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1869 was the very first year that the now legendary Columbia Road Flower Market was started in London’s East End by philanthropist Baroness Angela Burdett-Coutts. At the same time, cver the other side of the world, the City of Miami was being incorporated. Credit to the foresight and ingenuity of Burdett-Coutts, who had inherited her grandfather’s fortune of around £1.8 million (equivalent to £210,000,000 in 2023) to buy one of the most notorious slums of London. When Queerguru Editor was still an East London resident, a visit to the Flower Market, only open on Sunday Mornings, was de riqqer. Nowadays, poor Lady Burdett-Coutts would be turning over in her grave if she saw how the whole area had been so gentrified and that the original East End working-class families have been replaced with anyone wealthy enough to lay out some £1.5 + million for a small two-up two-down terrace house in the area
“Progress’ is inevitable, and in such a creative city as London its not always all bad. Especially as we have been more than a tad worried about the survival of queer places…… not just in London, but across the globe. What has popped up since our Editor resettled across the Ocean….. (in Miami of all places, BUT a couple of centuries after it was born) is a fab wee chain of pastry shops under the POPHAM banner. Two of which are very close to the Flower Market, so when we returned recently, we picked up lattes even before we went flower shopping.
Pophams was born out of an idea to bring an innovative spin on traditional viennoiserie baking techniques. Ollie Gold, the founder, spent 7 years working in catering departments in various Formula 1 teams, travelling around the world, and learning about different cooking cultures in every place he visited.
His passion for food continued to grow, and in April 2017, an opportunity arose to take on a derelict chemist in Islington and turn his dream of opening a bakery into a reality. Through the help of Creative Director Lucy, a number of close friends & family, and many hours watching YouTube videos on everything from plumbing to tiling, the doors opened in October 2017. From their very first Bacon and Maple sold in their Prebend Street site, Pophams has evolved, so has 
their ever-changing menu. They’re continuously trying out new flavour combinations and techniques, so they can keep their offering exciting.
In June 2019, they opened the doors to their second site in London Fields, where they have also expanded the offering to include delicious handmade pasta led by Executive Chef Phil King and Head Chef Rae Arends. April 2022 saw the birth of the most intimate site just on the edge of Victoria Park, Hackney, a stone’s throw from Columbia Road Market
They want each of the three sites to become a core part of the community, for people to meet and collaborate, and hopefully feel inspired. The sites, which are designed by Lucy hope to complement the artisan nature of the food they make by collaborating with an array of makers who take similar care and attention to their craft.
| Technically POPHAM bakeries are ‘queer friendly’. but on a good day (!) some of their team can be as fresh as the pastries (just check them out HERE) |
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