Why its wise to watch what you eat for the sake of your mental health
Page 5
inside issue 132
Pitch - Payava - Sudoku
Wayne Hairdresser Salon
Samarkand - Crossword
Battle eld Bodies - Nutmeg
Bustout100 - Chris Ezekiel
Southbank Place - The Shop
Sophie Goddard - Hacks
Hunger Games - Zopa
Din Tai Fung
celebrating the best of Canary Wharf, Docklands and the new east London people - events - treasure - property - foolishness
Call our team on 020 7205 4021 or email cmiller@kiddrapinet.co.uk, ypatel@kiddrapinet.co.uk or mzvarykina@kiddrapinet.co.uk Call our team on 020 7205 4021 or email cmiller@kiddrapinet.co.uk, ypatel@kiddrapinet.co.uk or mzvarykina@kiddrapinet.co.uk
Image by Jon Massey
| Omar
Boisdale Of Canary Wharf Cabot Place
The smoothest of vocalists returns to Boisdale with hits such as There’s Nothing Like This, It’s So, Be Thankful and Say Nothing. Nu said. Mar 21, 9pm, from £35, boisdale.co.uk
Docklands West India Quay
TALKS | Women’s History Month
The museum is hosting a series of talks on women’s history in March aimed at uncovering hidden tales and prompting fresh perspectives. Tickets are free. in March, various times, free, londonmuseum.org.uk Where?
FILM | Hot Fuzz
Where? Everyman Crossrail Place
Join Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in this rural police caper with tons of guns. There are two screenings, enough for two di erent avours of Cornetto, then. Mar 23, 25, 6.30pm, £17.60, everymancinema.com
Scan this code to read our interview with co-founders Ilona Drob and Thaisa Uchoas at wharf-life.com
Welcome to issue 132 of Wharf Life. There’s a de nite theme of entrepreneurship in this paper, whether it’s the arrival of Pitch and Wayne Hairdresser Salon on the Wharf, the inspiring story of bakery Payava, a passion for stu at The Shop or a nurse who took a risk to start her own business in E14...
Forced from their country by Russian aggression, Ukrainian bakery Payava in Royal Docks is seeking corporate clients for its printed biscuits as its owners and sta rebuild their lives
Battle
Bodies
on the radar
With o ce rents in the city rising, is it any wonder companies are looking once more to the Wharf. Zopa Bank has announced it will be nding its 900 sta a new home at Water Street on Wood Wharf, joining the 65+ ntech rms on the estate zopa.com
Taiwanese restaurant Din Tai Fung has o cially opened its doors at Crossrail Place. Specialising in Xiao Long Bao dumplings with their delicate 18-fold construction, it takes the space recently vacated by Chai Ki. We can’t wait to try the food... dintaifung.com need to know
We check out the food at Samarkand at Wapping Docklands Market 26
How Joshua Harvey and Kane Dobrin have turned a railway arch into a wonderland for audio and visual creatives with the opening of The Shop in Deptford
There are some things you just can’t compromise on. Part of the attraction of Market Halls’ model is the bringing together of small, passionate street food businesses into a pleasant, slickly run environment.
The punters get shelter, warmth, a bar and a certain sense of freedom. It’s less formal than a restaurant, but more comfortable than huddling round a collection of vintage Citroen vans in a car park in the dead of winter. Increased costs have meant rising prices for such traders, but that’s ne given that for most small concerns the passion and quality
usually shine through. A few extra quid is worth it for something exquisite or exotic. Unfortunately not so with this dish. While the avours were pleasant enough for £13, it was served only a few degrees above tepid, preventing them from spreading their wings. Time is an unforgiving mistress for the Market Halls model. Wharfers don’t have it to pop back for re-heats. Billed as “hero of Thai curry” this was a duck rendered sadly powerless through the kryptonite of inadequate prep.
★★✩✩✩ Jon Massey
doing the deals
get more for less on and around the Wharf
Soon-to-open Wayne Hairdresser Salon is o ering 20% o for all new customers. Bookings open Mar 6 and the salon launches on Mar 15. More on P6 waynehairdresser.com
Bustout100 aims to raise awareness and funds to help ght breast cancer 27 subscribe to our Wharf Whispers newsletter and get our content in your inbox fortnightly
50%
Recent opening Yumzy at South Colonnade is o ering 50% o your rst co ee on Mondays provided you show sta your dance moves. Access via Canary Wharf app yummzy.co.uk
subscribe to our FREE Wharf Whispers newsletter and get our content in your inbox fortnightly
write me words you don’t know you need a-lie
noun, fake, from American English
A country or individual that enters into an alliance with another nation or individual and then unexpectedly pulls all support for them in order to manipulate them to a particular end. What can we re-lie on anymore?
selcouth
adjective, real, from Middle English
While uncouth has stood the test of time, this archaic word for something strange, unusual, rare or even marvellous has been gathering dust at the back of the dictionary for a while. Maybe time to give it an airing...
Immigration Solicitors
FOR THE KIDS
After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot called Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island. To survive the harsh environment, our hero bonds with the island’s animals and cares for an orphaned baby goose – part of Everyman’s Toddler Club series. See the lm on March 28 at 9.30am. Tickets cost £16.90 for an adult and a toddler. Children’s tickets cost £12.90
ON SALE SOON
The Hunger Games On Stage Troubadour Canary Wharf Theatre thehungergamesonstage.com
It might only be a set of foundations with some steel girders bolted to it, but the Troubadour Canary Wharf Theatre has already announced the opening of its rst production. The Hunger Games On Stage – a theatrical adaptation of the popular novels by Suzanne Collins and its accompanying lms – is expected to open for preview on October 20.
Audiences at the 1,200-seat venue on Charter Street will watch the production where teenagers ght to the death – “a transportive, electrifying experience that fully captures the scale, intensity and spectacle of Suzanne Collins’ world,” according to Troubadour – in the round.
The company is well known for its reboot of Starlight Express in Wembley Park. At capacity, the show could attract 400,000 people a year to the Wharf.
Tickets are set to go on sale on March 27. Prices have yet to be announced.
RUMOUR MILL
Mr Foggs Wood Wharf mr-foggs.com
Details are very scant on this one, but Wharf Life understands the celebrated, storied bar brand Mr Foggs will be opening a venue on Wood Wharf.
We believe the company will transform Fish Game, now closed, into a new hospitality venue, although we don’t have any information of its form. Stay tuned, or perhaps visit one of its other branches in anticipation...
Image supplied by publicist
Mr Fogg’s Tavern in St Martin’s Lane, Covent Garden
The Wild Robot Everyman, Crossrail Place everymancinema.com
take a breath by
David Lefebvre Sell
We all have the experience sometimes that our mind is not our friend. Familiar lies may seem like truths, but our thoughts and emotions can be in uenced by all sorts of things.
For example, a lack of diversity in the gut biome has been linked to depression. This is a correlation, not necessarily causation, but it’s a sobering idea that your mood might be a ected by the organisms within you.
A lack of sleep, illness, setbacks at work, or any number of stressors can be enough to make us begin to experience an increase in negative thoughts. Sometimes those ideas are ones that you believed you had dealt with a long time ago.
This can have a snowball e ect, worsening our experience of depression or anxiety, all without anything particularly bad happening– just a lot of little things coming at the wrong time.
So what can we do to combat this? The rst thing is to be very aware of what your particular negative thinking looks like. For some people their self attack is all poured into their body and internal physical criticism.
