Supporting Female Food Founders

In April 2018, Mercato Metropolitano, Peabody and Hatch – three Southwark organisations – teamed up to support female food entrepreneurs to help turn one enthusiastic foodie’s dream into a thriving business. MM launched an online competition inviting entries from across south London to bid for:

• Use of a refurbished trading stand at Mercato Metropolitano
• £1,000 capital start up grant, courtesy of Peabody
• Assistance with financial planning, financial management systems
• Creation of a business plan, courtesy of Hatch enterprises
• Support establishing a sustainable supply chain, courtesy of the MM team.

We received 40 entries, of which seven were shortlisted and invited back to a MasterChef-style final. Nancy Nosel, the founder of Ze Spätzle Club, won with her traditional south-west German dish, spätzle.

She said: “Winning the Female Food Founders competition has been a life-changing experience, and the support from MM has been incredible. I’ve been able to go from cooking for friends as a break from my office job, to running my own stall with my own team and an exciting product.

“MM gave me unbelievable financial support. The executive chef taught me how to run a busy kitchen and develop new products, and the MM community of vendors is a valuable support network. I’m proud of what I’ve been able to achieve, proud of how popular spätzle is, proud that all of my ingredients are sustainably sourced and proud to be part of MM.”