This month we have a photographer who cooks with his subjects, and an illustrated history of lost shopfronts. Plus chefs’ secret ingredients
I have a black and white photograph that has puzzled me for years. A delightfully cluttered Victorian shopfront, its window laid out with canisters of tea and tea sets, pots, cups and other connected curiosities. The shop bears a hand-painted sign: Slater’s Teas. There is no clue as to its location, and its smartly dressed owner stands proudly to one side. I doubt I will ever know the full story of this emporium and its wares, or whether the shopkeeper was a near or distant relative. Even if I could find it, the place is probably a Tesco now.
We have seen the loss of countless iconic shopfronts over the years, resulting in bland, identical high streets that do little to intrigue or entice. Landlords chasing profits have pushed out so many of the individual retailers that made our local shopping such a joy, only for them to be replaced by the homogenised livery of big business. Little wonder then that so much of our shopping is now done online. Illustrator Eleanor Crow has spent years capturing some of London’s best-loved shopfronts, from corner shops and worker’s cafes to Italian grocers and long-established restaurants. She has now assembled them in a new book and in this month’s OFM we are happy to run an illustrated extract.
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