Other people catastrophise, imagining all sorts of terrible scenarios, however unlikely. Still others might fall back on the belief that nobody likes them,
The
gut biome
has
been
liked to depression. It’s a sobering idea that mood might be a ected by organisms within you
David Lefebre Sell
despite ample evidence to the contrary. I could go on and on. But if you aren’t sure what avour of negative thoughts you might have a therapist will help.
The next task is to catch ourselves indulging in them. Like when I promise myself that I won’t have any Greggs this week, but I still nd myself in there at 6am. Honestly, how do they make something so disgusting that addictive?
Anyway, when you catch yourself having those negative thoughts, try to take a mental step back and look at them critically. This thought might feel true, but is it really? You could even write that negative belief down and then make a list of the contrary evidence.
Beat your mind into submission with some positive thinking.
David Lefebvre Sell is a Greenwich-based psychotherapist and Yoga instructor who teaches at Third Space in Canary Wharf
Follow @davetheyogi on X and Instagram and @DavidLefebvreSellYogaAndPsychotherapy on FB
Scan this code for information about David’s work as a transpersonal counsellor and psychotherapist
We are what we eat, physically and, apparently, mentally – so maybe skip the Greggs and opt for something a bit healthier...
Discount Wayne Hairdresser Salon will be o ering to all rst-time customers when it opens from March 15 – bookings go live from March 6 20%
The glossy bricks of 8
Square will soon be home to a group of independent businesses including Wayne Hairdresser Salon
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It was quite random that I came to London – I just stuck a pin in a map, although I did have friends here too,” said Wayne Zukauskas. Originally from Lithuania, the east London resident had spent 11 years playing professional basketball before a back injury prompted a change in career.
“The doctors said I had to stop – I could have continued my journey as a basketball coach but I wasn’t really interested if I wasn’t playing,” said Wayne.
“So I took a break for a year and three things came into my mind. Either to be a chef, a hairdresser or a DJ – I decided to try training as a stylist. Everyone, my friends
and family, were shocked. I liked to do my own hair, but there wasn’t any particular reason for choosing that path – I just felt I wanted to do it.
“I studied for around 12 months, which was intense – you pay more money on a course that length, but it’s way quicker than going to college.
“Then I worked a little bit before moving London – it was the right place because I wanted to learn the language – then everything started to happen career-wise.
“Within a month or two, I was working – first in Notting Hill for a small independent salon and then for a bigger brand in London Bridge. I learnt a lot. My English got a lot better and I spent around five years there.”
ready to
how Wayne Hairdresser Salon is set to provide boutique luxury to clients in Wood Wharf
I was getting very interested in the business side of things – reading books and talking to people to nd out how it all worked
Wayne Zukauskas, Wayne Hairdresser Salon
>> an o er on opening Bookings at Wayne Hairdresser Salon go live on March 6 ahead of opening on March 15.
All rst-time customers will get 20% o with the rst 50 customers receiving goody bags sponsored by Goldwell
But Wayne began to think about the future and, bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, he started to do some research.
“I was getting very interested in the business side of things – reading books and talking to people to find out how it all worked,” he said. “Then, once I started getting interested in that, I began looking for opportunities.
“There was the chance to manage three salons in Zurich, but, at the last minute, I decided not to go to Switzerland.
“Instead I teamed up with a business partner here and we ran salons in Royal Wharf and Limehouse for nine years.
“When my daughter was born, I decided it was time for a break because I wanted to be there for continued on Page 8
Harbord
Image by Jon Massey
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says regulation of online news sources is long overdue
I’m writing this column in Qatar at the end of the Web Summit conference where, reportedly, more than 25,000 people gathered to discuss all things internet and arti cial intelligence. As you can imagine, much of the discussion was about the technology.
However, the main thing I am taking away is the amazing opportunity to connect with people – there were individuals there from all over the planet.
When geopolitics is thrust upon us every second – especially in these volatile times– it is really refreshing to be in an innovation bubble for a few days, with everyone focused on a common goal –how we should be using technology to enrich all our lives.
There was so much energy and innovation from so many countries, all inspired by this shared purpose. There was quite a lot of debate about how media channels are adapting to an AI-driven world and, in particular, how news is consumed and more importantly how we can trust what we’re reading.
There’s no better example of the issues facing news media than the recent Apple Intelligence feature that was incorrectly summarising news alerts from the likes of the BBC. The company was forced to withdraw this facility after it made serious errors.
What this illustrates is that, even after selecting our own trusted source of news, the so-called intelligence on our devices may interpret the content and present us with something completely ctional.
Having two young children, with the proliferation of social media news feeds which are completely unregulated, I’m concerned how their generation will select and consume information. Being instinctively against red tape and bureaucracy, I do believe regulation in this area is well overdue. If it is not addressed, we’re at the mercy of the views or beliefs of a handful of CEOs running the world’s largest tech companies. For many, they will choose what truth is.
Any regulation, however, must not sti e free-speech and innovation. What gives me hope for the future of humanity is that even when there is so much turmoil in the world, we can still come together at conferences like the Web Summit and work on common goals and initiatives that transcend where in the world we were born.
Ezekiel is founder and CEO of customer engagement solutions specialist Creative Virtual based at Canary Wharf’s Cabot Square
Scan this code for more information about Creative Virtual or follow @creativevirtual and @chrisezekiel on X
her and running a business can be stressful. As a family, we had a really nice year and a half, travelled a lot with the baby –even though she won’t remember all the places she’s been.
“But I’m someone who needs challenges so we came back to London. I began talking to Canary Wharf Group about 8 Harbord Square.
“I knew it was coming – I’ve always lived in east London – in Westferry, Limehouse, next to City Airport and now close to Excel – so I’m always around Canary Wharf.”
This brings us to the start of a new chapter for Wayne, as owner of one of the independent businesses that’s set to launch in Wood Wharf in the coming weeks and months. Wayne Hairdresser Salon will open on March 6, offering a full complement of services for men and women as well as haircuts for children.
“My idea was to create a boutique salon for this lovely area,” said Wayne. “It will blend in with the New York style of 8 Harbord Square, with a modern look. We will have a dark brown, red and white colour scheme complete with a coffee bar inspired by a traditional British telephone box.
“In the future we’ll look at putting in a kids play area to keep them entertained while parents get their hair styled. We’ll be offering cuts for young ones too, which not every salon likes to do, but we love it.
“We’re expecting regular haircuts to be popular, as well as colour treatments such as highlights, balayage and ombre.
“I already have a client base in the area and we think we’ll mostly be serving the residential population, although workers in Canary Wharf and visitors to the area will be very welcome too.
“This will be a place that offers a luxury atmosphere and an experience to match – somewhere people will really enjoy coming.”
In fact, the salon will offer a comprehensive range of treatments and services drawing on Wayne’s 15 years in the business. Brands the salon will be working with include Oribe, Goldwell and K18.
Wayne said: “I’ve recruited a really experienced team to deliver these services with a boutique feel.
“It’s all about quality rather than quantity. If a customer comes through the door, it has to be a good service and then, if they live locally, they will keep coming from Page 6
virtual viewpoint by Chris Ezekiel
Chris
Chris
A selection of styles by Wayne as featured on Instagram’s @waynehairdresser
Wayne has made his home in east London and is set to open a salon at 8 Harbord Square
It’s all about quality rather than quantity. If a customer comes through the door, then it has to be a good service
Wayne Zukauskas, WHS
back. I’ve learnt a lot from my years running a business.
