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Everyone has a story. Gillespie Park, tucked behind Arsenal tube, is a tranquil oasis that make it hard to believe you are in the borough with the least green space in the UK (except the City of London). And now on summer Sundays the Islington Ecology Centre also boasts a brilliant café dishing up European and Indian inspired treats created by Highbury local Priti Pedersen. Interview by Nicola Baird
Priti Pedersen runs the Sunday Cafe at Gillespie Park – open on summer Sundays (as long as Arsenal is not playing at home).
“I’m a European from Sweden,” says Priti Pedersen who moved to Islington in the 1980s “so some of the things on the Sunday Cafe menu are inspired by this, like gravlax in my brunch. I wanted to do a menu that was slightly different, so nothing is fried. The gravlax (marinated salmon) with scrambled egg is perfect for a Sunday brunch.”
The Sunday Cafe is run by Priti in the Islington Ecology Centre based in Gillespie Park. Gillespie Park has to one of Islington’s most beautiful nature areas with a pond, woodland and meadows and it is easy to reach as it is just a few minutes walk from Arsenal tube.
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A Bee Day, run by the Garden Classroom, at Gillespie Park inspired Priti from the Sunday Cafe to add honey to her menu. This is one of the bee display cases which lets kids safely spot the Queen Bee.
At the cafe Priti’s European-flavoured menu includes freshly made waffles. “Waffles are a lot more common in Sweden. Here I serve them with honey and whipped cream – the honey was inspired by the bee day held recently in Gillespie Park,” she explains.
Another popular dish at the cafe is her spiced lentil soup, which is infused with the spices she brings back to London from her trips to India (see recipe).
Spiced lentil soup by Priti (inspired by Indian dahl)
- Soften onion, garlic, ginger in a little oil
- Add mustard seeds, masala, grated carrot
- Add red lentils, water and creamed coconut, salt and chilli sauce
- Just before ready add some chopped spinach or coriander.
Priti has been producing tasty Sunday Café dishes for the past four summers.
“The council wanted to keep the Ecology Centre open at the weekend by inviting community groups to use it. I suggested a café – and now I’m the only one that’s stayed the course.” Better still the Sunday Café which is open from April – October except on Arsenal home game days has “become more and more popular as the word spreads.”
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Chapel Market is a place for bargains. (c) islington faces
Places Priti likes in Islington
Gillespie Park, 191 Drayton Park, N5 – it’s like secret woods where you can see wildlife and birds. Everybody likes the pond with water lilies and the occasional visit of the heron.- I use the library a lot, mostly Central and N4. It’s where I get most of the books our book group read, this month it is Daniel Defoe’s A Journal of the Plague Years. I’m currently reading Iain Peer’s art history mystery, Giotto’s Hand.
- I love the New River walk and Regent’s Canal.
- I tried kayaking at Islington Boat Club, 16-25 Graham Street, N1, recently – we were lucky with the weather – and found it a very pleasant way to spend an hour or two. (Here are some pix).
- I like Chapel Market for its fresh fruit and the general hustle and bustle of people. There are colourful characters and bargains to be had!
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Sunday Cafe at Gillespie Park run by Priti Pedersen during summer Sundays (Easter-October when the clocks change) so long as Arsenal is not playing at home. Here she is with a banana, cashew and cardamom cake – a recipe inspired by her travels in Goa, India.
Come to the Sunday Cafe
Priti, 59, has been Highbury based since her daughter Robin was born 20 years ago. She also has a wealth of work experience, including time on cruise ships and bookkeeping. “When I was a teenager I worked as a waitress – and some years later as a vegetarian cook – so I know what good food should look like, taste like, and how it should be served,” she says.
During the week Priti says she is often thinking about the café, as well as busy shopping for ingredients using her wheeled trolley as she doesn’t have a car.
“All week I’m preparing and planning for the weekend. I really look forward to meeting people. At the café I find most people are so nice and so grateful, thanking me a hundred times over and saying how lovely the cake is, and the soup, and the park,” says Priti. “I get a lot of positive vibes from running the café – it makes you feel warm and wanted!”
On Sunday Café days at Gillespie Park Priti enjoys meeting the world in Islington’s most secret green space. “London and Islington are an absolute melting point for people from different places. It’s such a shame that we’re going backwards with Brexit. Europeans should be one people.”
Head to the Sunday Cafe as soon as you can – not just for the lovely food, but also a chance to chat to people. It’s a very relaxed atmosphere eating a waffle or some other delicious treat on the terrace or in the park. It’s probably the perfect way to spend a summer Sunday in Islington.
- Sunday Cafe at Islington Ecology Centre from 11am – 5pm (during the summer until the clocks go back, but not when Arsenal is playing at home).
- Islington Ecology Centre, 191 Drayton Park, N5
- Friends of Gillespie Park
