Third Space Canteen is changing direction.
I came up with the concept of Third Space Canteen because I wanted to change the way I ate in order to reduce my impact on the planet. When I tried I found it too difficult and overwhelming, hence creating an evening canteen for people like me. The social aspect of people eating together almost came about as a secondary idea; one of the most important things you can do food-wise is not waste it and a big problem for restaurants is food waste as they don’t know how many people will turn up each night. I thought, if I turn the Canteen into a sort of membership club, I’d be able to have a better idea of how many people were coming each night and reduce the waste.
Having said that, I’ve always struggled to know exactly what the purpose of the Canteen is because the social element has always been something very close to my heart and it definitely seemed to be more appealing to potential customers than saying “let’s save the planet by eating differently”.
People say that 90% of the battle when starting your own enterprise is the mental attitude. It takes a lot of work to be self-critical and work out your own internal battles. And recently I've come round to a new way of thinking.
People say you can’t love others if you don’t love yourself first and I think that’s true when thinking about the planet. We can’t love the planet if we don’t love ourselves as a society and work together.
There are so many problems to fix right now – on a worldwide level and on a very local level and one thing I do know is that no community can fix a problem without first of all talking about it. There’s a really nice saying about how, if you really want to learn about life, make sure you have friends who are different from you. But the reality is, we are a polarised society on a global, national and local level. Look at the developed/developing nations divide, look at our current national political situation and look at our own local area in Bermondsey. There’s a real tension between the new people moving in and the people who have lived here for generations and what are we doing to solve the problem? I can see a lot of blame but not that many solutions.
When was the last time you had a proper conversation with someone in your community who wasn’t a family member, a long-standing friend or a colleague?
If you really want something to change, it has to start with a conversation, and the best conversations happen over a really good meal.
So come join us! Every Monday 5-9pm.
All meals now £10 and £5 for children. We have toys and games out for children to play with.
Book online in advance: https://bit.ly/3677cSk
Nicola, Third Space Canteen Founder x