“With this opening, I want to take things easy, start slowly and see what happens. I hope the business will grow steadily and the team will expand. Then, perhaps, I’ll open more salons but
“What I’ve learned from running businesses is that it’s challenging and it can be an unhealthy balance.
“Before, one of my salons was very large whereas this will be more boutique – somewhere that people will feel relaxed coming to and enjoying at a slower pace.
“The plan when I first came to London was only to stay for a few years – but I’m still here because the journey is going the way I wanted it to.
“I always had the idea to move somewhere hot with a beach, but you can always go on holidays.
“In the end, wherever I go with my wife, we always end up missing London. It’s where my daughter was born and she will grow up here.
“Opening a business in Canary Wharf feels great. The look of the buildings and the people that live around here are the right fit for what I’m trying to do.”
8 Harbord Square is set to welcome several independent businesses in the near future including florist and gift shop
The Flower Club and nail salon
Awe London. Drawn from east London, Canary Wharf Group is supporting them as they launch on the ground floor of the residential tower.
key details
Wayne Hairdresser Salon is set to open its doors on March 15 at 8 Harbord Square.
A full list of treatments and prices is available on the business’ website. Wayne also offers business consulting services to help other entrepreneurs. Go to waynehairdresser.com for more information
this code
Scan
to nd out more about Wayne Hairdresser Salon
Image by Jon Massey
how Pitch mixes serious simulation with competitive socialising
at its new venue in Canary Wharf’s Churchill Place
by Jon Massey
Pitch’s Canary Wharf opening is a serious statement of intent.
Spread over two floors at the base of 30 Churchill Place, with views over the dock to Hawksmoor, it extends to some 14,500sq ft.
But it’s what founders Elliot Godfrey and Chris Ingham have put in the space that sets it apart as something entirely different for the estate.
Firstly there’s the golf – Pitch’s primary function. The venue boasts 11 simulator bays, the first physical Trendygolf shop for apparel and accessories and a PGA Academy. This is a place where people who are serious about clubs and handicaps can play detailed renderings of the most famous courses in the world.
But it’s more than that. The bays also offer arcade-style games and challenges where players compete to get closest to the pin. Its bars and restaurant offer spaces to socialise and relax for those new to golf or who prefer to do their talking on the shuffleboard table. Then there’s the record collection...
It’s an evolution of a business Elliot and Chris first started as a concession in a gym in the City.
“We’ve known each other since we were playing as teenagers – we’re both from Luton,” said Elliot. “We’ve always been good friends and played golf competitively as professionals.
“We went our separate ways – Chris to Austria and I fell out of love with the game for a bit, perhaps because I’d played too much when I was young. At that time I was more into DJ-ing and so on.”
Both missed playing in the UK, however and, with Chris back, an idea for a possible business emerged.
“We were living in east London and the only golf club you could get to was Wanstead. When I came back from abroad, the new indoor tech was just coming out, but there were so few facilities for people to use.
“We thought we’d try setting something up now that the digital systems had made it possible. We thought we wanted to make the game more sociable with people playing in groups.
“We had our original site at Citypoint in Moorgate and we
Indoor golf is exploding because of the convenience factor. At Pitch you can play 350 courses and nish a round in an hour
Chris Ingham,
Pitch
did that for about two and a half years. It was one of those bad-luck, good-luck situations. It was a concession within a gym, but it was taken over and we were homeless.
“We were having a good time there, and probably would have stayed as we had a good fanbase, but it was time to get out and take the next step – to go from a small centre to something bigger.
“We took over a place in Bishopsgate, which was the first iteration of the full concept. Then the pandemic hit and stopped everything.
“But we’d been successful and got through Covid with the support of our members, opening a branch in Soho in 2022, then Dublin four months ago and now Canary Wharf.”
Manchester, Birmingham and Brighton are all expected to open too, with an international franchising model for branches in Australia, Germany and America.
“Indoor golf is exploding, because of the convenience factor and the technology is so much better, with the AI tools that are about to come,” said Chris.
“We’re in the right industry and there’s a lot of demand for it, especially as indoor golf isn’t that common here.
“We use a technology called Trackman, which is the best in the world. On the system you can play 350 courses and one of the beauties of it is you can finish a round in an hour.
“There are also different games you can play, such as training games, social games, where you can have some beers and bring your friends for a round.”
With its expansive hospitality offering, the latter is a key offering for Pitch, which is hoping to tempt companies in for corporate events and groups in for parties alongside the more serious golfers.
“The technology makes golf
Pitch is located at 30 Churchill Place in the same building as WeWork
a driving
ambition
Golf simulator bays at Pitch in Canary Wharf for guests to use
more accessible, and that’s one of the chief things for us,” said Elliot.
“It can be quite a hard sport to get into but here you don’t need to bring clubs and you can wear whatever you want.
“I think that’s one of the reasons we’ve been popular – anyone can just come down and play. One of the best things about this place is that you can walk in and see a group playing for fun with serious golfers in the next bay.
“Other people will just be listening to music and having some food or cocktails – it’s that mix we want in our venues.
“We do have bays with orange curtains for the more serious players, but there’s congregation in the middle – a social area where everyone comes together.
“The important thing for us is that Pitch doesn’t just offer golf. We’ve brought in Des McDonald of Insight hospitality to help create our menu which features Asian flavours – there are plenty of things to do if you don’t want to play golf.”
While anyone can book a bay at Pitch, the company also offers a range of membership options aimed at taking the best elements of traditional golf club member-
ship and updating them in line with the venue’s cutting-edge tech. Packages start from £35 for a Pitch.social membership with full details available online.
“The breadth of our offering here in Canary Wharf is ideal because everyone is a potential customer whether they’re into golf or not,” said Chris.
“We are super proud of what we’ve created here and it’s great to see it working.
“It’s taken a lot to get on the estate, there’s been a lot of planning but there are a lot of golfers in this area and for those who don’t play, we have a great bar and restaurant.
“It’s good to create a bit of dwell-time in the venue and it will be fantastic for corporate events.”
Elliot added: “Sometimes we forget to stop and assess how far we’ve come and remember that we’re actually very proud of what we’ve achieved.
“From those early days in the City a decade ago, it’s taken a long time for us to reach our final vision of what we want Pitch to be and our Canary Wharf venue is a really good representation of that.
“There isn’t an abundance of golf facilities in this part of London, but the area is changing and evolving with lots of major hospitality brands opening here now. It’s a blend of office workers, visitors and residents now and the estate has become much more of a destination.”
Pitch itself is one of a new breed of venues that have opened in Canary Wharf in recent years, joining the likes of Hawksmoor, Marceline, Dishoom and Mallow as visitors increasingly head to the eastern end of the estate.
With a new theatre coming, a host of openings down toward Harbord Square and established offerings such as The Cube, MMy Wood Wharf and Emilia’s Crafted Pasta, there’s no shortage of attractions.
key details
Pitch Wharf is located at 30 Churchill Place with entry via the dockside concourse. It’s open daily although hours vary so check with the venue when planning a visit. Group bookings of bays start at £56 per hour. Walk-ins are welcome in the bar and restaurant.
