July 2015

Hackney Village Fayre is new and exciting, a celebration for all the family of the borough’s food and creative scene.  It’s being held in Hoxton Square, East London, on Saturday 12th September 2015, from midday to 6pm, with food and drink stalls, traditional village fete-style games (coconut shy, tombola, Splat the Rat), art from local schools, face painting by The Breakfast Club, and home-grown entertainment.

Fayre-goers will be able to sample food from some of Hackney’s most celebrated restaurants and chefs: MEATmission, 8 Hoxton Square, Hoi Polloi, Bistrotheque, The Panthers Whiskers and more! Drinks for the adults will be provided by Hoxton Square’s own cocktail specialists, Happiness Forgets, and craft beer supplier, Biercraft.

The event will be open to the whole community so there will be no need to purchase tickets in advance.  Visitors will be able to buy tickets on arrival which will act as ‘money’ accepted by all the participating stalls and attractions.

All profits will be shared between Magic Breakfast, a charity that started in Hackney and which provides free, healthy breakfasts to hungry school children, and Park Hack, a charity that invests funds back into green spaces in the borough.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

Magic Breakfast A registered charity that provides free, nutritious breakfasts to 472 schools where over 35% of pupils are eligible for free school meals and where children arrive too hungry to learn. The charity started in Hackney over a decade ago and since then has raised more than £400,000 for food and support for Hackney school children. Eating a healthy breakfast helps to improve a child's concentration, behaviour, attendance, punctuality and educational attainment.  Over 19,300 children receive a ‘magic’ breakfast each school day, including 1,000 in Hackney.

Park Hack A collaboration of Hackney businesses, artists and the local community to develop mutually beneficial opportunities that will bring investment into the borough’s green spaces and offer benefits for the whole community. http://www.parkhack.london/#!about-park-hack/cowf

MEATmission Part of the MEATliquor family, MEATmission in Hoxton offers ‘rough and ready’ menus of deliciously messy meat dishes and cocktails. MEATliquor was founded by Scott Collins and Yianni Papoutsis, a pioneer of street food in the UK. Together the pair have blazed a demonic trail through the restaurant world. In 2014 MEATliquor took to the airwaves with a radio station, MEATtransMISSION, which broadcasts from a purpose-built studio overlooking MEATmission to 50,000 listeners. http://meatmission.com/

8, Hoxton Square Opened in 2014 by the same team behind Soho’s 10 Greek Street, Cameron Emirali and Luke Wilson boast a seasonal menu inspired by Mediterranean cuisine and specialise in having sought-after wines from around the world. http://www.8hoxtonsquare.com/

Hoi Polloi Hoi Polloi is a modernist brasserie for a forward-thinking Shoreditch, open from 7am daily for breakfast, lunch, dinner, late supper, nightcaps and all the bits in-between. Hoi Polloi’s to-the-point menu is all about seasonal cooking that makes use of quality English ingredients, common sense and good taste. http://hoi-polloi.co.uk/

Bistrotheque Opened in 2004 by Pablo Flack & David Waddington, Bistrotheque occupies 6500sq ft of ex-sweat shop, tucked down a cobbled back street somewhere between Bethnal Green and Hackney.  Now, 11 years on, it has become an East End institution, still playing host to a packed house of local reprobates and is skilfully helmed by upcoming duo, Conor Sheehan (GM) and Jackson Berg (Head Chef). http://www.bistrotheque.com/

The Breakfast Club The Breakfast Club Hoxton has been supporting Magic Breakfast for over a year through £1 donations from each sale of our Green is Good smoothie and all profits from our Hoxton merchandise sales (t-shirts, mugs, tea towels and maple syrup). BC staff will soon be volunteering at St Monica's primary school, helping out at their breakfast club and amazing garden which will help teach the kids about where food comes from.http://www.thebreakfastclubcafes.com/locations/hoxton/

The Panthers Whiskers The Panthers Whiskers offers a number of different services from supper clubs, held in various locations, to private catering and office and event catering. They also have a permanent residency at the Gun pub in Hackney. Crumble is the name of their catering arm providing bespoke catering for private events, photo shoots, weddings & supper clubs as well as lunches for offices, agencies & events. They focus on delivering delicious and healthy food made from scratch with love using the freshest ingredients whatever the occasion. http://www.thepantherswhiskers.com/

Happiness Forgets Opened in 2012, tucked away in a basement in Hoxton Square, Happiness Forgets has been a “go to” for cocktail lovers and named one of the 50 best bars in the world. They boast ‘Great Cocktails, No Wallies’ alongside a team of bartenders who are serious about making you a well-balanced and perfect drink. http://www.happinessforgets.co.uk/

Biercraft Set up in 2013 by Nick Trower, former GM of Dock Kitchen and ex Liberty Wine, Biercraft aims to bring the world's most exciting small craft breweries to the London on-trade and independent off-trade. Operating in much the same way as a boutique wine importer, Biercraft focuses primarily on quality first; searching out the world's most exciting brews to complement drinks lists that feature the world's most exciting wines.http://biercraft.co.uk/about/

Thank you The organisers of the Hackney Village Fayre would like to thank Nesta for funding the hire of the stalls and the children of Princess May and St Monica’s Primary Schools for their hard work creating fabulous art work and helping to decorate Hoxton Square for the event.