio production from KERB stalwar...
KOTI QUICKIE - World exclusive release of Luardos fish taco rap, Pts 1 & 2 (with Simon Luard)
May 15, 2020 10:27 - 16 minutes - 15.2 MBHere’s a little quickie for you - couldn’t resist. It’s our old friend Simon Luard, original original KERBanist and proprietor of much loved mexi-van, Luardos. He’s been fund-raising for the business whilst it’s off the streets. Rather than tell all his customers his award winning fish taco recipe, matey decided to rap about it. Here’s the exclusive first listen to Pts 1 and 2 of Fish Taco Rap “Culeros Ride/Culeros Ride Again” - mixed by our man, Robin Leeburn of Fairly Media. To see t...
Feeding the NHS, being the change (with Meriel Armitage)
May 13, 2020 16:00 - 30 minutes - 28.2 MBHere in Episode 3 I pick up with long time KERBanist, Meriel Armitage of Club Mexicana to hear how hospitality, and entrepreneurship have come together to get frontline NHS workers fed, whilst also keeping the wolf from the door for street food traders with no trade. It’s a study in ground-up changemaking that brings kindred spirits together over a common cause and pressing need. For more information on Club Mexicana X Sportsbanger - and the not for profit they are setting up, MEGA AID...
“Get in the boat” - Hospitality Union rescue mission (with Jonathan Downey)
May 06, 2020 16:00 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBIn our second episode we take a wide lens view of the state of our industry by speaking with man on a mission, Jonathan Downey. ‘Powered by Whatsapp’, high def foresight and an unwavering capacity for getting things done, JD’s proposals to government could help save thousands of businesses. For more information on JD’s #NationalTimeOut and how to support it - even if you don’t own a food business but just cherish eating out - follow the hashtag, and follow @HospoUnion and @DowneyJD on...
Street food then/street food now (with Zan Kaufman)
April 29, 2020 16:00 - 22 minutes - 21 MBWelcome to the first episode of KERB on the Inside - our new podcast for this new era that none of us saw coming. Joining me is burger maverick and KERB Alumnus Zan Kaufman of Bleecker, sharing thoughts on how she’s attacking this curve ball and how she may even be considering a return to the streets that launched her... Hosted by KERB founder Petra Barran, with audio production from KERB stalwart Robin Leeburn of Fairly Media and music ℅ pioneer of the UK grime scene, Tottenham’s ve...
Women In Street Food Break It Down
July 05, 2018 16:00 - 50 minutes - 43.3 MBIn the final episode of the series of KERB Life, we begin a conversation on equality and diversity, joining a panel of KERB female business owners, breaking down their views on opportunity in street food. Introducing the show, reporter Robin Leeburn asks KERB founder Petra Barran - live via satellite link-up from her sabbatical in New Orleans, about KERB’s ethos - how to create an equal opportunity for anyone with a dream to run their own business and sell their own food. With near half ...
Michelin Star On The Streets
June 26, 2018 10:04 - 40 minutes - 40.5 MBTwo years ago, something remarkable happened at a small hawker stall in Singapore’s Chinatown market - Chan Hong Men earned a Michelin star for his soya sauce chicken. And this spring, the man better known as Hawker Chan jetted into London to join KERB’s markets, bringing the crowds flocking to KERB King’s Cross in Granary Square for a limited three-day run of lunchtime services and the chance to eat a Michelin dish for just £6. It’s fair to say the response was phenomenal - queues linin...
Life On The Veg
June 18, 2018 14:50 - 49 minutes - 45.4 MBThis KERB Life podcast lifts the biodegradable lid on the London vegan movement in the midst of a plant-powered revolution - on the streets with KERB, across the capital and now in the shopping basket. Whether it’s the record 160,000 who pledged to stay away from the animal foods for a month during ‘Veganuary’, Tesco reporting a 40% increase in demand for vegan products, or that joke about vegans - we’ve all heard about veganism this year. And ever more are changing their eating habits as ...
Breaking Down the Bun
June 11, 2018 17:14 - 45 minutes - 44.3 MBWhen it comes to lunch in the city - how much are we willing to pay? How much does it cost to make? What represents value and are we paying enough for food today? KERB opens the book on the numbers game, finding out the true cost of serving a street food dish, why prices are what they are (from quality ingredients to experienced staff and constant running costs) and how the queues on the street translate onto balance sheets. In interviews with Emma Reynolds of Tonkotsu, KERBanists Burger and...
The Bread Network
June 04, 2018 13:36 - 57 minutes - 50.6 MBWe often take our buns and sandwich loaves for granted, but they’re integral to both our meals and community life as we ‘break bread’ together. Forget the plastic-packed ‘freshness’ of supermarket loaves - KERB, London and the UK as a whole are yearning for the simple, healthy pleasures as artisanal bread, going back to the Stone Age basics of flour, salt and water, is re-popularised. Reporter Robin Leeburn needed no second invitation to cross the capital uncovering the stories behind the Br...