Go to pitchgolf.london
Scan this code to nd out more about Pitch
Left, Pitch boasts an expansive hospitality o ering ideal for corporate events
From left, Elliot Godfrey and Chris Ingham, founders of Pitch outside the Wharf venue
Image by Pitch
Image by Jon Massey
Image by Pitch
Image by Jon Massey
Trendygolf at Pitch
Investors have until April 5 to max out their ISAs to take advantage of the allowance in this nancial year – a recent survey found women were more likely than men to have done this already
deadline hitting the
how J.P. Morgan-owned Nutmeg is highlighting the benefits of tax-free investments
by Jon Massey
Are you missing out on tax-free savings and investments? A recent survey of UK investors found more than a third hadn’t started using their ISA for this financial year. The poll, conducted by Opinium in January, showed only one in five had invested the full £20,000 allowance.
It showed women (24%) were more likely than men (18%) to have invested the full amount.
Under the current rules, each year UK savers can invest this amount or less in an ISA product and pay no tax on the interest, growth or returns. The allowance resets each year on April 6, rather than rolling over.
Nutmeg – a digital wealth manager and ISA provider owned
tips
Nutmeg’s Claire Exley on ISAs
>> Review Your Contributions
“Also check how much ISA allowance you have remaining,” said Claire. “You don’t have to maximise the allowance for it to make a di erence: the more you have invested, the more you can bene t from compounding on any potential growth and not having to pay tax on any returns. If you can a ord it, you should aim to consistently save or invest towards your goals – a little top up now could make a sizeable di erence over time.”
>> Cash And Investments?
“Consider whether you want to drip-feed future contributions,” said Claire. “If you have money to invest but aren’t ready to put it into the markets all at once, the Nutmeg 100% cash pot feature allows you to use your 2024/25 ISA allowance by making your contribution and then ‘drip-feeding’ money into an investment pot over time.”
Claire Exley, head of nancial advice and guidance at Nutmeg
by J.P. Morgan – said changes to personal taxation in the Autumn Budget were driving investors behaviour. The survey found 31% were planning to invest more in an ISA this year to mitigate changes around capital gains tax and 29% intended to do the same due to proposed new rules around inheritance tax on pensions.
“We have seen a clear shift in investor behaviour since the autumn with more people moving their savings and assets into ISAs to minimise the amount of tax they may need to pay,” said Nutmeg head of financial advice and guidance, Claire Exley.
“No-one wants to pay more tax than they need to and having the right ISA strategy can help to reduce your overall tax liability.
“The beauty of ISAs is that they can be a simple and efficient way to build a portfolio and invest towards medium and longterm goals while minimising your tax. Even if you don’t have new money to put into an ISA, this can be a good time to look at any ISAs you may already have and make sure they’re working hard for you.
“Whether it’s transferring to a
Whether it’s transferring to a new provider or reviewing your balance of cash and investments, a little nancial admin could serve you well
Claire Exley, Nutmeg
new provider or reviewing your balance of cash and investments, a little financial admin could serve you well in the long run.”
key details
Nutmeg is owned by J.P. Morgan, which has its European headquarters in Canary Wharf. The digital wealth manager offers stocks and shares ISAs, pensions and general investment accounts. Your capital is at risk when investing in stocks and shares ISAs. Tax rules are dependent on individual circumstances and may be subject to change in the future. Go to nutmeg.com
Scan this code to nd
getting greener by Sophie
Goddard
March 3 marked World Wildlife Day – an opportunity to celebrate global wildlife and re ect on its importance for our planet. Supporting animal and plant populations is essential for a sustainable future and we need to consider urban wildlife as part of this picture.
Making space for nature in our cities is a crucial part of ensuring a safe and resilient future for people and the planet.
Last year, we unveiled Eden Dock, a new waterfront development, creating fresh habitat in the heart of Canary Wharf.
In collaboration with the Eden Project, we have delivered a place where people, plants and animals can thrive, transforming a formerly underused dock into a series of interconnected pontoons and aquatic islands teeming with life above and below the water.
Strolling along the docks, you may spot or hear herring gulls, house sparrows and king shers.
The green spaces are a haven for these feathered friends, and they are a welcome addition to the urban buzz.
Not only are the birds thriving, but the aquatic plants – ranging from silver birch to water forget-me-not – play a pivotal role in maintaining the ecosystem.
Eden Dock’s transformation has been a boon for pollinators too. Thanks to strategic enhancements such as bug hotels and scented gardens, bees, butter ies, and other crucial pollinators have found a
At any given time, between ve and 15 plant species are owering at Eden Dock, providing a consistent food source for pollinators
Sophie Goddard, Canary Wharf Group
vibrant home amidst the blooming ora. At any given time, between ve and 15 plant species are owering, providing a consistent food source for these essential creatures.
For me, World Wildlife Day was also an opportunity to look to the future and re ect on how we can continue to nurture and preserve wildlife, especially within bustling cities.
This will continue to be a key priority for Canary Wharf, because we know that prioritising wildlife also means tackling the climate and pollution crises.
I invite you to join us by exploring Eden Dock, or even just taking a moment to step into the outside world and notice all of the plants and animals there.
You may well be surprised at what you nd around you.
Sophie Goddard is director of environment, social and governance at Canary Wharf Group – emails to sustainability@canarywharf.com
Go to canarywharf.com for more information
Scan this code to nd our more about Eden Dock in Canary Wharf
Image by Canary Wharf Group
Eden Dock has transformed a formerly underused waterway at the heart of Canary Wharf
what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see
KIDS | Grassroots Violin Lessons
Months since Kelsey Bailey took KB Aesthetics London
KB Aesthetics London founder and clinical director Kelsey Bailey
Poplar Union Poplar
Aimed at complete beginners, resident in Tower Hamlets aged 5-6 or 7-11 (the later session) these classes o er an intro to the instrument. Apr 1, 4pm, 5pm, £4, poplarunion.com
Where?
The Space Isle Of Dogs
Inspired by Louise by the Human League, this play sees two former lovers reunited, as they wait for a delayed train. What will the future hold? Apr 1-12, 7.30pm, £16, space.org.uk Where?
STAGE | Incomplete
GIG | Unplugged: Ashnaa
Where? Theatreship South Quay
The Tamil-British artist promises a fusion of r’n’b, neo-soul and jazz, performing two sets of original songs with a full band at the oating venue. Mar 21, 7.30pm, £15, theatreship.co.uk
Cafe Aizah recently opened its doors on the Isle Of Dogs, serving up a wealth of pan Asian dishes with an emphasis on Thai cuisine. Find it at Skylines Village just o Marsh Wall, complete with sheltered dining room... cafeaizah.com
Scan this code to nd out more about the cafe, which is open daily from 8am-9pm for dine-in and takeaway
by
Image
Jon Massey
how
KB
Aesthetics London delivers a client-focused, holistic approach at its South Quay base
by Jon Massey
Care and honesty sit at the heart of Kelsey Bailey’s business –something that should come as little surprise given her career. Born and raised in Poplar, she spent nearly a decade and a half as an NHS nurse much of it on the Royal London Hospital’s Acute Assessment Unit ward in Whitechapel.
“AAU is chaotic,” she said. “It’s where patients go while we figure out what we’re going to do with them – where they will be sent for further treatment. It’s a stressful environment and staff often don’t last long there, but I loved it. I was there for nine years.
“I had two kids during that time and it got to the point where I needed to start thinking about what I was going to do because of the long hours and the shift patterns.
