Bonnington Cafe

s of Bonnington Square, the Café has been open since the early 80's when it was started as a squat Café to provide a good cheap meal for the community. Much has changed in the years since we opened, but not the sense of community. Originally managed by a cooks' cooperative and now directly run by the local community, our wonderful changing roster of cooks draw each night on a wide range of cuisines. The Bonnington Cafe continues to be committed to high quality vegetarian and vegan food; to affordable prices; and to an equitable share of proceeds between the cooks and the BCCA. Early history

Initially the café wasn't open to the public. It was an eating place run by squatters for squatters, because the local houses were in such a bad state and didn't have gas or electricity or sometimes even water. It was a communal space where food could be made for people from the community, and if they had nothing they paid nothing, or whatever they could afford. At the very beginning, people would go to the old fruit and veg market at New Covent Garden and pick up the throw-away vegetables. It didn't really cost anything, but was still perfectly good food that was just thrown away in our wasteful society. From squat to community centre

By the mid-1980s, as nearby homes were slowly renovated, there was less need for a squatters' kitchen. One of the squatters who had lived upstairs at 11 Vauxhall Grove turned the building into a community centre. The BCCA was founded in the early 1990s - and was able to purchase the whole builkdiong for the community thanks to a National Lottery grant. It was decided to turn the kitchen into a café, but still to keep it as a communal space for both cooking and eating. Because it is a very popular café there was always a lot of pressure to go upmarket, but to this day we don't want to, and aim to keep our prices affordable. A different chef every night

The original cooks' collective - sometimes known as the Café Users Group or CUG - originally ran the café on a co-operative basis. All cooks were members of the CUG, and this led to a great system where every day of the week somebody different cooked. There were blessings in that, but sometimes problems as well. If someone forgot that it was their night to cook, then the café would stay shut! Today, the BCCA maintains the same tradition of having different cooks each session. The nice thing about this unusual system is that there is a great variety of cuisines on offer. After paying the BCCA a flat fee for their session, a cook is responsible for buying the food, preparing and serving it, and cleaning up at the end of the day. Cuisine from around the world

The philosophy behind the café is the same today as it was 40 years ago - to have a community-friendly place where people can come in, sit down and meet people. It is also a place for people who like to cook vegetarian and vegan food to be able to do it without the risk and investment involved in opening a café of their own. We want to have as many different cuisines as possible, so we presently have people cooking with us whose food is inspired by Syria, Poland, Iran, Pakistan, and England. Many cooks make an effort to use local produce, such as from allotments, farmers' markets and UK farms. Everyone though has a different angle, so while some focus on seasonal food and organic, others focus on raw foods and for some its all about exotic ingredients from around the globe.