London Kettle Popcorn

On Sat 13 August 2011, London Kettle Popcorn was at Westow Park for the Crystal Palace Overground Festival.

Going into it we thought easy afternoon, some sun, tunes, a bit of popping and maybe some slack time to lie on the grass with a cider if the rain stayed away.

How wrong we were...

As usual, the morning was slow (nobody buys popcorn before lunch) but the vibe was brilliant with a huge number of families filling the diminutive park and some good tunes mingling with the crackling smell from the hog roast stand next to ours.

No rain in sight, just more and more people.

By 1pm the popping was steady but easily managed and then something happened. Perhaps it was the hog roast stand running out of pork, or the sun, or the cider going to people's heads. Without warning a popcorn bomb went off. People wanted it. Lots of it. And they wanted it now. 

Two friends who were in the park for some sun and cider got drafted in and for the next three hours we had a perpetual queue as we turned over monster batch after monster batch.

Supplies dwindled. The propane cylinder iced up from running wide open. The hog roast blokes lent us their propane cylinder and we just kept popping. As the queue started to shorten a local was heard on the PA announcing that the best thing about the festival was the popcorn.  And the stampede continued.

New customers, Lambeth Country Show customers, East Street market customers, Norwood Feast customers. English, Scottish, Turks, Jamaicans, Canadians - this is London! They just kept coming. 

At half 6 when the music had finally drifted off on the breeze and the last kernel was popped, we were in awe. One handful of kernels left in the bin from nearly 70 kg of popcorn.

Never had so few popped so much corn for so many.

All we can say is a huge thanks to all who attended the Crystal Palace Overground Festival and made it our best event this season. Many thanks to the organizers who pulled off a remarkable feat. A special big cheer to Mike and Danielle whose lazy Saturday turned into a kettle popcorn sweat shop. We tip our hats to hog roast men who lent us their propane cylinder. You saved our bacon.

See you all next year!

We are now finished popping for the 2011 season.

Many thanks to all of our customers. You made our first year popping in London a great success!

Sorry again to all who tried to find us at East Street on Saturday 3 of Dec - we weren't able to attend because of a fault with our van.

Our first day popping in 2012 will be the West Norwood Feast on Sunday 1 April 2012. This will be the first 'Feast' of the year after a very successful 2011 programme. Many thanks to the volunteers and organizers of the West Norwood Feast for creating a wonderful community-based market and series of events and activities.  

Sunday 1 Aptil 2012, 10am-4pm, we return to the West Norwood Feast and will be popping at the Gardening Hub at the corner of York Hill and Norwood Road in South London.
http://westnorwood.spacemakers.org.uk/

Saturday 7 April 2012 - we return to East Street Market in Camberwell, South London (weather permitting).

London Kettle Popcorn will be popping at the Lambeth Country Show in Brockwell Park, Lambeth in South London, SE24 0NG.

Last year's show drew 180,000 people over two days and this year promises the same great mix of music, cider, blacksmiths, battling knights and falconry along with some great kettle popcorn for the hungry masses.

Check it out and see you there!

http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/Country-Show/index.htm

Our new London Kettle Popcorn tent arrives tomorrow just in time for the Lambeth Country Show. Look for the big red tent with our logo on the roof panels. You won't be able to miss us!

However, if you do, then follow your nose.

On Sunday 10 July we popped for the first time at South London's East Street Market in Camberwell.

As a casual trader you have to be on the market before 8am to be allocated a stall space. At that hour I need coffee so it was all pretty nerve wracking setting up for the first time and not knowing how the market worked, the protocols and where to park. The market officers really helped out on this by giving us a great spot and lots of encouragement.

For an hour we ran around like a couple of headless chickens trying to set up under the sarcastically curious gaze of the veteran traders. Between bacon sandwiches the Cockney market banter started and we were the recipients of reams of helpful advice.

We soon shed the stress, embraced the carnival atmosphere and Karen started handing out samples of London Kettle Popcorn to all takers. I popped batch after batch and soon flooded the market with the delicious smell of popping corn and caramelized sugar. And after 9 years in London I finally got to try out my market bellowing: 'Don't be shy, try before you buy!' and 'Wrap your laughing gear around some kettle popcorn!'

A slow start and suspicious looks turned quickly to laughter and eager customers sampling our wares. By mid afternoon people were buying hand over fist with one woman even saying she'd come down from her flat because she couldn't resist the smell.

By the time we stopped trading at 3pm to clean up (early 4pm closure on Sundays) we'd had a hell of a day with plenty of market banter, lots of laughs with traders and customers and a flood of compliments on our uniquely delicious kettle popcorn. Packing up we felt a real sense of accomplishment. Thanks to all who came and tried and bought!

Next up is the Lambeth Country Show 16-17 July in Brockwell Park south of Brixton and then back to East Street for Saturday 23 July to meet our new regular kettle popcorn customers.

Hope to see you there!

Pure delicious, addictive, munching heaven!

A sweet-savoury popcorn handmade in a massive stainless steel kettle under very high heat.

There is some debate over whether the Dutch or the Germans started it all back in the 18th century, but either way millions are now happy munchers.

Because we pop in mere seconds under the kind of heat you can't replicate at home, every kernel is coated in a crispy almost invisible jacket of crystalized sugar enhanced and balanced by just a hint of salt .

We only pop plump mushroom-style popcorn not the butterfly popcorn typically found in cinemas and on supermarket shelves. This means you you get a colossal crunch experience instead of flakey bits of kernel stuck between your teeth.

London Kettle Popcorn has so much mouth appeal you'll keep promising yourself to close the bag after 'just one more handful' much like you keep promising yourself to get rock hard abs. It just isn't going to happen!