Tash & Florence

At their latest fabulous cafe ‘STEPNEY’S’ nestled inside Stepney City Farm, we nattered about why two best friends from arts school do what they do and why owning a cafe can be at odds with family life.

F: Once when we were here, this lady came here in top hats and tails asking for a shovel. Her family were funeral directors and one of their horses had done a poo on the road so they needed a shovel. It was so surreal, that was in the first week and it set the tone.

Can either of you juggle?
No
T: Do you mean juggle balls or life?

Very good, can you juggle life?
F: I think so.
T: We do our best.

When diud you know you wanted to get into hospitality?
T: When I realised I couldn’t do anything else. I’ve always done hospitality. When I was at college, I worked at Borough Market and when I graduated I worked in hospitality, it’s all I’ve done and all I know.
F: I don’t know, I just love cooking. I’ve done a lot of other things but I just love food. For me it’s more about cooking for people.

If you were to film yourself cooking, would that be you using your degree and your passion?
F: I wouldn’t want to be on camera. No no no.

What sort of documentary would you want to film?
T: You are as sexy as Nigella
F: No one’s as sexy as Nigella

That question’s redundant now. How did you meet?
F: Oh at Arts School. I was in the same halls as Tash’s now husband, then early boyfriend.
T: The fire alarm went off in the middle of the night.
F: Yeah then Tash came down and that was it. 

And you just knew, I’m going to open up a business with that person?
F & T: No!
T: When I first started Mae & Harvey I was making juices and got asked to make a juice book, which is quite ironic because I’ve never been the biggest bookworm. So I was like ‘Florence I need you to help me do 100s of recipes!’ So in Florence’s tiny tiny flat we were making granitas.
F: Yeah we tasted like a million juice related recipes.
T: That was when Floren was starting her Bonnington Days.
F: I cooked in a cooperative cafe for years in Vauxhall. It’s in Bonnington Square which is all leafy and lovely. It was all squatted in the 60s and this became a cooperative kitchen. A different person cooks every day and basically runs a restaurant for the day. So I did that for years.
T: When Florence first found out about it, we both went to the meeting but it went on for hours and hours so I came out and thought ‘I can’t do this’ but Florence did it.
F: I did it for about 10years.
T: I’d help do a few, then realised we could work together.
F: Best friends primarily and then we work together. 

What happened to the Juice Book?

F: It’s out, you can buy it! Do you get royalties from it still Tash?
T: It did well in Sweden…nah I’m kidding I don’t know. It’s call No Ordinary Juice Book.

What's the most annoying thing about Tash?

T: I know what you’re going to say.
F: It’s actually a good thing but every time she says it I’m like ‘oh God what’s it going to be?’ When she goes “I’ve had an idea!’ I’m like oh fuck. But then it’s actually always something great that involves a lot of work. Stressed when I hear it but happy when we do it.
T: I can’t complete a task

You can, you’ve done it with Mae & Havey and here at STEPNEY’S
T: I know I’m high functioning. I can’t open an email.
F: You’ve got better.

What’s the best thing about Flo?
T: She makes everything taste amazing!

Very concise. Do you see each other more than you see anyone else?

F: Yeah at the moment we see each other every day and we’re not sick of each other yet.  Was worried about what if it went bad but it’s actually nice.
T: On holiday, we don’t just sit there and talk about work. We’ve got a life outside of work that’s fun.

If you could tell me the secret, I’d appreciate it. What challenges did come up against whilst opening STEPNEY’S?
F: In the first month our freezer broke; we had a power cut; the coffee machine; the grinder broke like three times; constantly keeping on top of everything. You’re trying to cook and focus on your job but then there’s other things you have to be across.
T: Life sometimes gets in the way and then you realise this is important but not the most important thing in life. 

If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing?
F: I did film for however many years so that maybe. I actually like making things so I’d probably be model-making.
T: I wouldn’t know what I’d be doing
F: You’d be a pro-footballer.
T: I wouldn’t. If I wasn’t actually doing this I think I’d have liked to have been a chef and gone to cookery school. Go and work at the River Cafe. 

What were you doing at Art School?
T: Huge oil paintings, messing up my mum and dad’s house.

I’m guessing you have no time to paint now?
T: No. But the reason I like this is because it’s creative and you’re creating spaces and experiences for people. 

What’s the end goal?
F: I don’t think there is one

Every farm in London?
F & T: Noo!
F: One’s enough for me
T: Now we’re open, we want to do more in the evening.
F: We want to connect young people with the farm. We’ve got big plans. 
T: Cooking workshops, there’s so many things but at the moment it’s about the day to day.

So it’s about people?
T: Yeah it’s all about the people!

I think it’d be nice to be able to see a family life while having cafes as well. I think for lots of women, it’s not as easy to own places because it does take over. Florence and I are both mid thirties and we want those things but it does seem like a hard reality to have children and run cafes. But I think it is doable if you have the right people. I do think it’s important because most places are owned by men. You get to a certain age and it seems way easier for them.

Can you think of anyone doing it at the moment?

T: There are so many amazing women who’ve done it and have children like Gina’s in Chingford. She opened something with her husband and they’ve got a little boy so it is possible. 

*We then got into a fairly lengthy discussion about the need for better policy in hospitality.*

T: It was funny then it got a bit serious didn’t it
That’s life.