The latest addition to Jamie Oliver’s food-lifestyle-empire is the first of his Recipease stores which opened in Clapham Junction, London, last week. At Yuppiechef we’re great Jamie Oliver fans so there was no way I was missing the opening day.
Jamie Oliver's new Recipease Store, Clapham Junction, London
Described as ‘Jamie’s new food and kitchen shop where anyone can learn to cook and make great food,’ the combination of cooking and retail environments is cleverly done, taking a leaf (albeit a different leaf) from the book of my favourite small London eatery, Books for Cooks. But unlike a few other places that have tried similar setups, the cooking and retail environments feel very much a part of one another – no separate kitchen feeling here.
Olives, bowls, plates, herbs and that good kitchen feeling
The front of the store features a selection of Jamie’s JMe kitchen & home products along with wines, farmers market veggies, fresh breads and herbs and various other cooking essentials. Delving a little deeper one finds the kitchen area, ‘countrified’ by dangling pots, pans and vegetables while maintaining a contemporary feel. Dan, the store manager who I ended up having a good chat with after he kindly asked me to stop taking photographs of everything in the store (sorry, Dan), explained, “People know retail, so it makes sense to engage people through what they’re familiar with. Then once they’re engaged, they can be introduced to the kitchen concept which we feel is going to be a great success.”
The kitchen area is large enough for 14 people to each have their own station and the free-flowing, open plan design allows non-participating visitors to wander amongst the cooks. The brave could even steal a cheeky taste.
Recipease Kitchen
The big idea about Recipease is that you choose a few recipes you’d like to cook, book these online, go into the shop where all the shopping, chopping and preparing is done for you, and follow the simple step-by-step recipe under the guidance of chefs and then take it home to cook. A somewhat unusual approach to home cooking, but the location and feel of this store may just help this concept fly.
A customer preparing a meal, ingredients prepared and portioned
What Jamie and his team have done so well to date is inspire people to embrace a love of food and cooking. With the opening of Recipease, we think he’s just taken that to the next level. We take our hats off to you and your team, Mr Oliver. Keep up the great work.
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