THE WOODFIELD PAVILION
The Woodfield pavilion is a beautifully refurbished grade listed heritage building located in the Tooting Common and run by a charity called ‘The Woodfield Project’. It currently operates as a community centre for the people living in the area. In July 2020, i launched and managed a collaborative pop-up cafe at The Woodfield Project, which received an overwhelming response.
I designed the cafe’s directional signboards and created their collaborative cafe model, which included recipe and menu developing. I brought together a small team; I cooked, served, took photos, placed our gastronomic delights on social media and developed the whole cafe.
Below is a case study of my pop ups.
PROJECT STATS
A collaborative cafe model, inviting local cooks and chefs to participate
Launched 18th July, 2020 on a 6 month contract
Weekend operation from Friday - Sunday (11am - 3pm)
A revenue sharing model
An all vegan and vegetarian menu, cakes and pastries
Based on green ethos, zero waste and ethical business practices
DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT ON INSTAGRAM
To create anticipation in the local community as a prelude to the opening of the cafe, as well keep them engaged during the first lockdown. I launched Instagram live ‘Global cook along’ series celebrating the true diversity of our community. A diverse range of local cooks and chefs went live to show how to cook unique vegetarian and vegan dishes from around the world.
My role involved in coming up with the idea, designing the social media posts, inviting and co-ordinating the live sessions with the participants.
The result was not just deliciousness in the local homes, but an increased visibility of The Woodfield Project within the local community and a sharp rise in their digital engagement as well as followers.
Celebrity chefs like Joe Lambert and Chef Vivek Singh participated in the cook alongs
Together we whipped up many delicious dishes online
INSTAGRAM STORIES FROM
COOK-ALONGS
TWP reached new followers, built interest and fan base within the community, as local cooks and chefs participated in the cook-alongs.
OPENING OF THE CAFE WITH LAUNCH OF ‘TASTE THE WORLD’ PICNIC HAMPER
We opened the cafe with the idea of launching a very unique picnic hamper. The picnic hamper was not your typical hamper and included snacks from around the world home-made by local cooks and chefs.
MY ROLE
Apart from hatching the idea of a picnic hamper and cooking for it, I was also involved in designing the packaging, the menu as well as their social media posts and promotions.
The hamper saw a huge success with rave reviews and was an instant hit within the local community.
‘TASTE THE WORLD’ - PICNIC HAMPER MENU
SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTIONS AND COLLABORATIVE GIVEAWAYS TO BOOST SALES
We created collaborative giveaways, In partnership with small and local food businesses. The promotion resulted in highest ever post engagement for Woodfield, with comments reaching in 3 digits and cross promotion for the local businesses as well. Not to mention people from the community really enjoyed home-made deliciousness.
CREATIVE BRUNCH MENU OFFERINGS
Apart from the picnic hamper, the cafe also offered an ever evolving, co-created brunch menu. There was always something new, innovative and exciting dishes created by a diverse range of local chefs and cooks.
Sustainability was at the heart of everything we did and all the food we offered was either vegetarian or vegan. We mentored the team on sustainable food production methods with zero waste strategy. The packaging was fully compostable and most of the ingredients were locally sourced.
So, whilst we took the taste buds for a trip around the world, we made sure the produce didn’t have to.
Bombay Burger
Veggie Dumplings
Cauliflower Wings
Root Burger
Bombay Cheese Toastie
Dumpling Soup
Roti Nachos
Roman Suppli
Smashed Plantain Tostones
Venezuelan Cake
Egg Shakshuka
Celebration Cake
And much much more…
REVIEWS FROM LOCAL CUSTOMERS, BLOGGERS AND MEDIA
CULTURAL FOOD EVENTS - DIWALI
I oversaw the launch of two cultural food festivals for TWP, which were their first food related events. Diwali event marked the busiest day at the cafe with long queues and all food being sold out.
DIWALI - SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT
BLACK HISTORY MONTH - COOKALONGS
CULTURAL FOOD EVENTS - ITALIAN FOOD FESTIVAL
Woodfield’s first ever food festival, which was very well received by local residents and local media alike. For ease of operations, I also designed the ‘Pavilion Pounds’ for the festival.
ITALIAN FOOD FESTIVAL - SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT
REVENUE STATS
In the months that the pop-up cafe operated at Woodfield, there was a steady rise in revenues and returning customers. It’s publicity on social media played a large part in creating the image of the charity and attracting membership during difficult times. The cafe drew new members for Woodfield, increased its social media followers and benefited other community events held at the pavilion.
The café was hugely successful and attracted large numbers during the pandemic and was an important factor in keeping the charity afloat financially.
The cafe closed in mid December after the 3rd lockdown was announced.