Petra Barran is a street food entrepreneur who found fame in 2012 on launching Kerb, a community of London street food providers. Currently operating at Seven Dials Market, the National Theatre, the Gherkin, West India Quay and St Katharine Docks, Kerb has a business incubator scheme and is also a food hall operator and event caterer.
How did your childhood influence your attitude to money?
I was brought up in rural Suffolk by parents for whom food was the Co-op’s discount section and roadkill. My father was forever pulling the car over to inspect animals; he’d jug hare, do pheasant risotto. It was horrendous. I got slices of quivering brawn pushed to me as a six-year-old or, “You’ve got to eat your fat.”
People in our orbit had money so it was confusing. My family were so resourceful that my great-aunt washed cling film and hung it out to dry. My dad had a market garden and grew herbs and vegetables which people bought. He worked as a fishmonger, teacher; my mum taught dyslexic kids and worked in a gym.
My grandparents had a huge house with garden, 40 acres, a lodge and converted stables that we lived in; so I grew up with lots of space. My granddad, a big cheese in Shell, was once the country’s biggest taxpayer. His attitude to money was “let’s enjoy it because I ain’t taking any with me”: generous and sociable.
What were your first jobs?
At 12 I worked in London with my florist auntie who paid me £10 a day. Up at 4am, we’d go to Covent Garden market, pick out flowers and deliver them. I saved £60 and spent £25 on a denim mini-skirt. At 14, I worked in the Lavenham tea shop for £3.50 an hour.
I’ve always loved service, where food is the vehicle for a connection with people. After university I worked for the super-rich on superyachts round the Med and Caribbean, where I tried chocolate. I felt high-quality chocolate here was austere and wanted to make the different ways of having chocolate accessible to everyone, like drinks in Mexico or ice cream in France.
What was your first food venture?
Choc Star: selling chocolate from a van. I did festivals and drove round Britain seeking chocolate lovers and a bed for the night in exchange for chocolate pudding.
Weirdly, I enjoyed the mystery of going to festivals after forking out in advance for pitch fees and a fridge van not knowing if I’ll make money. During the 2007 floods it was nine festivals in a row with terrible weather and just breaking even all summer.
Are you a saver or a spender?
Spend it now, enjoy life. Mostly I’ve spent money on travelling. Some years ago I invested in a food company as it felt like everyone was jumping on the train and it went bust. I lost £12,500.
Do you use cash, debit cards or credit cards?
I used to be cash-on-hip as Choc Star was a cash business. I’d have rolls of cash to buy chocolate, pay the team, pitch fees. I didn’t have a lot in the bank: I didn’t even know my Pin.
These days it’s the opposite. It tends to be debit card because I maxed out a lot of credit cards with businesses in the past. I got into £30,000 of debt 15 years ago, and it took a while to pay it off. I had four credit cards and kept doing the changing credit card companies trick: a year of no interest, move to another company then amalgamate.
But I’ve learnt a lesson. I like knowing how much money I have and paying bills on time.
Have you invested in property?
Yes. A flat I bought in Tower Bridge in 2015 that I rent out. And I’ve just sold a flat I bought in 2007. A few years ago it was like, “get as much property as you can”. Then they started making it harder for small-time landlords to benefit from that. I decided I didn’t want two properties on my hands. I rented it out when I lived in America, but it’s time to do something else with that money.
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