If you’re partial to a mooch along KERB’s Saturday market on Francis Road, you may have spotted the queen herself. Gently ruling her patch in signature blood-red lipstick and matching nails — gold jewellery adorning her neck — is market manager Zoe Angelique.
A true East Ender, Zoe was born in Stratford and moved to Leyton when she was 19. “But my mum was actually born in Albert Road back in the 1950s,” she says.
Over on-point iced americanos from Yardarm, she enthuses about her role without taking a breath. “We have the best streetfood, and source the best organic farmed meat and veg — plus so many producers are local, like Liv’s Cakes, she’s a Michelin-star baker, and my god, her cakes, they’re divine.”
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It’s a passion that’s nothing short of refreshing. “There are some beautiful traders,” she continues. “Each week I look at the line-up and I love all of them. Fosse Meadows butchers do this lamb shoulder that’s marinated in all the spices — and I’ve never tasted anything like it.”
But Zoe’s no ingénue. Her eclectic career to date has included a noughties stint running the eponymous Zoe’s Sandwiches, based up in Higham Hill. At that time she used to deliver in Leyton and Leytonstone in “my little van,” she says. “I’d go into the police station here on Francis Road, as well as the hospital and council.”
She’s also a trained ballet dancer, recyclable clothes designer and even standup comedian, her alter ego Miss Mad Hatter (follow @miss_mad_as_ze_hatter), when she performs at Backyard Comedy Club in Bethnal Green. “I do a bit of everything, darling,” she tells me, with an infectious cackle.
So what can we expect this summer at KERB? “Lots more fresh produce. I want to put oyster stalls here with a bloody mary sauce. I want more local and more international foods, more Turkish — think baklava — more jams, more olive oils, sauces and pickles.”
And with that she’s gone. “Oh, but we’re always looking for local traders that live around the corner,” she adds, before dashing back to work. “We’re an innovative company that can build on your idea. So just get in touch.”
KERB Francis Road takes place every Saturday in E10, 10am-4pm, follow @kerbfrancisroad
This post is kindly supported by KERB Francis Road.
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