“I moved into practice nursing in 2019 at Aberfeldy Village and went from being on my feet all day to sitting in an office. That felt more like organised chaos, but I had this feeling the whole time that I wanted to do something.”
KB Aesthetics London started as a side hustle in 2022, with Kelsey offering medical grade beauty treatments in rooms rented through other salons.
“It was all word-of-mouth, but I could feel the momentum,” she said. “My husband, Ricky, could see I had some energy built up inside me that I needed to get out – I really wanted to try something.
“I knew it would be a risk and it took about six months to make the decision to leave nursing. What if it didn’t work? I wouldn’t have that security blanket any more. I felt conflicted, but I needed to take the risk – if I didn’t try, I’d never know.”
Kelsey took the plunge and built her dream – a facility with multiple treatment rooms on South Quay, just over the dock from Canary Wharf. With help from Ricky, it’s a space she’s filled with soft brushed gold, warm whites and neutral tones, drawing on her passion for design and, of course, aesthetics.
“I wanted a calm environment – coming to a clinic like this can be nerve-racking and I just wanted everything to be chilled,” said Kelsey, who lives on the Isle Of Dogs.
“I’m very relaxed in my approach and I wanted everyone to be comfortable so they are happy telling me the truth about themselves rather than telling me what they think I want to hear.
“I’ve always liked looking after people. For every single person who comes through the door, we do a free consultation, which includes a skin scan.
“It may be that their skin is actually really good and they just need some retinal rather than Botox. We always talk about a journey.
“It’s important not to pay too much attention to one thing. For example, a
KB Aesthetics London’s clinic is located in Admirals Way on South Quay
woman in her 30s might see a line and focus entirely on that. But if she treats her skin as a whole with a really solid regime, the individual line might well not bother her any more. It’s about setting the bar lower in terms of what and how much you want to do.
“The trick with having aesthetic treatments is a light touch, which is a skill in itself. If someone has had Botox, they shouldn’t look as though they have. People should just be saying that they look well.
“I want people to understand that it’s not scary when you age. You might look in the mirror and see things that start to bother you, but it’s all right. It’s not about just getting loads of fillers.
“You can’t stop ageing, but there are things we can to do to make you feel better about yourself and those don’t have to cost a fortune and they don’t need to be invasive.
“Sometimes, if someone has a good skincare regime, all they need is the reassurance to carry on doing what they’re doing and some advice. Wherever possible, the natural side is the way to go.
“Our approach is holistic. I’ve known a lot of my clients for a long time. We’re really trying to do something different in the industry.”
Joining Kelsey on that mission are Louise Mitchell, R-Marni Aguilar and Trudi Gibson who bring a wealth of experience to the clinic. Having grown the business largely through word-of-mouth, the plan is now to make a bigger splash and build on that solid foundation.
“It’s really down to my clients that I’ve come this far,” said Kelsey. “They’re the ones who helped give me the confidence to take that risk.
“Since we’ve put up our signs, people now know we’re here and it feels great. I’ve trained the other three on the team and we’ve really grown together. Before this I’d never owned a business – I’m a nurse – and starting a company on your own as a woman can be difficult.
“I wanted to do it with people who get me and that’s made it enjoyable for all of us. That connection means we all put more in for each other.
“As a business, we’re a bit more relaxed and that’s good for the team and clients.
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First of all, my advice is to not spend money on things that aren’t bothering you. It should never be about what I think a person needs
Kelsey Bailey, KB Aesthetics London
People often say it’s like a spa when they come here, which it is, but it’s built on a strong medical foundation.
“The aesthetics industry is not regulated at the moment and I always make sure people know about our medical training and the standards we set. Our approach is about keeping people safe – we always start with the client.
“First of all, my advice is to not spend money on things that aren’t bothering you. It would be wrong for me to find stuff you should be bothered about – it should never be about what I think a person needs. Often, following a good skincare routine will yield the best results.
“There may then come a day when you need something sorted out and then we can look at treatments and options. Then it’s about your needs.
“It’s important to keep up with what’s happening in the industry. We’re not a clinic that’s machine-led – in this business it’s definitely possible to get too much stuff. I currently have one skincare machine – the Sofwave – which I’ve been working with for a couple of years and is non-invasive.
“I regularly attend conferences to see what’s out there and listen to the evidence and the claims. But for me it’s equally important to talk to people in the industry to find out what they actually do in practice. My clients are real people with busy lives. They don’t want there to be down time after they come for an appointment.”
Kelsey said running her own business full-time had been an opportunity for personal growth, alongside professional expansion.
“It’s been life-changing,” she said. “I never thought I’d have my own business and it’s an emotional roller-coaster. You have to have stamina, but I love it.
“I remember going to Canary Wharf as a kid – it’s so different now – but I really feel a part of it now and I almost can’t believe that.
“With all my family here and having grown up in the area, I feel like I’m getting the best of both worlds.”
key details
KB Aesthetics is located at Parker House in Admirals Way on South Quay at the top of the Isle Of Dogs. The clinic’s full range of services is available online. For more information, visit the company’s website or email info@kbaestheticslondon.com
Go to kbaestheticslondon.com
Interior images by KB Aesthetics London
how The Shop offers a wealth of products designed to inspire and facilitate creativity in its customers
by Jon Massey
It’s a cold winter’s day when I visit The Shop in Deptford and Joshua Harvey is in need of the coffee he’s sipping from a mug that celebrates tinned seafood giant ohn est’s laska almon. It’s been an early morning out scouring a car boot sale for stock and he’s still warming up.
Step into the space he operates jointly with fellow owner Kane obrin and it’s easy to see why such worm-catching activities are necessary. heir railway arch in esolution ay is piled high with stuff – a carefully selected horde of audio visual tech, music, instruments and curiosities – displayed to encourage a rummage.
he thing that’s really filling the space, however is unmistakeable. It’s e citement – the thrill of finding those bargains and then passing them on.
It’s when you’ve gone to a boot sale, it’s early in the morning and you’re getting out of your car – you’re hopeful, said Kane. ou never know what might show up. It works as a business – we buy stuff for less than it’s worth, going to markets every week.
“You have to pick your area, learn everything about the products in it and be able to spot them uickly. hen the trader tells you the price you have to be able to say yes or no uickly, taking no time to think.
oshua added ome of the most e citing times of my life have been finding things at boot sales or markets that are rare or valuable and really shouldn’t be there.
person to see it and that can mean going round with a torch while it’s still dark.
ou also need to be prepared. ever walk through a market without a tenner in your pocket to put down as a deposit, just in case.
he hop is in some respects a permanent manifestation of a business the pair have been engaged in for years.
his sort of thing was in my family a bit, said oshua.
“They’re car people and so, growing up in the idlands, I was surrounded by loads and loads of stuff. ou just get into it.
I met Kane while he was at university and a lot of what we do is based on our common interests.
rading initially at the markets and boot sales of righton before moving on to ri ton and ortobello oad, their business grew from sheds and living rooms to storage units with he hop a natural progression.
lot of our stuff would suffer on the market – especially the instruments and hi-fi e uipment, said Kane. e always thought that if we could put it in the right context and space, then people
“But you have to watch your margins and learn everything so you can make those decisions uickly. ou need to know that if it’s a ini camera it’s probably broken, that if it’s a tape deck the belt has probably gone.
his morning I got a rare ony alkman ro – it was standard issue for reporters.
