The food industry is notoriously tough, with long hours and relentless commitment, especially in the early days. But at Borough Market, women have long thrived as entrepreneurs, carving out space in one of London’s most iconic food destinations.
Ahead of International Women’s Day on Saturday 8 March, I met some of the amazing women of the capital’s most famous food market to find out what it takes to set up a brilliant food business.
Worawan Komann is the founder of two Borough Market businesses: Khanom Krok, a Thai street food stall named after the traditional Thai coconut pancake dessert, and Raya, a Southeast Asian grocery store selling fresh and cupboard ingredients important in Southeast Asian cooking.
“My mother used to run a catering company and a few restaurants in Bangkok as a side income as she loves food,” says Komann. “I grew up helping her on weekends and holidays. I didn’t really think of pursuing a career in the food industry but I always love eating and cooking. I came to London to study and realised how much I missed the proper Thai food and it went from there.”
Her first day at the stall wasn’t easy. “It involves quite a bit of hard labour at the beginning when you can’t really afford that many pairs of hands,” she says. “Working outdoors in all-weather conditions all year round is not that easy to start with too. But it’s been so rewarding and I’m so proud of what I’ve achieved.”
Komann’s journey reflects the challenges many face when starting out. Sam Wallace, founder of From Field and Flower, knows this all too well. Coming from a corporate background at a top insurance firm in the city, she had to adjust to the realities of self-employment.
“It’s stressful in a different way,” she says. “Being self-employed and running a business, you’re very much on your own so you have to be very resilient, single-minded and passionate. You have to balance being cautious, because it’s all your own money you’ve invested, and throwing caution to the wind and just going for it. There’s a different type of pressure but you’re in complete control which is great.”
While business could still be considered male-dominated, Wallace thinks there’s something about food that transcends gender. “It’s all about the honey, the bees, the flavours, the seasons. There’s a commonality about food and passion for food that brings everyone together in my experience.”
Dawn Smith, the founder of Pimento Hill, which sells Jamaican jams, dressings and sauces, remembers facing challenges when she first launched her business in 2015.
“Setting up the business was a way of channelling my creativity and I always fancied myself as a bit of an entrepreneur but I remember it being hard at the start,” she says. “Firstly, I’m a woman. Secondly, I’m a black woman. Thirdly, I’m an older black woman. In the beginning when I would go to trade shows I remember everyone keeping things close to their chest. I’d ask where someone got some nice jars from and they wouldn’t tell me. There was a lot of that kind of competitive information withholding so I had to do a lot of research – Google was my best friend.”
She also came up against a lot of assumptions. “When I told people I had my own food business they immediately assumed I was cooking jerk chicken, rice and peas. They thought because I’m a woman I must be cooking and because I’m Caribbean it must be that. No one thought I was in food retail.”
A year after getting Pimento Hill into Borough Market, it took off, and now, 10 years later, Smith mentors other women in food who either already have a business or want to start one.
“I get a lot of older females asking for advice. I tell them we have lots of skills that are perfect for business. We have life experience, we tend to be more patient, more focused. We have a long-term vision. We don’t just look at what’s in front of us, we’re planners. I also think that women are natural networkers. We will sit down with a girlfriend and ask questions, pass on information, discuss things and we tend to do it with empathy and care, we don’t just push our way through.”
Komann agrees that women are perfectly positioned to have their own businesses and would encourage anyone considering it to take the plunge. “Women are amazing at multitasking and are emotionally tough,” she says. “We can do everything men can do if not better. The first step is the most difficult one. If you have a good idea, just do it. Don’t sit on it and regret it.”
“Working in food is just so rewarding,” says Sam. “Food is life, at least for me and I love that my job is making people happy with honey. I love it when someone thinks they don’t like honey and they try ours and love it or when a customer tells me they bought it as a present for someone else and they were delighted. It just makes me so happy.”
