Come To Our Birthday Party ... The Olive Grows celebrates three years at the coal face of premium food and drink production with a warm invitation to an Open Kitchen

... on 3rd May 2011 from 5pm onwards

... at 19, Sovereign Park, London NW10 7QP

The Olive Grows food hub is celebrating its 3rd birthday and the accompanying successes of over 130 food and drink businesses that have passed through the doors, ranging from restaurants and retail brands to cookery schools and caterers, from importers to individual artisans ...

To mark the occasion, we would like to invite you to an Open Kitchen on 3rd May 2011, offering a chance to sample some of the delicious products which originate from this collective of food artisans; and for a supply line of caterers, buyers, suppliers, street market managers and entrepreneurs to meet, share and network. If you have ever contemplated starting up a food and drink business, or if you want to source food and drink from creative and emerging cuisines, this is the place to come.

In just three years, The Olive Grows commercial production kitchens, launched by Olga Astaniotis and George Poole in 2008, have developed into a unique business hub for food and drink producers, offering not only a professional, fully equipped and accredited working kitchen , but also a network of contacts and suppliers, a cooperative of valuable experiential advice and an exciting source of foodie innovation.

The fabulously eclectic range of products produced in the kitchens have reached their customers through accordingly various routes: from church halls or the school gates to the national multiples (including Budgens, Sainsbury's, Waitrose and ocado.com); from the chi-chi foodhalls of Harvey Nicks, Fortnums and Selfridges to Borough and the farmers' markets of London; and from restaurants to university canteens.

This wonderful diversity of businesses hails from The Olive Grows' unique flexible hire system, which has provided a cost-effective launch pad for a bewildering array of inspired start-up food enterprises, some hiring facilities for as little as four hours per week; while also offering an overspill facility for established firms, allowing them to pitch for bigger or fixed term contracts as required.

It is a visionary business model, providing a one-stop shop for food and drink enterprises; which offers kitchen, refrigerated van and food storage hire as well as an inter-supportive foodie community of advice and networks. The Olive Grows responds directly to a client's individual needs; allowing growth as demand dictates, without the drain of long term leases and expensive equipment purchases. Thus, overheads are kept low and attention is focused on the bit that matters: the quality and innovation of the product.

The result is a fantastic array of cutting edge produce from across the globe that would otherwise have struggled to reach the marketplace, some extraordinarily talented chefs launching into the food and drink sector and a mass of small businesses thriving and growing with The Olive Grows' support. All fuelled by a uniting passion for quality food.

"The first 3 years have been both fraught and incredibly rewarding," explains co-founder Olga Astaniotis. "We launched the business just before the banking crisis in 2008. "Thankfully, the adverse effects have been balanced by a fantastic spirit of entrepreneurialism in the UK, with people from all walks of life aspiring to run their own food business. For many of them, we arrived at the right time. How often I have heard 'I'm so glad I came across your website', 'I can't believe I've found you, your facilities are exactly what we need.'

"We are offering our clients what we set out to achieve," she continues, "which is to reduce their start-up risks and costs, and to ease the difficult and lonely path of starting a new business."

Retail and wholesale brands that have launched from this entrepreneurial springboard include ..

• stewed! - Alan Rosenthals' range of premium, internationally influenced stews, much feted by the press and now available nationally in a selection of multiples (www.steweduk.co.uk)

• Joe and Seph's - fabulous, gourmet popcorn in a range of six Wonka-esque flavours, with a magical flavour time-release and a growing list of stockists ... (www.joeandsephs.co.uk)

• Mamajaan's - in less than a year, Anjam Jabeen's authentic, fresh Indian sauces have found their way into selected Budgens stores, been well received by the press and are all set on a rapid growth trajectory (www.mamajaans.co.uk).

• Lalani teas - a boutique tea trading company specialising in some of the world's finest and rarest teas. (www.lalaniandco.com).

A constant flow of food service businesses using and returning to The Olive Grows, as required, gives testament to the efficiency of the flexible hire model. Caterers and restaurateurs include ...

• Mint Leaves - a well-established and respected Indian restaurant at ExCel,who cannily use the kitchens as an extension of their restaurant to advance-prepare bulk quantities of sauce. (www.mintleaves.co.uk)

• G&D Events - established contract caterers and party planners, whose consortium approach to a recent contract, notably won through The Olive Grows' referral, highlights the cooperative ethos of the kitchens; with G&D drawing on products and services from fellow The Olive Grows clients to fulfil the contract. (www.g-and-d-events.com)

• Wild Peacock - a newly formed premier catering company serving private events and the corporate sector.

• Chefs on the Move - well established catering company who use The Olive Grows for larger events. (www.chefsonthemove.org).

• Rico Picante - chilli sauces made from Peruvian chillis. Now moving from start-up to growth phase - and using The Olive Grows for larger batch production (www.ricopicante.co.uk).

• Peppercorn Catering - fusion, global food by Leiths trained Adwoa Mwanza, who used the kitchens to grow her business to a point where she has now moved to her own kitchens (www.peppercorn.co.uk).

• The Street Food Company - two backpacking graduates who brought back authentic street food recipes from across Asia and turned them into a thriving catering company supplying universities. (www.thestreetfoodcompany.co.uk)

One of the most exciting aspects of The Olive Grows is the new products which it helps to bring to fruition.

Retail and manufacturing brands currently in development include ...

• Mrs Tinks - handmade, nutritious toddler and children's ready meals who used The Olive Grows to make the leap from domestic kitchen to serious start-up (www.tinkfood.com).

• Wild About Game - suppliers of the best Scottish game meat which is sold through London food and street markets.

• Abundant Life Cuisine - vegetarian bean soup made to order and sold through community outlets, which is now set to expand its range and launch into mainstream sales.

• Bobo's - delicate, aromatic and beautiful macaroons, sold online and through shops and bakeries.

• Kienergy - fresh juices designed to complement specific diet and exercise regimes.

Editors' Notes: • The Olive Grows is launching a London-wide competition, searching for the next big innovative artisan retail brand, which it will help develop and launch. Judging criteria will include creativity and innovation, sustainability and CSR commitment, marketing plans, branding and packaging ideas and overall feasibility. Watch out for more announcements...

• The Olive Grows Awards: ➢ Winner New Business Start-up of the Year 2008, Park Royal Partnership ➢ Highly Commended New Business / Start-up (North and West London) 2008 Award, Archant London ➢ The Olive Grows' clients hauled in a hugely impressive 6 prestigious Guild of Fine Food Great Taste Gold Awards 2009.

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Press enquiries : Lisa Jones, dandelionPR : T : 07968 963456 E : lisa@dandelionpr.co.uk

Weblinks: www.theolivegrows.co.uk Follow us on: www.twitter.com/oliveolga - ends -