The Borough Market attacks in June earlier this year shook not just the local community but the whole UK to the core. Borough Wines has been a part of that community for 15 years, through thick and thin and Founder and M.D. Muriel Chatel reminds us that whilst the incident was tragic, Borough Market is a community. Muriel gave me some time from her busy schedule to discuss her business, its journey and the deep sense of community that runs through each aspect.
Muriel Chatel is French from Bordeaux. Her family background is with wine, her Grandfather was a winemaker from Algeria. However she wanted to work in London and work again with wine after some time in interior design. It made sense for her to open up Borough Wines in 2002.
There was a food renaissance going on in London at that time. She describes a time when people wanted to re-connect with their food and drink, provenance became important again and London was open to the world – “Borough market was that”. This also meant that she could sell her family’s wines and work with friends. The business was borne out of the need and passion to do a job not a big financial ambition. It was a very exciting time.
London is described by some as France’s sixth biggest city, and Muriel felt the enormous pull of it as a cosmopolitan city. She points out that the French are fascinated by, UK culture, fashion and London symbolising all that was young dynamic and fashionable.
As a result, the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs estimates that there are between 250k and 300k French ex-pats living in the UK mostly in London, and although robust numbers are difficult to come by, probably about 150k Brits living in France.
Their reasons for doing so are completely different with the French mostly in the UK to work finding opportunity and entrepreneurship, whilst the Brits are in France to retire or at least work less, being largely living outside of Paris. As one joker suggested – we should just swap countries!
Muriel suspects that the French are largely like the Australians with 25-35% staying and the remainder returning to the homeland.
Along with the growth and development of the vibrant Borough market she has seen the change in business and women in London and the wine trade. Wine is now seen as a career, something to aspire to as opposed to being born into it – similar to the restaurant industry.
She reflects that it is more professional now and sees a large quantity of applicants for roles in Borough Wines choosing to take completely different careers – from Lawyers, accountants, to aspiring to work in the industry. Wine is interesting and has geography, alcohol, culture, which is different than just crunching numbers or getting hung up on technicalities of law.
The ups and downs have been a roller-coaster ride and by 2008 Borough Wines was wholesaling to many local hospitality businesses, however all that stopped with the onset of the financial crisis. Muriel had some hard reflection to do which led the business to introduce their unique re-fill system, and which also repeated the echo that she had heard but never been quite able to identify.
The shop was and still is community. Customers to this day can come in and re-fill their own containers for very reasonable £6-7 or have a glass on – premise. What she found was that as the refill from barrel service became more known her customers would come in and have a chat – it became a point of focus where people exchanged and shared stories of the day.
This has led to the development of serving by the glass has been a roaring success in Battersea where they have wine flights with a small bar food menu and has extended to Turnham Green and Kensal Rise. It also re-asserts the recurring theme that the community feel of sitting down with others and having a glass of wine brings.
Now Borough Wines has 9 stores with more in the pipeline, its range is mostly European, refreshingly because that is where ‘they’ come from. Muriel employs French, Italian, Spanish people not exclusively but because that’s how it happens and often they have an association with Europe and wine, so it makes sense to keep the range mostly European – it is what they know best and what their customers enjoy.
Bearing in mind the current business climate and spreading the risk, they are also now shipping from Argentina, New Zealand Australian and South Africa because they have the outlet base to do that. Muriel wants to develop something from Lebanon, whether that is New or Old world is debatable. It is not a political choice, just one that makes sense from their operational perspective.
The most interesting aspect of wine that has changed in Muriel’s time has been the growth in sales of Natural, Biodynamic and Organic (N.B.O.) wines. In 2002 when she first started, the range was 100% N.B.O. wines. It lasted a year and the pragmatic Muriel quickly adapted the range. Now however N.B.O. is back and there is real choice is these wines. Indeed an Organic wine is her current favourite form her native Bordeaux, although she seldom chooses wines from home region. ‘Franc-jeu’ is unusually 100% Cabernet Franc Organic red from Chateau Brandeau.
What resonates from speaking with Muriel is that wine is community and that to be part of Borough Market at this time has been reflective and inspiring, whilst totally shocking. The Borough Market spirit and values remain the same solidarity in the face of adversity, whether that be violent terrorist attacks or financial meltdown. She acknowledges that it was important to close the market for a week to reflect and re-gather and although that has very significant implications for small businesses that can’t open, can’t cook and trade when it re-opened it as one of the most beautiful and memorable occasions of her life.
It must be seen as an accident, not normal, and we don’t want to see it as normal and it shouldn’t change the way that we respond.
The market remained supportive, didn’t kill the market, most important to remember that we are always part of the community and that however silent it never ceases to be there.
Alistair Morrell
Hospitality & Catering News, Wine & Drinks Editor