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Winners’ dinners: loyal readers scoop South Norwood prizes

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Congratulations to David White and Paul Hepden, winners of our latest Inside Croydon competition.

Service with a smile: volunteers enjoying their at work in the SNCK kitchen

Paul and David both guesstimated closest to the amount that Ken Towl paid for his delicious lunch at the South Norwood Community Kitchen, where they operate a pay-what-you-can system. They will now both be enjoying a SNCK lunch for two completely free – because we’ve paid.

Every Saturday, South Norwood Community Kitchen provides a free hot lunch for around 100 people, either sitting round a communal table or as take-aways, and they will even deliver when people are unable to come to them. Tuesdays to Fridays is their “pay-what-you-can caff” from 10am to 3pm at Socco Cheta, on Portland Road.

Soul food: fragrant pumpkin and tofu curry

The menu changes daily.

When Ken was there, he enjoyed a pumpkin and tofu curry that was “fragrant in the way that Thai curries are, its complex mix of aromas subtly balanced, the long grain rice perfectly cooked”.

If you go to SNCK on Fridays, you may well find Thai, Vietnamese or Indian cuisine.

The pricing policy there is quite simple. You can pay nothing, you can pay what you like, or you can pay a guide price.

It is not only high-class catering that SNCK provides, however. There’s a whole range of community activities and groups that meet in Socco Cheta through the week, helping to bond the community together, helping those who need help. As organisations such as Citizens’ Advice face funding crises, people are coming to the kitchen to be helped to find the help that they need.

“Where local government increases Council Tax by 15% and provides ever less in the way of amenities, even withdrawing finance from the most basic services, community-based solutions like the community kitchen are becoming ever more essential for ever more people. Local politicians could learn a lot from a visit to the Socco Cheta,” said Ken in his review.

“You should give the kitchen a try, too, not only because you will enjoy eating there, but also because you will be joining the lovely people who go there to help out. It will be good for your soul as well as your stomach.”


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