It’s funny how much good stuff does come on the circuit but you need to be there at the crack of dawn. ou have to be the first
Days each week The Shop in Deptford is open for customers to buy and sell goods
here’s a shortage of places where you can go and try things – you can go to a boot sale but often
here’s a shortage of places where you go to
Joshua and Kane stock records, hi- , cameras, synths, guitars, e ects, speakers, lm and a great deal more
The Shop is located in Resolution Way
taking
We like functional stu that’s high quality and made with the user in mind. The fewer jobs objects do, the better they’re going to be
Joshua Harvey, The Shop
you won’t know if something works or not or how it feels.”
oshua added his is the first time people have been able to come and see stuff when we’re not on a market stall. It’s a bit like having a warehouse except that people come in and stop you doing things.
“It’s awesome really – it’s so cool when someone comes in, finds something and then buys it. Most of the things on the shop floor, unless they’re e tra special, have probably been with us for less than three months.
“We like to price things on the cheaper side to get them moving and into the right hands. If it’s something we’ve had forever, then it’s probably because we want to hang on to it. It’ll be rare, interesting or mean something to us.”
The Shop buys as well as sells and offers swaps and part-e -
Dig deep - The Shop is a treasure trove of creative technologies
change. hile the definition of its stock is somewhat open-ended, customers will broadly find creative technologies related to capturing or generating audio, images and video.
e like functional stuff that’s high quality and made with the user in mind,” said Joshua. “There’s a rule of thumb with objects, that, the fewer jobs they do, the better they’re going to be at them – computers, for example, do everything but they’re pretty terrible at it.
“We chose to be in Deptford partly because there are lots of creative people here and we wanted to be close to them. We don’t list items online and you probably have a 50-50 chance of a response if you message us –really people have to come and see what we’ve got.”
There’s a sustainability element to the business too. By keeping such products in circulation, The Shop is reducing demand for new ones to be manufactured when older tech could do the job just as well, if not better, than modern equivalents.
e used to just sell film cameras,” said Kane. “They were in fashion but now customers are looking at older digital models again too.
“Social media has really helped with that because now so many people are posting images and everyone is looking for their own way to do that. With music technology, people have always wanted the old stuff.
Joshua added: “It really led the way – as soon as much of it was invented, people wanted that specific sound and the tools to make it. uality stuff holds its value – there’s always a bunch of weirdos who come out of the woodwork for it.”
key details
The Shop is open from 10am-6pm Tuesday-Sunday in Resolution Way, Deptford. The owners can be contacted via email to infor@the-shop.xyz or by calling 07919 874 626. Follow @theshop.se8 on Instagram for more details
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- Deptford - Bermondsey
on things to do, places to go, people to see
Where?
The Brunel Museum Rotherhithe
| St Martin-In-The-Fields - Miserere Mei
Martin’s Voices Emerging Artists and cellist Adrian Bradbury band together for a concert of choral and string music in the Tunnel Shaft. April 3, 7pm, from £15, thebrunelmuseum.com
Curated by Lewisham resident Emma Warren, the event will include sets from Lezlee Lyrix, Belinda Zhawi, Cecil B and No Hats No Hoods. Mar 28, 7.30pm, £10, thealbany.org.uk
| NICE - Work In Progress The stand-up explores what it means to be nice, how it feels to be an American abroad and the one time she was mean. Kindness abounds... Mar 26, 7.30pm, £7.21, thepentheatre.com GIG | Lewisham Lyricists
back Immersive roleplaying experience Phantom Peak has unveiled its latest season with town head honcho Jonas set to visit for JonaCon. Expect the usual mix of quests, street food, booze and silliness
Scan this code to read Wharf Life’s preview of the latest season online at wharf-life.com
Owners of The Shop, Joshua Harvey, left, and Kane Dobrin, surrounded by some of their stock
Limehouse - Wapping - Whitechapel - Tower Hill
what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see
KIDS | Cinema Chill
Where?
Half Moon Theatre Limehouse
Enjoy a digital performance on the big screen of The Cat-Astrophic Adventures Of Dollop And Crinkle - a poetry show full of humour and stories. Ages 7-11. Mar 29, 3.15pm, £8, halfmoon.org.uk
Where?
Wilton’s Music Hall Wapping
STAGE | Mary And The Hyenas
Head to the Wapping venue for this musical take on the life of trailblazer, feminist, literary pioneer and east Londoner Mary Wollstonecraft. Mar 18-29, times vary, from £13.50, wiltons.org.uk
GIG | El Merengazo
Where? Troxy Limehouse
Bringing together merengue artists such as Olga Tañón, Elvis Crespo, and Sergio Vargas, this “gran esta” promises upbeat rhythms and dancing. Mar 20, 7pm, from £82.94, troxy.co.uk
catch this
Half Moon Theatre in Limehouse is set to stage Tales From The Lighthouse on March 15, with performances at 11am and 2pm. Suitable for ages 5+, the shows last an hour, with tickets costing £8 halfmoon.org.uk
Scan this code to nd out more about Tales From The Lighthouse or book tickets
Hours, from 10am-4pm, that Wapping Docklands Market is open on a Saturday
With the buzz, the jazz standards, the blue skies and the street food, Wapping Docklands Market continues to deliver maximum vibe on a patch of land that would otherwise be unused
why
a generous serving of palav from Samarkand is a neat summation of the ongoing draw of street food
by Jon Massey
The man who serves me at street food stall Samarkand looks the part. It’s just 10ºC but he’s in a loose white linen shirt, his twinkling face and bright eyes set beneath tight greying locks. If I were a casting agent for a Hollywood movie, he’d be in the running for a role as a mysterious stranger from a distant land.
This works, because of the cauldrons simmering around him filled with chicken, lamb and vegan versions of Palav – a dish at the heart of Tajik and Uzbek cuisine and one recognised by UNESCO for its intangible contribution to world heritage.
It’s not too much of a leap to believe this figure, who’s set up his cooking pots beneath a canopy at Wapping Docklands Market in Brussels Wharf, has indeed come down the silk road, bringing with him rare ingredients.
The Palav is everything street food should be. Generous in quantity, reasonably priced and a little bit different. It’s delicious too – a rich stew of lamb, carrots
thrown in for good measure. Served with a salad of fresh tomatoes, cucumber, gherkins, pickled cabbage and yoghurt and dusted off with chopped herbs, it’s a substantial meal.
The meat has been gently cooked for hours leaving it tender
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and moist, having gifted the other
other
And where better to enjoy such an exotic experience than out in the sunshine with other Londoners listening to free, brass-driven jazz standards in the fresh air?
★★★★✩
Jon Massey
key details
Wapping Docklands Market is open from 10am-4pm every Saturday, serving street food, live music, groceries, coffee, alcohol and crafts. Go to themarketnetwork.co.uk
Image by Tom Arran
Image by Suzi Corker
Samarkand’s large Lamb Palav, £12
Images by Jon Massey
Bustout co-founders Piluca, left, and Anne-Marie Bickerton pose with Boo and Bee, characters created to help raise awareness of breast cancer
how Bustout100 aims to raise
awareness of breast cancer with 100 images on show at Firepit Art Gallery
by Jon Massey
Firepit Art Gallery And Studios on Greenwich Peninsula is set to host an exhibition aimed at raising awareness of breast cancer. Bustout100 features images of the bare chests of 100 people – 99 women and one man.
his reflects the fact that of breast cancers are found in women and in men – currently around 55,000 and 400 instances per year respectively. The exhibition has been created by Bustout, a collective
co-founded by photographer Anne-Marie Bickerton and artist and creative Pilar Camino Alcon, known as Piluca.