For Smith, her business allows her to not just interact with customers, which she loves, but also express her creativity. She’s forever coming up with news ideas and has a clever trick for remembering them. “I have a notebook and pen in every room of my house so anytime an idea pops into my head I write it down. Fifteen years in and I still do it. It’s something I always recommend to people.”
As well as all of the other rewarding parts of her job, Komann feels lucky to be in a community of amazing women. “I respect and look up to these amazing ladies who have been trading for years before me. They gave great advice when I needed it and they have inspired me. Borough Market is a very special place. We always look out for and support each other. When one of us needs help with anything, there is always someone to offer it and give advice. You are definitely not on your own at Borough Market.”
Coffee tart with honeycomb and rum cream
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To celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit of Borough Market’s female traders, here’s a recipe inspired by the market’s rich offerings, created by Beca Lyne-Pirkis.
Makes: 1 x 22cm tart
Prep time: 55 mins-1 hr (plus resting and cooling) | Cook time: 35 mins
Ingredients:
For the tart:
200g plain flour, plus a little more for dusting
25g caster sugar
1 egg yolk
175ml double cream
3 heaped tbsp good quality coffee grounds
225g white chocolate
For the honeycomb:
100g caster sugar
3 tbsp honey
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
For the rum cream:
250ml double cream
3 tbsp icing sugar
1-2 tbsp spiced rum
Method:
1. Place the flour and butter into a medium bowl and rub in the butter until it resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in a pinch of salt, the sugar and egg yolk, using a round bladed knife ideally. Add 4-6 tbsp cold water, one at a time, stirring until the dough comes together. Then, using your hands, form a ball and wrap the dough in clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for 20-30 mins.
2. Preheat the oven to 190C. Grease a 20-22cm round tart tin and place to one side. Remove the pastry from the fridge and lightly dust a work surface with some flour. Knead the dough for 30 secs to make it more pliable, then roll out the dough to the thickness of a one-pound piece.
3. Carefully lift the dough up using the rolling pin and place it into the tart tin. Gently ease the pastry into the corners of the tin and up the sides, making sure it fits snuggly. Leave about 1cm overhang of pastry, trimming away the excess. Line the tart tin with scrunched up greaseproof paper and weigh it down with baking beans or a mixture of rice and lentils. Blind bake the pastry case for 12 mins, then remove the greaseproof paper and beans and bake for a further 10-15 mins, until golden brown. Leave to cool a little in the tin, then trim the excess pastry to leave a neat, sharp edge. Leave to cool completely.
4. For the filling, place the cream and coffee grounds into a small saucepan and bring to boiling point then remove from the heat. Break up the chocolate and place it in a medium bowl. Pour the coffee cream through a sieve over the white chocolate and leave for 1 min to melt the chocolate. Stir until smooth and glossy, then carefully pour the filling into the pastry tart case. Leave to cool and set in the fridge for 1-2 hours before serving.
5. To make the honeycomb, place the caster sugar and honey in a medium saucepan and heat gently over a medium flame until the sugar starts to dissolve. Line a roasting tin with greaseproof paper and place on a heat proof tablemat or trivet. As the sugar and honey start to bubble, give the saucepan a gentle swirl.
6. When the mixture is bubbling, keep an eye on it as it turns from a pale amber to golden, at which point remove from the heat and quickly add in the bicarbonate of soda. Stir rapidly but carefully with a wooden spoon or spatula. As soon as the mixture starts to bubble up, carefully pour it into your prepared lined tin. Leave to cool completely. Once cool, break the honeycomb up into small pieces and use to decorate the tart.
7. For the rum cream, whisk the cream with an electric whisk until it starts to thicken. At this point, add the icing sugar and rum and continue to whisk until thick. Serve the cream with the honeycomb and coffee tart.
Borough Market is one of London’s oldest and most renowned food markets, operating as a charitable trust that supports its community of shoppers, traders, and neighbours. Located near London Bridge, the market has been a hub for traders and food lovers for over 1,000 years. Visit boroughmarket.org.uk for more information
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