It’s hard to ignore the meat free movement and it’s no surprise that LA, the land of the smoothie and yoga leggings, is leading the way.  Impossible “meat” has been not so quietly conquering the US food industry and is now waging a full blown war on all things meaty.  The “meat” itself is a high tech amalgam of plant-based substitutes which mimic meat in almost every way possible. It bleeds like meat, griddles like meat and can be cooked to your preference, rare, medium or well done. High profile backers include Bill Gates and Google and all across the world other tech companies are looking at creating their own derivatives as Impossible struggle to meet the demand.

On a recent trip to LA it was always my intention to seek out this solution solving patty, but I didn’t have to search very far.  Impossible meat has definitely conquered the US.  From Umami Burger to White Castle, Soho House to Momofuku its everywhere and growing.  It’s even popping up in Michelin starred restaurants like Public in Manhattan.  So after reading all the hype over the last couple of years, I was intrigued to see if it really was as good as they say it is.

Impossible meat is very good. It really does taste of beef.  It looks like beef, and if I’m really honest I preferred it to real beef! It seems like I’m not alone as the waitress told me they are now outselling beef patties 3:1 in that particular restaurant. The times, they are a changing!

Impossible meat has a wide range of positive ramifications.  Every Impossible burger that is consumed saves the equivalent of 75 sq ft of land not farmed, or half a tub full of bathwater or 18 miles of emissions in a car. In a society conscious world you can eat healthier and make a significant difference.

At this stage I think it’s worth mentioning that not all meat free eaters have a desire for a meat substitute and Vegan or vegetarian patties have also significantly improved over the years.  The lazy Portobello mushroom burger is becoming less relevant and chefs across the world are embracing the meat free movement.

Whilst in New York I was lucky enough to be taken to “Superiority Burger” which is a vegetarian restaurant run by Brooks Headley, a former drummer in a punk band.  The patty is indescribable and rightly heralded as probably the best vegetarian burger in the world.  If you know me you’ll know I love meat and burgers.  Imagine my surprise when after eating this burger, twice, I woke up the following mornings on both days craving another one!  I have no idea what is in the burger, frankly I don’t care, but what I and many lucky New Yorkers know is that it is unquestionably a great burger and one which stands up against any burger in the world.

The days of the “freak” meat fear have long gone, the future is in the US, it’ll be here before long.

Bruce Gillingham Pollard recently took a break from the office to explore Lisbon, Portugal’s ‘City of light’.  In the wake of Portugal’s economic recession, Lisbon has emerged an avant-garde, cultural hub of restless creativity, its ancient foundations reinvigorated with a vibrant, youthful energy.  Nowhere does this new Lisbon synchronize so eloquently with its historic bedrock than within the gates of LX Factory.

This strip of delapidated fabric factories, now decked out with vibrant street art, has reinvented itself as a hub of cafés, bars, independent art spaces, vintage shops, restaurants, concept stores, yoga studios and music venues. Of all LX Factory’s enticing qualities, we found ourselves most impressed by its integrity.

A British luxury lingerie brand, with quality craftsmanship and dedicated client service at the core of its philosophy. Established in 2012, Luna Mae London was created from the desire to offer women a high-end alternative to off-the-rack sizing.

What have been the main contributors to your brand’s success?

I think it’s been a number of things – a lot of hard work, determination, sheer ambition and drive. I’ve also always been an incredible believer in positive thinking. It is sometimes easy to become overburdened and sometimes negative about the challenges that might lie ahead in building a successful brand, but I have never allowed that thinking to override the dream I am pursuing. No matter how challenging the task might be, I think positively and believe that somehow, I will be able to make it work.

What future challenges and developments do you foresee in the retail industry?

I do think the increase in a lot of fast-fashion brands have made traditional bricks-and-mortar selling more of a challenge. Social media and advances in technology has generated a need for everything to be accessible and available at the touch of a button.

Luna Mae London as a brand is challenging this notion because everything we do is based on building strong relationships with all of our clients by offering such a personal and unique experience. Dedicated client service is at the forefront of everything we do. How will this make our clients feel? How can we encourage them to feel the best versions of themselves? I believe (and I hope) that people will grow tired of the overload of information they are faced with every time they pick up their phone and choose to value timeless experiences when shopping which you can nurture in a bricks-and-mortar retail environment, over an impersonal online transaction.

What are your current plans for your brand?

The launch of our flagship store is a very exciting step for the brand. We will continue to fit our VIPs in their own residences or hotel suites, but the space will allow us to have the whole brand under one roof. Beneath the store is home to our head office and Atelier where our incredible craftspeople are working on bespoke commissions. Clients can actually watch their creations coming to life. We are also about to launch a tightly curated selection of sumptuous ready-to-wear, all manufactured in London. Next on the cards for us is bespoke swimwear which is coming from a demand from our existing bespoke clients.