Held in support of the Pink Ribbon Foundation, the show features a diverse range of subjects including those who have survived the disease and others currently undergoing treatment as well as a volunteers moved to participate. While the exhibition
Scan this code to nd out more about Bustout100
is free to view, visitors can donate to the charity, which will continue to be supported by Firepit over the course of 2025. The foundation is a grant making organisation that funds projects and provides financial support to charities that support those suffering from breast cancers or work to detect and treat disease.
key details
Bustout100 is set to run at Firepit Art Gallery And Studios from March 7 to April 5. The exhibition is free to visit and will be open from Tuesday to Sunday. Go to firepit.art/pink for more information
what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see
| Usher The ever-popular performer is set to play 10 dates in celebration of his three decades on stage. Nobody will have trouble nding their seats. Mar 29-May 7, 6.30pm, from £220, theo2.co.uk
STAGE | The Railway Children E Nesbit’s tale, made famous by the 1970 lm, will be performed as a radio play without costumes or scenery in aid of the RNLI Tower Lifeboat. Mar 30, 3.30pm, 7.30pm, £16, greenwichtheatre.org.uk
Woolwich Works is set to be steeped in ne spirits as Whisky Live arrives. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the show features products from a multitude of brands and runs from March 28-29. Tickets from £51.02 whiskylive.com Scan this code to read our extended preview of the show or to book tickets to the event
TRY
Visible Mending Workshop
Ali Cli ord
Image by Chris Sharp
– 99 women and one man – have had their bare chests photographed for Bustout100
Image by Bustout
how Payava is looking to grow as a Ukrainian business born of de ant resilience in the face of aggression
by Jon Massey
Payava is the story of courage in the face of adversity. Valentyna Vierovkina and Olesia Lutsenko never expected to be in Royal Docks. But when Russian tanks rolled across the border into Ukraine almost exactly three years ago, they made a decision.
“We were living in the northern part of the country, which borders Russia and Belarus,” said Olesia.
“On the third day of the most recent invasion, our city was surrounded – there were Russian tanks just 20km from our houses.
“We were bombed by Russian planes. It really wasn’t pleasant and we decided to leave – we both have daughters who are 10 years old and it was for their safety.
That was our priority.
alentyna left first with friends and we stayed in touch. I followed a little later.”
Both women were bakers in
Ukraine and had successful businesses which the war forced them to leave behind. They’d long been friends and supporters of each other, while serving different sectors of the market.
So when Valentyna decided she wanted to do more with her time in the UK than just work as an employee in a bakery, further collaboration was a natural next step. Payava means “existence” in Ukrainian – but spelt to honour its three owners, Pavlo and Yana Kovalenko and Valentyna.
With Olesia in the role of head baker – bringing with her a wealth of expertise in cakes and desserts – the team was complete.
y first thought in all this was to bring my daughter to safety,” said Valentyna. “Then, a year after coming to the UK, I decided to go back to the Ukraine to see what was left of the business I’d invested 11 years of my life creating.
“I’d still been paying to rent the industrial space for the bakery despite the fighting but the
building had been bombed and there had been looting.
“Nevertheless, I managed to get inside and salvage some of the equipment, which I brought back to the UK to help start Payava. It was difficult to find premises, but we found a unit at Expressway.”
Having sunk savings into the startup, Pavlo and the team worked tirelessly to bring the space up to Valentyna’s exacting standards. Today it’s a light and functional bakery, all stainless steel with wood and marble counter tops, ready and waiting to produce sweet treats for customers.
“The main focus of our business is printed biscuits,” said Olesia. “These are Valentyna’s speciality. We have the technology – special food grade printers that work with edible inks – to put any design, picture or text on these biscuits.
“Customers can order just one, a box or 100 online. In fact in Ukraine, Valentyna’s biggest order was for 140,000.
“Companies can put logos on them or people can use then as business cards, with QR codes that can be scanned.
e already have sign-off that these have a shelf life of three months and we’re currently awaiting a decision from the lab on six months.
The main focus of our business is printed biscuits. Customers can order just one, a box, 100 or more online
Olesia Lutsenko, Payava
“They’re tasty, they look fantastic and they don’t need any kind of special storage so they’re easy to order and keep for when they’re needed.
“We can make these with a traditional sugar biscuit, but we’ve found our Ukrainian recipe is also very popular with English customers.
“This is a honey biscuit with a touch of spice – cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger – but it’s delicate. It’s soft and mild. We use honey and spices not only for taste, but also it ensures a long shelf life.
“Children love them and we did some samples for people when we launched it. We’ve had amazing feedback on the new recipe – the cookies themselves are soft, while the icing is quite crunchy, which is a special texture in the mouth.
fresh starting
From left, Payava’s Olesia Lutsenko, Pavlo Kovalenko and Valentyna Vierovkina at the Royal Docks bakery
how Payava is looking to grow as a Ukrainian business born of de ant resilience in the face of aggression
by Jon Massey
Payava is the story of courage in the face of adversity. Valentyna Vierovkina and Olesia Lutsenko never expected to be in Royal Docks. But when Russian tanks rolled across the border into Ukraine almost exactly three years ago, they made a decision.
“We were living in the northern part of the country, which borders Russia and Belarus,” said Olesia.
“On the third day of the most recent invasion, our city was surrounded – there were Russian tanks just 20km from our houses.
“We were bombed by Russian planes. It really wasn’t pleasant and we decided to leave – we both have daughters who are 10 years old and it was for their safety.
That was our priority.
alentyna left first with friends and we stayed in touch. I followed a little later.”
Both women were bakers in
Ukraine and had successful businesses which the war forced them to leave behind. They’d long been friends and supporters of each other, while serving different sectors of the market.
So when Valentyna decided she wanted to do more with her time in the UK than just work as an employee in a bakery, further collaboration was a natural next step. Payava means “existence” in Ukrainian – but spelt to honour its three owners, Pavlo and Yana Kovalenko and Valentyna.
With Olesia in the role of head baker – bringing with her a wealth of expertise in cakes and desserts – the team was complete.
y first thought in all this was to bring my daughter to safety,” said Valentyna. “Then, a year after coming to the UK, I decided to go back to the Ukraine to see what was left of the business I’d invested 11 years of my life creating.
“I’d still been paying to rent the industrial space for the bakery despite the fighting but the
building had been bombed and there had been looting.
“Nevertheless, I managed to get inside and salvage some of the equipment, which I brought back to the UK to help start Payava. It was difficult to find premises, but we found a unit at Expressway.”
Having sunk savings into the startup, Pavlo and the team worked tirelessly to bring the space up to Valentyna’s exacting standards. Today it’s a light and functional bakery, all stainless steel with wood and marble counter tops, ready and waiting to produce sweet treats for customers.
“The main focus of our business is printed biscuits,” said Olesia. “These are Valentyna’s speciality. We have the technology – special food grade printers that work with edible inks – to put any design, picture or text on these biscuits.
“Customers can order just one, a box or 100 online. In fact in Ukraine, Valentyna’s biggest order was for 140,000.
“Companies can put logos on them or people can use then as business cards, with QR codes that can be scanned.
e already have sign-off that these have a shelf life of three months and we’re currently awaiting a decision from the lab on six months.
