If you’re ever out and about in Kennington Cross you are probably aware that the hardest working man in the patch is Abraham over at Bouquets and Beans in front of St. Anselms, and we interviewed him in 2019. We are proud to announce that the second hardest working man in the Cross is Ned, who set up the fruit and veg stall ‘Sprout’ in March. Ned also works at Bouquets and Beans, and we recently had a chat with him about his spin off project. 

Ned’s passion is produce and cooking, and his day job is working in the catering industry with a view to starting his own catering business. Over the past 18 months the world of catering more or less evaporated as a result of you know what, so with more time on his hands Ned, with support from Abraham, identified a big vegetable shaped hole in the Greater Kennington market.  

Ned tries to use British suppliers but does not admit to letting a few Italian items populate his stall from time to time. The staples are heritage tomatoes, Sicilian lemons, courgettes, leeks, potatoes, salads, apples, and strawberries. He also likes to feature a couple of herbs such as dill or parsley. The Runoff staff have bought some very healthy vegetables at Sprout and managed to turn them into unimaginably unhealthy creations such as aubergine parmigiana, cauliflower curry and courgette lasagne. And now we would NEVER use this site as a platform for self promotion, but how did this raspberry tart end up getting photographed? 

On the practical side, Ned starts setting up his stall at 5:20am (!!!) rain or shine and is open on Friday 7:30 to 5 and Saturday 8:30 to 4. As a cook himself, Ned can also give you some inspiration about what to make. And what happens to the leftover veg at the end of the weekend, you ask? Well he supplies it to our friends over at The Jolly Gardeners in Black Prince Road.