Where do you see the brand being in ten years time?

I want to grow Luna Mae London in the right way – we have an incredible collection of loyal and dedicated clients who love what we do because not only are we exclusive, but everything we offer is one-of-a-kind and unique. This is what makes the brand so special. I have dreams of growing the brand by opening ready-to-wear stores in key cities around the world but I would love to keep our bespoke lingerie just as British, and just as personal. It is my absolute priority to ensure that our quality or our client service is never compromised.

Where have your biggest influences come from?

I have a very large appetite for visual stimulation and find myself inspired by nearly everything around me. The back of a dress on a woman walking down the street; the cornice of a beautiful old building; a shade of colour found in a street market of a foreign city. I love to experiment with symmetry and clean lines which sculpt, support and enhance a woman’s silhouette.

I am also greatly inspired by works of Helmut Newton and Sam Haskins. I like to design for the women in their photographs. Women who are elegant and empowered.

At what point did the idea turn from a concept into reality?

I’ll never forget the day I held Luna Mae London’s first ever bra in my hands. It was something I had always dreamed of creating. I was studying for a Law degree at the time and for me it was the reality that even coming from the opposite of a traditional fashion background, I was still able to achieve something I had only ever wished for. The first bespoke sale I had ever made was proof that the concept I had explored had commercial potential too.

Your one piece of advice for anyone considering starting a luxury fashion brand?

Become an expert in your field and don’t ever lose sight of why you want to start the brand in the first place. Your mission will become your driving force.

The product is beautifully designed, how do you ensure consistency as you grow the brand?

I offer suggestions and designs to suit our clients’ body shapes and shades of silks which will complement their skin tones, but really in a bespoke world, the client becomes the designer.

www.lunamaelondon.com

Co-founders, Yasmine Larizadeh & Shirin Kouros met through their fathers to bring something new fresh & healthy to London’s food scene. More than just an eatery, Good Life Eatery encourages us to eat better, healthier and happier with an array of all day options.

As an entrepreneur at such an early age, will you ever be able to work for anyone else?

One of the main reasons I started my own business is because I’ve always had a mild issue with authority, and to be honest I definitely think that was a large push towards me starting my own business. I do think that if it were a case to improve my skill set, I would be more than willing to take direction from someone with more experience. For example, right now we have an investor that is mentoring us through the growth and expansion of our business and I actually have to say working with her has been one of the most inspiring and enlightening learning experiences I’ve been lucky enough to be a part of.

Where have your biggest influences come from?

Our mothers, our Iranian heritage and our general obsession with food.

What have been the main contributors to your brands success?

Hard work and drive, social media and a wonderful team.

How have the mix of operators and the local residents had an effect on your business?

I really enjoy the surrounding local neighbourhoods that we are currently based in, operators and residents included! I think the harmony between our brand and these locals hubs, have only had a positive effect in regards to our trade and I truly feel like The Good Life Eatery is slowly embedding itself into local communities across London.

Where do you believe the next exciting food hub will be and why?

Having visited Berlin (one of my fave cities) again this summer, I’ve definitely seen quite a significant amount of growth in relation to the food scene there, from the previous time I had visited. There has been a really large boom with consumers exploring not just the german culinary offerings, but also a larger visibility of foreign cuisine in and around the city. It might be due to the influence of the refugee crisis on the general culture of the city itself, but I also think it has a lot to do with growth in other industries which have facilitated higher disposable income and therefore an increase in cultural curiosity.

What are the current trends in the marketplace and do you see this changing anytime soon?

The market is definitely shifting towards a healthier climate. I believe that people are becoming a lot more aware and educated about the positive and negative effects of the way we eat in the developed world. I also think as technology progresses, the choices we make in reference to our lifestyles will only be amplified with all the readily available information that surrounds us, resulting in people searching for a more efficient and more sustainable life. Not only to benefit themselves but to create a positive environment for the future generations to come.

www.goodlifeeatery.com

A healthy, food delivery start-up founded by Georgia Cummings in 2012. For the first year Georgia did all the cooking at home. Balanced & nourishing meals delivered to you, recipes are developed by a nutritionist and chef using fresh, local ingredients.

What have been the main contributors to your brands success?

Working hard, having a great team and really supportive family and friends. Potage started in my mum’s kitchen in Notting Hill in 2012. Today we’re a team of 8 working from our own kitchen in Battersea. Other big factors have been staying focused on our goal, to make eating well easy by delivering nourishing meals, and growing slowly. I spent the first year doing everything; I built the website, cooked all the food, took the orders and delivered on a bicycle, only hiring a team as I could afford it. We’ve continued to grown this way and as a result have an incredibly loyal customer base whose feedback and support have been instrumental in our success.

