The Ploughman Mayfest is around the corner. It's on May 5th at Markfield Park for all of you sleepwalkers out there. I had to post about Cheryl Cohen for part one of my market specials so what better time than this? I'm not sure how I have managed not to rave about her so far. I don't remember the first time I met Cheryl, well actually that's not true. I do remember. It was at a meet-up for the Tottenham Art Group but we didn't speak that night. The next time I met her (properly) was at a Tottenham festival ideas/crunch type meeting, where she told me about some remarkable things she was involved with and organising for the area. One of the biggest and most successful is her founding project - the Tottenham Ploughman  - creating one-off community events, showcasing the artisan producers and various quirky venues that people may not have heard of, or been to, in Tottenham. She's quite rightly been named 'queen of the markets' by the Evening Standard, and she definitely knows how to put one together. She also knows just about everyone in Tottenham - including (probably) your neighbour and the names of any pets, if they have any!

One of the things I truly admire about Cheryl is her undying passion for Tottenham. She loves our turf and works very hard every day to add, champion and wave people over to this part of the north east. When I'm with her, I am inspired to hash plans of cool fun things to do, like painting the town - literally! If she really could be queen for the day, shop fronts along the high road would be painted with artwork, and anything but the plain grey rusted shutters. We would have festivals, street parties and flowers to brighten up our streets. Until then, we have her latest creation to look forward to - bring on Mayfest.

How long have you been working on the Ploughman markets?

I came up with the idea for the Tottenham Ploughman last year. The first event (I’d rather not call them markets!) was last September.

How did your idea initially come about and why?

Frustration! The lack of decent food in Tottenham. Wanting to celebrate what we have here. I know Flourish Bakery; they sell at the farmers' markets I run in other parts of London. I'd spoken with Philip Wilton from Wildes Cheese a couple of years ago and went to a talk he did at Bruce Castle to moot the idea of the Ploughmans: local bread, cheese and beer, all made but not sold in Tottenham, brought together as a local ploughman's lunch. Philip loved it so I contacted Andy Moffat from Redemption who was equally enthusiastic, ditto Flourish.

What challenges have you faced?

The fact that I'm working full time and doing these events voluntarily with no funding in my spare time. Thank goodness for the lovely people who've pitched in to help, yourself included. Oh, and making pickles for the first event; there was almost nothing else in my fridge for weeks.

What's the drive?

Beforehand, giving Tottenham an event that focused on locally made produce, something to be proud of. Afterwards, ditto! To continue to rethink what Tottenham is about. It’s so great to have struck a chord; finding out that I’m not alone in wishing away the grubby shop fronts, myriad chicken shops and betting shops. We deserve so much better and we all have many things to celebrate in Tottenham. Here's a quote from Andy that I kept, 'It was about our local community coming together. Thank you for letting us be a part of such an awe-inspiring celebration.' I know that they're small events; we're limited by lack of budget and time but if people appreciate them, it's great to be able to continue.

What area do you live in?

Tottenham Hale, overlooking the river Lea.

What brought you to Tottenham?

Affordability! I had no idea Tottenham Hale existed before an estate agent gave me a tour.

What are your favourite markets and do you ever try to incorporate elements from them?

I love the great covered markets we have in the UK, especially Newcastle. I can return again and again to Istanbul's mix of markets, ditto Tunis, Delhi and Barcelona. I love the farmers' markets I run for my full-time job. London street markets are great to explore too. I’m not so keen on street food markets as destinations, they’re getting rather ubiquitous. I’d rather eat in a restaurant. I'm drawn to markets, wherever I am in the world, especially if they’re the hub of the community. I'm not going to try to replicate anything for Tottenham Ploughman; each is intended to be a unique event.

What is your favourite local thing to do on a Saturday afternoon or evening?

Walk along the river or cycle along the river, ending up at the Anchor and Hope. Now, of course, there's the Beehive to add to the mix. I wish we had an independent cinema here but sadly, all the old cinemas seem to be churches. I’d so love to turn one back. I'm finally writing the blog post I started last year about things to do in N15/N17 and there are lots to find out about.

Tell us a story that made you believe that the effort was worthwhile?

Having people come up to me and ask when the next events will be or telling me what a difference the events have made to the area. I'm not sure how true that is but it's good to hear! It started raining halfway through the day at Downhill's Park and I thought; that's it, everyone's going to leave. But, no one did. they just continued to picnic and queue for beer. Far too early, Redemption sold out of beer and had to return to the brewery for more, Philip sold out of cheese, Flourish sold out of bread and the ploughman's lunches vanished from the cafe. We'd totally underestimated how popular the event was going to be.

What other projects are you working on, what's next?

Tottenham Ploughman MayFest at Markfield Park, May 5th Bank Holiday Monday; Downhills Park on 8th September and Bruce Castle in December, date TBC. We’re also doing an event in July with a Luke Howard theme. I'm also looking at doing a couple of smaller events such as a guided walk over the marshes followed by lunch at my flat and I'm talking with the Soul Food Sisters about doing something with them. Keep an eye on the Tottenham Ploughman facebook page for updates. As a group, we were also talking about doing comedy nights and film showings but there's only so much time and energy to put into everything. I also still want to do a tea dance with a large big band if we can find a way of funding it. It would also be good to explore other lesser known places in Tottenham, move events around.

What is your favourite part of Haringey?

The river and the marshes. The view from my balcony and the fact that I have the sound of swans flying in the background as I'm writing this.

Who and what shop/place is in your survival address book?

The Portuguese cafe on West Green Road, Seven Sisters. I'm trying to think of places in Tottenham because I'd rather support local businesses. The International Supermarket on Walthamstow high street because they stock an amazing range of pulses, grains, fresh herbs etc. I often go there after shopping at the Walthamstow farmers market to top up. I work near The People’s Supermarket on Lambs Conduit Street, and they stock bread from Flourish so midweek there’s a place to buy their bread.

Queen of Markets

This was written in April 2014