InKERBating ain't easy
May 21, 2018 13:33 - 45 minutes - 38.2 MBHow do new food startups survive in London’s ultra-competitive scene? Who’s crazy enough to upend their life for a new biz amidst the whirl of KERB life? Why do so many people dream of their own spot on the streets? In this first episode of series 2 we're talking street food start-ups, KERB’s InKERBator and how setting up is hard to do. Robin Leeburn opens the box on London’s freshest street food menus and looks at how KERB's three-month trader training and mentorship programme is helpin...
A Very Merry KERBmas
December 19, 2017 09:16 - 39 minutes - 37.1 MBOur Christmas Special Bonus Episode, where we talk to traders about their favourite festive recipes, hear about what it means to give at this time of year and why charity is so important to KERB and our community and contemplate why , only at this time of year, we forget the latest and greatest food trend or invention and stick to what we know and love in a quest for comfort, familiarity and tradition.
KERB Talks: Street Food Evolution
December 12, 2017 16:22 - 35 minutes - 27 MBIs it getting harder to find places to trade in London? Do you need to come from a middle class privileged background to start a street food business? Is street food complicit in gentrification? Or can it help inject diversity and culture into an area?is it Is it a sustainable way to make money? Is street food a fad? Are food courts the future? This bonus episode is a recording of our first ever panel discussion - part 1 of our ‘Future of London Food‘ series, bringing together the most co...
Episode 5: The Regeneration Game
October 17, 2017 11:49 - 38 minutes - 53.5 MBIn episode 5 Robin weaves through the streets of Hackney Wick, east London, talking to people who have watched the neighbourhood change beyond recognition, discovering how the London 2012 Olympic Games helped to transform the area, thanks to a massive injection of more than £9 billion, followed by an even bigger private investment. The toxic soil and polluted canals were cleaned and mammoth new developments sprung up, including Westfield, one of the largest urban shopping malls in Europe, 5 ...
Episode 2: The Bucket List
October 17, 2017 11:49 - 36 minutes - 42.9 MBCajun style, southern fried, twice brined, jerk seasoned; there’s a host of traditional ways to serve fried chicken worldwide and KERB’s traders are still reinventing it. The crackle of the fryer is enough to start a queue of hungry Londoners who can’t get enough of the dish, which is why more than 2,000 people flocked to the Bucket List event at the West Handyside Canopy, Kings Cross - a two day fried chicken festival where 8 London street food traders went to battle, frying their hearts ou...
Episode 4: The Perfect Dish
October 17, 2017 11:49 - 42 minutes - 54.7 MBIn episode 4 Robin Leeburn, podcast creator, is set out to find the best street food on the streets of London by grilling top traders and big name food bloggers on what matters most. Take a deep dive into the pots and pans of London’s food trucks and market stalls to find out what makes them so damn tasty. Hear how the top street food traders are making it work in one of the world’s most competitive trading environments.
Episode 6: The Restaurant Dream
October 17, 2017 11:48 - 40 minutes - 52.7 MBFor some street food traders, opening their own restaurant is the dream. But is this what it means to 'grow up' in the food business? Is it the only way up? In the final episode of this series, Robin Leeburn hunts down a few of the rockstars to find out why they made the choices they did and leaves us with an exploration of how Londoners lust after the new, trending street food traders, why we can’t get enough of each other and where do we go together after those first few rough and ready ye...
Episode 1: The Startup Story
October 17, 2017 11:48 - 35 minutes - 42.5 MBKERB exists to agglomerate street food talent, bring deliciousness to the streets and make London taste better. In episode 1 you will meet KERB founder Petra Barran and hear the story of how it all started as a rabble of traders wanting to make something happen. You will also meet some of the industry's biggest legends, listen to their personal journeys into the world of street food and understand the importance of street food as a leveller and connector in an increasingly busy and built-up ...
Episode 3: The Social Bottom Line
October 17, 2017 11:48 - 35 minutes - 45.9 MBThere’s a way of life at KERB and a shared desire to be part of something positive. People and planet, as well as profit, are part of the triple bottom line. In episode 3 you will hear how KERB’s curated crew of talented street food traders have more in common than just the food and are creating job opportunities for disadvantaged young people
KERB Life Trailer
October 13, 2017 15:01 - 4 minutes - 5.88 MBOne of the most relevant, inspiring and diverse food podcasts ever made. Over six episodes the inaugural KERB Life series tells the tale of how KERB's roots go back to being just a hobby in 2010 to today putting on big public events in the heart of London; who we work with, where can successful street food traders go from here and that burning question: what makes the perfect street food dish! This is a sonic feast that expertly brings together all the talent and hard work that goes into mak...