CODE meets Charlie Foster, Turnips

The Borough Market fruit and vegetable retailer showed its ability to survive in the face of adversity after being greatly impacted by the London Bridge terror attack in 2017. Three years on, Turnips has shown its strength once more, pivoting to open an outdoor restaurant in 2020. We hear more from Charlie Foster.

First of all, how would you sum up Turnips in a few sentences? 

Turnips is one of a kind, you will not find another place like it. Taste is Everything to us, and whilst we love to champion world class local producers, we are also not afraid to travel for the best, we believe provenance is the first word in quality flavour. 

Passion, I think people can feel it when they walk onto the stand, we go above and beyond to showcase our product, the beautiful elaborate displays are simply a way to treat our produce with the love and care their stature deserves.  

This attitude and ethos is carried through every arm of the business, weather you come to eat with us, shop with us on the stand, or get a box delivered via our wholesale/home delivery arms we go the extra mile and we hope the customer feels that! 

It’s a family business through and through. How does that impact how you do business?  

It impacts every aspect of our working life, we work extremely well together and are always striving for the same end goal, it means everything to us as a family and that shows in every area of the business. 

It does make for some heated ‘discussions’ at the Sunday lunch table … Potatoes are fantastic however so that goes a long way to make up for it! 

You recently made the pivot from vegetable supplier to restaurant. How did that come about? 

We have always had dreams of a restaurant borne out of some elements of the supplier/restaurant link which we believed were missing / misunderstood as well as a deep-seated love for food! But really it’s lockdown that gave us the nudge to get on and make something happen we had to adapt to survive. The restaurant is a happy by-product of that necessity! 

What’s the biggest challenge been with such a big shift in focus? 

There are not enough hours in the day! We have had to learn a lot over a short space of time, obviously there have been challenges along the way not to mention some good old fashioned elbow grease! But really its been more exciting than anything else. 

The attitude of the whole team is nothing is impossible and nothing is too much work. With that attitude the challenges have come and gone as we roll onwards. 

And the best thing about starting this new venture?  

Working with other industry professionals, the passion and skill of Tom and his team has been truly inspiring. Its such a joy to have a team around us that can make our dreams a reality! Seeing that happen on a daily basis has been incredible! 

You mentioned chef Tomas Lidakevicius there. How do you make sure your visions align? 

We wrestle, winner gets creative direction. 

What kind of food can guests expect? 

The level of food Tom and his team are creating is insane. Our guests can expect a surprise when delivered his stunning food whilst surrounded by our produce and the vibrant market surroundings. The combination is thrilling! You can also expect the dishes to showcase and highlight the beauty of the humble vegetable! 

Your business was greatly impacted by the London Bridge terror attack in 2017. Has that made you more determined to succeed in the face of another difficult time? 

Incredibly so, I must admit we did think we had already faced our fair share of adversity but I think it helped us during this time.  

It meant this wasn’t the first major upheaval of the last few years, we were definitely terrified at the start of this lockdown, but we knew if we just kept trying ideas and working we would find a way.  

Has there been a growing sense of community as businesses in the market support each other? 

Absolutely, one positive of lockdown is the response of all the traders as well as the borough market team, we have had to pull together and adapt to survive. We have really felt support from the Borough and a camaraderie with our fellow traders return. 

What’s next for Turnips in 2021 and beyond?  

First, we will look to build on this incredible space and atmosphere we have growing at the Market, we want to make Turnips a real foodie Mecca. We have some very exciting ideas! 

After that… total world domination. 

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