The East Midlands Young, gifted and fresh

Date Published:

08/09/2008

I donned my sou'wester on possibly the rainiest day of the year so far and set sail for Belper, Derbyshire and the Fresh Basil Deli added to the Map by L.Collins who said it has a "wonderful, vibrant atmosphere. Great selection of olives, meats and cheeses. Fantastic cakes and coffee." Sounds like a good place to weather the storm

"I can still remember my Wetherspoons staff number -1084965," says Sam Jackson over a brilliantly made cappuccino. Sam now owns a third of Fresh Basil along with founders, Tim Dakin and Roma Bothemley. He initially worked in one of Roma's other businesses, after college. Then left, got a job in sales for an IT company, burnt out and did a spell at the Wetherspoons pub chain before finally returning to work with Roma and Tim in Fresh Basil in 2006. What's more - he's only 27 years old. "I came back to work for them for a year or so then thought about moving on. That's when they invited me into the business," says Sam.

I ask him about the shop. "I wouldn't say we're just a deli. We're more of a fresh food shop. Around 80 per cent of our lines are fresh," says Sam. There's also the café, which is packed with folk having lunch and getting out of the rain on the day I visit.

Part of the community

What's also impressive about Fresh Basil is that it isn't just a shop. It sees itself as part of the community. In July 2007 Sam and the team organised the first Belper Food Festival. "It started with 24 traders and three local bands," says Sam. Music, he tells me, is a big part of it: "otherwise it'd just be a farmers market." This July he had 44 traders, numerous bands and over 3000 people attend; that's nearly a third of Belper's residents.

I point out some of the books available on the bookshelf for customers to browse. As well as the cookbooks there's ones addressing the politics and economics of food. This is apt as the council is considering a bid from Tesco's to build a new superstore on the edge of town.

Twins

A tour of the shop reveals some familiar products - some nice olives, some good-looking pastries and even some Yorkshire biltong. "I’ve over 60 suppliers," says Sam. "We've tasted, we've hated and we've wasted. We've worked really hard to build up a great list of suppliers for the shop," he adds. I'm watching the other members of staff. A boy zips off upstairs to clear tables, then somehow appears in the kitchen moments later. "They're identical twins," says Sam. They look very smart in their shirts, ties and aprons. Apparently they're a hit with the older ladies.

A queue starts to form and Sam peels off and takes up position behind the counter as I stand and watch as people come in for a slice of cake or a take away coffee and pastry. "Now then, what can I get you, Madam?" he says to one lady. He's clearly a young man who really enjoys the business of retailing food.

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