The main focus of our business is printed biscuits. Customers can order just one, a box, 100 or more online
Olesia Lutsenko, Payava
“They’re tasty, they look fantastic and they don’t need any kind of special storage so they’re easy to order and keep for when they’re needed.
“We can make these with a traditional sugar biscuit, but we’ve found our Ukrainian recipe is also very popular with English customers.
“This is a honey biscuit with a touch of spice – cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger – but it’s delicate. It’s soft and mild. We use honey and spices not only for taste, but also it ensures a long shelf life.
“Children love them and we did some samples for people when we launched it. We’ve had amazing feedback on the new recipe – the cookies themselves are soft, while the icing is quite crunchy, which is a special texture in the mouth.
fresh starting
From left, Payava’s Olesia Lutsenko, Pavlo Kovalenko and Valentyna Vierovkina at the Royal Docks bakery
Examples of printed biscuits available from Payava, based in Royal Docks
“The spice is there, but it’s not a crazy, strong taste.”
Despite the years of experience behind it, as a startup, Payava faces the tough trading conditions experienced by new businesses.
“In Ukraine, we’d been established for more than 10 years,” said Valentyna.
“Here we’ve been open for six months so it’s tough.
what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see
“We’ve been knocking on doors but it’s hard to get clients because we’re still a new business, although we have been very successful within the Ukranian community.
a new business, although we have been very successful within the
“We never planned any of this, but we’ve had to adapt and we’re ready. Before all this, I was looking at expanding into Europe and I would love the business to grow here, to take on more employees and to make that happen.”
It’s perhaps that resilient drive that shines through here. Valentyna and the team seem clear. It’s not enough for Payava to simply exist – it needs to thrive too, which explains the bakery’s plans to further use its space for cookery classes, children’s parties and to introduce a small shop so customers can order its more perishable goods through the likes of Uber Eats.
While it’s not born of a situation of the owners’ choosing, Expressway could well end up being the starting point for sweet success.
And if that involves the likes of Olesia’s honey cake, richly layered with plums and cream, becoming a more common sight on British tables, then it’s only to be welcomed.
key details
Payava sells a wide range of baked goods from its Royal Docks base at Expressway including bespoke printed biscuits, cakes, cookies, brownies and desserts online.
The bakery is open weekdays from 9am-6pm and from 11am6pm. Contact via WhatsApp to +44 7443 440 137 or email info@payava.co.uk for enquiries. Go to payava.co.uk for more information
this article features translation from Natasha Hart of NASSA
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EVENT | Solar And Storage Live
TRY | Qi Balancing
If you want to give RA-Force Breathing, Qi Gong, Self-Anchoring, Spinal Flow Cultivation and meditation a go, this is the session for you hosted by KMT Rising. Mar 23, noon-2pm, £9, eventbrite.co.uk
As we get more and more energy from the sun, this show is for all those concerned with capturing it and storing it for future use. So many bright ideas... Apr 2-3, 9.30am, from free, terrapinn.com DINE | Mothering Sunday
Indulge in a set menu in celebration of Mother’s Day on board the oating hotel. Enjoy a glass of Prosecco when booking directly with the venue. Mar 30, 12.30pm-8.30pm, from £35, sunbornlondon.com
The Photography And Video Show is set for its London debut at Excel from March 8-11 with a packed programme of exhibitors, brands, techniques and tips. Get all the latest with tickets starting at £18.95 photograpyshow.com
Scan this code to read Wharf Life’s expanded preview of the show or snap up some quick tickets for the event ash back
The business is based at Expressway
Payava sells a wide range of cakes and desserts too
Sudoku
Take a break from that phone
How to play
To complete Sudoku, ll the board by entering numbers one to nine such that each row, column and 3x3 box contains every number uniquely.
More to play
You can nd more Sudoku puzzles and a wide selection of other brainteasers available to download for free at puzzles.ca
Notes
crossword
beating the whether you’re cryptic sleuth or synonym solver in it for quick wins, this should satisfy
Cryptic Quick
Across 1. Richard mixed up the ration of words, we hear (10)
7. Hertfordshire saint could be said to be ordinary (5)
8. A liqueur bursting with water and life? (7)
10. Sounds like a wordy shoreline (8)
11. Explosive good fortune! (4)
13. The walrus explains how school periods get shorter (6)
15. Stir the gin for the insect to move (6)
17. State of clothes put and exhausted (4)
18. Inclination to write a song? (8)
21. Gave up work to change US car wheel? (7)
22. Arrive at a stretch of the river (5)
23. The rat I call dramatic, somehow? (10)
Down
1. Something confusing, owing in the bathroom? (5)
2. Mixed up maths academic agrees (8)
3. Sounds like a prophet with eye problems? (6)
4. In France, we have common sense (4)
5. Royal Academy and a short violin eaten in Italy (7)
6. Shy plant? (10)
9. Mat had a chit for a cyber-pet a long time ago. Find it! (10)
Hours the exhibition will be available to view from Thursday-Sunday, running from March 7 until April 12
responding to
why
Food
Of War’s
latest exhibition at
Hypha Studios, Battlefield Bodies ,takes eating disorders as its focus
by Jon Massey
Multidisciplinary art
collective Food Of War is staging its latest exhibition –attlefield odies – in east London. Centred on the theme of eating disorders, the show is intended as an e ploration of internal conflict to better understand its effects. Held in partnership with Hypha Studios on Sugar House Island in tratford, attlefield odies features work by artists Omar Castañeda, Hernan Barros, Harriet
Poznansky, Clapmutt, Andreina Fuentes Angarita, Gabriella Sonabend, Henry Amaya, Saskia Craft-Stanley, Paula García, Blue Motiv Studio, Synthetic Pink, Andres Montaño, Cristina Restrepo, Mario Miše, Food Of War, Ximy González and Alex Simon. Each has been created exclusively for the exhibition with the
Scan this code to nd out more about Battle eld Bodies
idea of transformation a common inspiration. he pieces offer an intimate look at the artists’ relationship to eating and how it has evolved over the years. The show has been produced in partnership with MQ Mental Health Research.
key details att efie o ie will be on show at Hypha Studios on Sugar House Island from March 7 until April 12. Entry to the exhibition – which will be open from Thursday to Sunday from 1pm-7pm – is free. Go to foo of ar.or for more information
Stratford - Bow - Hackney Wick
what’s on things to do, places to go, people to see
DANCE | Fly-Kid
Where?
Sadler’s Wells East
Stratford
DJ Emily Rawson from BBC 1xtra presides over the venue’s public dance oor where grown-ups can introduce kids of all ages to old school beats. Mar 22, noon-3pm, free, sadlerswells.com
Where?
Cart And Horses Stratford
GIG | Star Circus, Crymwav + Systeria This triple bill features Yorkshire-style pop-punk, London-based rock and American-tinged speedmetal with the odd melody. Not in that order... Mar 28, 8.30pm, £13.20, cartandhorses.london
SHOP | The Big Market
Where?
Riverside East Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
Support local businesses and explore the wares of some 40 traders with plants, ceramics, vintage goods, candles and more on o er. Mar 29, noon-6pm, free, riverside-east.co.uk
ash back
Sadler’s Wells East and a host of other venues will be bathing London in movement when they host Dance Re ections from March 12-April 8 in association with ne French jeweller Van Cleef & Arpels dancere ections-vancleefarpels.com
Scan this code to read our interview with festival curator Serge Laurent online at wharf-life.com
