A day in the life: De Beauvoir Deli

Since opening in 2009 the De Beauvoir Deli has been something of a local landmark thanks to its artisan breads and cheeses, homemade Scotch eggs, and gourmet condiments. Their bright and airy site on Southgate Road stock products from Monmouth Coffee, St John’s Bakery, Neal’s Yard and Brindisa, as well as organic fruit and veg and freshly made ready meals. Here owner Harry Davies gives us a rundown of a typical day.

“Before De Beauvoir Deli I worked in live events production, everything from catwalks to conferences to awards, for a variety of small agencies. The idea of setting up De Beauvoir Deli evolved from childhood holidays in France and many hours exploring food markets and vineyards with my parents. Originally the idea was to open a deli in an outbuilding of my friend’s pub, The Scolt Head, which is just round the corner from our eventual site on Southgate Rd.

I grew up in the area and it’s always been quite a mix of lots of influences, which is why I love it so much. Being on the border of affluent Islington and creative Hackney, I always thought there was great potential for our type of business and this has only increased as the area has evolved. There are so many more people coming here now, people never used to visit Hackney so it’s great to see.

I arrive on the site at 7 am for a morning shift, and the first task of the day is to deal with the mountains of bread and milk that have been delivered during the night.

It can be hard to predict when it will get busy, but the lunch rush is certainly the busiest time. We get a lot of people coming in on their way to work in the mornings as well. We’re used far more as a café and take away in the mornings and as a retailer in the late afternoon and evening, when people are collecting their groceries and ready meals for their evening meal. We’re very popular for brunch at weekends as well.

We’re physically unable to supply the demand for our chicken escalopes! Apart from coffee, our bestselling breakfast items are the egg mayo & bacon and the smoked salmon & cream cheese Brick Lane bagels. We get our bagels from Brick Lane’s Beigel Bake - they’re London’s best!

The last job of the day for me is emptying the dishwasher.

We’re hoping to take on a depot space in December, which will vastly increase our storage and allow us to deliver into the shop during quiet and convenient times of the day. It will also help us to expand our catering service.”