Joel Braham left St Clement Danes in 2004 to take a degree in Acoustic Engineering. Following jobs in acoustics and visual effects he decided to change direction and become a professional foodie. Now, two years after launching his own business he has been widely recognised for his innovative ideas and was highighted by the Evening Standard as one of twelve Londoners to watch in 2014
Joel, of Commonwood, Sarratt has always been a keen cook.
“ I worked weekends in The Windmill kitchen, Chipperfield and at The Clarendon, Chandlers Cross then became more creative as a student – my housemates loved my suppers.”
Joel’s love for food was rekindled when working in Soho
“ We were surrounded by high end food outlets and market stalls. I decided to go part time so I could do something with food.”
With just passion and a portfolio of inspiration he went in search of kitchen experience and was accepted by Divertimenti Cookery School
“ I was thrown in at the deep end and worked with chefs like Valentine Warner and Chinese food Queen Fucshia Dunlop.. I learned so much – knife techniques, breadmaking and signed up for other courses – butchery at The Ginger Pig, Marylebone and Fish filleting at Catch of the Day, Chorleywood and also worked with chef Yotam Ottolenghi“
He was considering launching his own business when he saw a post on Twitter,
“ I read a tweet by a company called Kitchenette asking for new food business proposals. The ten best would undertake a 12 week programme and be helped with marketing in return for a small share in their company. I had four days to come up with a concept and make a video.”
Joel opted for a pop up café/restaurant serving egg based dishes, he convinced the judging panel and The Good Egg was cracked.
“ London was missing good leisurely brunches and I decided to tap in on that market. Kitchenette helped me build up contacts and get bookings. I work with a small team serving specialist street food at markets, took breakfasts in to companies including Twitter and running temporary pop-up restaurants.”
The Good Egg pop-ups have gone down a storm
“ It’s all about eggs and healthy accompaniments, we go through 360 English free range hens’ eggs a week – mainly Cotswold Legbar blue and Burford browns. Favourite choices are Shakshuka (spicy North African pepper and tomato stew with eggs baked on top) challah made with enriched egg dough and posh poached eggs – you can’t beat the flavour of blues.
The next plan is to open his first permanent site at Stoke Newington North London scheduled for August 2015 ( which he is launching via a crowd funding appeal), and two other restaurants over 5 years. Working with him is former Ottolenghi pastry chef Oded Mizrachi, and executive chef Theo Lewis, from Pizza East. Check out the video…
Update December 2014
We are very, very pleased to be able to announce the Joel has reached his investment target Congratulations Joel, we look forward to eating with you soon. The Stoke Newington restaurant is scheduled to open late August/September 2015
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Past SCD Pupils
August 2013: Tom Clarkson, Filmaker
April 2014: Tom Clark
Sept 2014: Jack Garratt
Nov 2014: Richard Ardagh,
Dec 2014: Blues Brothers Banned