Where have your biggest influences come from?

Mostly my family and friends, they all influence me in their own way. My mum started her own business (nurole.com) and I’ve always admired how much she’s achieved and the way she balanced it with bringing up a family. I also often think about my dad talking about summers as a child living with his French grandparents who lived a long and incredibly happy life on a farm in Castelmoron and were totally self-sufficient.

How important has your young age and optimism been in setting up Potage?

I don’t think age is important. After all you’re only as old as you feel and I certainly feel a lot more energetic and positive when I have a good balance of eating well, exercising and sleeping. I find I recharge off certain people so it’s also really important for me to set aside time each week to spend with family and friends. Starting a business can be very lonely, I suspect I spent 95% of my time alone in the first year so optimism is important to keep you motivated.

Where do you see the healthy food market going?

There are all sorts of trends in food that go in and out of fashion. Our healthy eating philosophy is to keep things simple and we work with a qualified Dietician, Rosie Norman, to make sure what we say is based on scientific research rather than misleading trends.

Scientists and health professionals are beginning to understand that the old fashioned criticism of single nutrients as the root of all evil is not the most helpful approach to healthy eating. We don’t tend to eat sugar, salt or fat on its own. We eat a complex diet composed of many different foods, often combined together to make meals. This means instead of arguing over whether we should eat more butter or less sugar, it’s more important to look at our diet as whole, thinking about how that food fits into your overall diet. Not just today, but also over weeks and months.

Healthy eating is therefore a balance of quality, quantity and frequency, and each person’s diet varies depending on their own activity level, nutritional needs and goals.

Do you believe that people will always look for quick and easy ways to eat healthily?

Yes because we don’t all always have the luxury of time to make our own meals, even if we’d like to – but I don’t believe quick and easy any longer has to mean unhealthy. When I had the idea for Potage I used to describe it to people as a friend around the corner who delivered an extra portion of whatever they were cooking, it’s delicious, handmade, fresh food delivered.

Are there any other areas that Potage will look to explore in the future?

Definitely! There are lots of things I’d like to do in the future; a cookery book, Potage branded homeware, work on educating kids on food education and nutrition.

www.potage.co.uk/

A British clothing brand that offers so much more than just surf related merchandise have opened a beautiful store in Seven Dials. Think framed coastal pictures, storm lights and a relaxed, surf shack vibe.

Despite the brands apparent lack of interest in being ‘in fashion’, their plain, subtly branded clothes have become achingly fashionable. Pretty impressive bearing in mind first and foremost they want to make clothes that last and are made from environmentally friendly, recycled or natural fibres, such as merino wool.

I am not a surfer but I love the brand and products, the warmest coats that you will ever wear that fold into a pocket and the cosiest merino wool socks. It is much more than your standard retail store  – hosting events, talks and film screenings – definitely pop in – the coffees are pretty good too!

On the northern fringes of the 18th arrondissement  is the famous Marche aux Puces de Saint Ouen. “Les Puces” has evolved (and is still evolving) from flea market to tourist hotspot to antique and art dealer collective. Off one of the side streets is a walled enclave called Vintage Village. There are burger pop-ups and street food vans, the first signs of a Brixton Village-style foodiefication, plus an outlet of L’Eclaireur- selling vintage designer fashion. But most interesting of all is Habitat 1964. A concept store with a twist, it is based around genuine vintage and antique pieces from Habitat. Opened to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the brand, it celebrates iconic specimens of design and household furniture with a big attachment to the Terence Conran name.

Many of these vintage Habitat pieces are collectors items and hard to come by on the open market or the internet. Here, anyone can sell their own second hand Habitat pieces through the store at their approved prices. In my hometown of Bristol, Habitat used to be referred to as local landmark as much as a store. Now, it represents just a small concession in Homebase.  Similarly, the antiques market has struggled with the rise of E-bay as everyone is now an expert. What hits you as you peruse the store is that the majority of the items, although still feeling modern, were designed before the rise of internet shopping and before even the widespread dominance of Ikea.

Heritage here doesn’t mean traditional or old fashioned. The geographical distance from the chic city centre of Paris somehow adds to the feeling that you are shopping in a time before technology came along and changed it all.  You could spend a whole weekend trawling the entire area (Les Puces only trades on Saturdays and Sundays) but the Habitat 1964 store is worth a visit in its own right. Whilst you’re there, check out the eclectic concept stores – focused around antique and found objects for the home and garden – on the neighbouring Rue Paul Bert.