Afternoon:
15°c
200 people attend sale with 38 stalls inside Kilburn home
Miranda Bryant31 Mar 2010
There are beers for sale in the bathroom, fashion to browse through in the bedroom and porridge-making demonstrations in the kitchen: welcome to the market in a flat.
Some 200 people packed into the north London property for the event, believed to be the first of its kind in Britain. It was organised by one of the founding members of the capital's "pop-up" restaurant movement, who goes only by the name of Ms Marmite Lover.
The single mother and owner of The Underground Restaurant used nearly every part of her two-bedroom flat and garden in Kilburn for the market on Sunday. Guests paid £5.50 to attend and there were 38 stalls selling goods such as cupcakes, drinks and textiles.
The only room in the house that was not used was Ms Lover's 16-year-old daughter's bedroom.
Guests and traders came from as far away as Poland and Belgium.
Bars were set up in the bath and on an ironing board and a bed was used as a makeshift cupcake stall.
Meanwhile, there were demonstrations in basket weaving and cheese-making and wine tasting by Brighton-based wine experts Ten Green Bottles.
The 41-year-old, who has held "supper clubs" at her home for more than a year, said it was the first time she has used her bedroom for an event.
She said: "I've never opened up my bedroom before, but it was okay. I think I've become immune to people hanging out in my personal space.
"Your property is one of the most expensive things you will ever spend money on, so why not use it as much as you can?
"If you can run a business out of it, it's quite a good thing to do I think." The world's first underground restaurant was started by Iso Rabins in San Francisco. Ms Lover now hopes to make the market a regular event and hopes that it will catch on across the capital.
She said: "I've been wanting to do something like this for a while, I though it was the logical continuation from my supper club.
"Then I found out about a guy on the web who had done it in San Francisco, we got chatting and it took off from there."
Her "supper club" concept has soared in popularity but she ran into trouble in October when Warner Brothers threatened her with legal action over a Halloween party. She had planned to serve dishes named after food from the Harry Potter series.
Reader views (3)
Well, Patrick, if you read her own blog, she states that she has the correct insurance, that her kitchen is approved by the local environmental health authorities, that she has a health certificate, that she pays tax etc. etc.
- Doris Bistro, Berlin, Germany, 04/04/2010 12:41
Report abuse
Oh Patrick, why can't we have a nice "good on her" comment for once! We pay enough in ridiculous taxes in this country, so any opportunity people take to make some money without the government taking it all off them should be applauded, not scorned. It seems everyone is jealous when someone else appears to make a quid or two - pathetic.
- Anna, Herts, 01/04/2010 12:33
Report abuse
As there was a charge to attend I trust that the apppropriate insurance was in place, and that it was approved by all the relevant authorities, trading standards, police etc.
- Patrick, Dalston, 31/03/2010 16:20
Report abuse
