The De Beauvoir Deli Co

Hackney

When East Ender Harry Davies opened his deli in 2009, his mission was to bring ne, artisanal produce to the streets of Hackney. With a café and herb garden opening soon after, his shop has gone on to become the heart of the community, populated by a loyal army of freelancers and well-to-do creatives. They come for the carefully curated, top-quality produce and stay for Davies’s easy charm and the cool, quirky atmosphere which has become the shop’s calling card.

Step inside, ducking to avoid the crimson panettone boxes that swing from the ceiling, and breathe in the homely smell of freshly baked cinnamon buns. Wooden shelves stacked high with seasonal dainties hint at Christmas feasts – slithers of Ibérico de bellota ham from Brindisa are perfect for wrapping turkey, while gleaming crates of quince can be used to lend a distinctive flavour to stuffings.

The deli counter is a gold mine of fine charcuterie and cheese. Blackhand’s bacon and sausages will take centre stage at any brunch, while the fennel and wild pepper salami has a unique taste that adds oomph to festive canapés. The goats’ cheese selection is particularly strong. Our favourite is the Petit Blaja, which hails from the Pyrénées, and has a tart centre with a pleasingly buttery edge. This, matched with St John and Dolly Smith’s scotch bonnet pickle, is diffiult to beat.

There is an online shop with an entire section devoted to hampers and gift sets, but this would remove the fun of browsing the groaning shelves and plundering the staff’s encyclopaedic food knowledge. A nd we are particularly looking forward to opening on the big day is the Distillerie Camel Limoncello. Made with lemons from Italy’s Amal coast in a distillery founded in 1940 by Bepi Tosolini, it has all the verve of hundreds of tart fruits in a single shot.