Since 2020, Ali Kakande has been on a mission to bring people together and care for those in need of community. From 18 June she’s opening a new Carib Eats Canteen in the O2 Centre on the Finchley Road.
“We are a movement fueled by a passion for community, connection, and Caribbean cuisine,” says founder Ali on her stylish website, “where people from all walks of life can come together…”
With the support of the O2 owner Landsec and Camden Council Food Mission Department who were looking to support “a small organisation with a big impact,” Carib Eats plans to bring the same generosity that has made their Hackney and Islington Residencies successful.
On Thursdays (10 – 4pm) and Fridays (10 – 8pm) Ali Kakande and her crew, affectionately known as the canteeners, will be serving lunch and hosting events in a fantastic space on the mall’s top floor between the Vue Cinema and Little Gym.
The Carib Eats Thursday community canteen will open at noon, with opportunities for people to volunteer and support with the set-up. Food will be served from 1pm at around £5 for a meal.
Visitors can enjoy a lunch of traditional Caribbean cuisine – such as fish or chicken or curry goat served with rice and peas, yam, green bananas and fresh salad.
The Carib Eats lunch menu naturally appeals to people with a connection to the Caribbean but with this North London canteen Ali hopes to show hospitality to a wider audience.
Fridays will be dedicated to a variety of workshops, events and community activities, many of which are planned to be intergenerational.
Experienced people will give talks, workshops and practical support on a range of useful and interesting topics such as everyday use of technology, micro business management, and the art of cheffing. Ali would also like to realise networking events and ‘wisdom exchanges’ between the young and older people.
In the airy, back room which is more like a hall with its floor to ceiling windows, Belsize residents Tonia and Kiri will be holding Thursday Drop-Ins to help locals with their bureaucratic challenges.
Tonia and Kiri are now in their second year of running Holding Your Online Hands – their award-winning community organisation. Ali is keen to make more local partnerships; so do get in touch with her to host an event.
If the recent launch party is an indication of the atmosphere that Carib Eats can create, the canteen will surely be ablaze with good energy.
The launch party showed how no.7 at the O2 Centre is ideal for anyone who wants to throw a party, and Carib Eats can also provide DJs. The evening, which kicked off with heartfelt speeches from Ali Kakande and Camden Mayor Patricia Leman, was attended by about 170 Carib Beats friends and colleagues from all over London and we had the chance to taste a Caribbean meal which was truly irie!
Mayor Patricia Leman congratulating Ali and the Carib Eats team at the launch party.
Experience has shown Ali that some people may feel shy or awkward to come along to the canteen on their own, even if they are experiencing food insecurity or loneliness. She understands how a new place, new faces and maybe a new type of food, can make people think that they don’t belong. But Ali Kakande insists that everyone is welcome to experience being a canteener.
Ali Kakande with Tonia (left) and Kiri (right) outside Carib Eats in the O2 Centre.
If you want to volunteer, donate or find out more about Carib Eats: www.caribeats.org
Cover Photo: By Naima Xolani
