Episode 1: Petra’s Start Up Story

Podcast Summary (It's way better to listen)

How Did KERB Begin? Petra Barran’s Street Food Story

TIMESTAMPS

0:00: Voices from the KERB
1:30: Introduction by Robin Leeburn, KERB Life podcast host
2:40: Petra Barran, KERB Founder – It began with [Choc Star and] Jimmy the Chocolate Van
4:05: The unlikely moment when Petra discovered her destiny
5:20: Inside Petra’s rustic family kitchen
8:07: Petra’s journey as a trader – the Choc Star
12:40 Angus Denoon from Everybody Love Love Jhal Muri Express
13:40 How Petra met Angus, “the magic man you’ve got to find.”
16:50 Why Petra, Giles and Gareth (surnames?) started London’s first street food collective – eat.st.
19:20 Nick Friedman (Jamon Jamon), Jez Felwick (the Bowler) and Simon Luard (Luardos) remember the early days
24:19 Petra turns a hobby into a new business and KERB is born.
28:00 What KERB is really about

Lots of people harbour a secret desire to chuck in the day job and turn their passion into a business. “When you’ve got an idea like that, you can spend months, if not years, thinking about it”, says Petra Barran, KERB Founder.

Petra didn’t spend months thinking about it, she bought an old ice cream truck on eBay, transformed it into a box of chocolate delights and named it Jimmy. While travelling around the country and trading at markets and festivals, she felt the groundswell of interest in street food growing.

The life of a street food trader is hard graft. Petra tells stories of baking late into the night, waking up at 6 in the morning and barging her way into Portobello Market. On the toughest days, it’s friendships with other traders that carry you through.

Agglomeration is Petra’s favourite word. Combining the energy, fire and talent of a group of traders together in one space was a vision that transcended lunch. It was about becoming part of the fabric of London, holding space in the city for everyone to share.

“The streets are a great leveller. That’s why the business is called KERB, because we’re all on the same level, we all belong here and food connects us.”

Since our first market in 2012, KERB has grown to 70 of the best traders, serving over a million lunches in the most iconic locations in London, including Camden Market, London Bridge, the Gherkin, Kings Cross, Paddington and West India Quay. We organise catering for over 150 events a year, including corporate parties, weddings, product launches, festivals and more.

KERB is bursting with inspiring start up stories from traders who have taken the plunge into the street food scene from many different jump-off points. This is the first of our podcast series, to mark our 5th birthday. We hope you’ll tune in regularly to sit on the KERB with us and take in this sonic feast.

#KERBLife

CREDITS

The KERB Life podcast has been produced, edited and hosted by Robin Leeburn, of Fairly www.fairly.media
Executive Producer: Petra Barran

Music
Caolan Walpot at Clink Street near Borough Market
Mikael Baru at Braithwaite Street under the bridge at Shoreditch High St overground

Guests:
Petra Barran – Founder, KERB

Meet the traders in this story:
BBQ Dreamz – Lee Johnson
The Grilling Greek – Spyros Blentzas
Smoking Lotus – Rosie Chik
Only Jerkin’ – Luke Dawes
Ink – Lucy Mee
Luxury Flats – Jacob Taylor
Everybody Love Love Jhal Muri Express – Angus Denoon
Jamon Jamon – Nick Friedman
The Bowler – Jez Felwick
Luardos – Simon Luard