Q&A: Flip Dunning

“IT’S STILL MADE BY HAND EVERY SINGLE WEEK, LESS THAN A MILE AWAY. THE ONLY THING THAT’S CHANGED IS THE VOLUME”

Interview: Mark Riddaway

Flip Dunning has a vivid memory of the moment her life changed. “I’d been at a wedding and got in really late, about two or three in the morning. There was a Borough Market envelope on the mat. and I thought, after this everything could be different. I could barely open it, my hand was shaking so much. I pulled the letter out a bit, and I could see the word ‘Congratulations’. I was like: ‘Oh my gosh, this is it, I’ve done it.’”

It was almost 20 years ago, after a comprehensive, nerve-shredding application process, that Flip made the leap from food-loving advertising executive to founder and sole employee of Pâté Moi, a mushroom pâté business and a trader at London’s most famous produce market. She’s been here ever since, selling her magical handmade pâté and, despite its stellar popularity, resisting any temptation to turn her small, hands-on business into something more corporate.

Where did your love of food come from?

In my family we were born cooking, all of us. My dad was a huge cook, my mum was a huge cook, we ate brilliantly as kids, we tried absolutely everything. We had our own hens, grew our own veg, baked our own bread. I was already really into food by about the age of five. I was a massive anchovy eater. For my eighth birthday I asked for my breakfast, lunch and dinner to be anchovies! By the age of 10 or 11 I was making my own anchoïade – you mash some anchovies in a pestle and mortar, with garlic, a drop of brandy, black pepper, thyme, a little lemon juice, and some butter. Pound it all together and spread it on some really good baguette. That was my childhood snack!

You grew up in Cheshire. What brought you to London?

I came to do an English literature degree at UCL. While I was at uni, I did lots and lots of cooking – it was too expensive to eat out, so we’d host parties in our flat. I’d bake the bread, I’d make the soup, cook a main course. That’s when I started making the mushroom pâté. It was my brother who originally invented the recipe when he was eight. Everyone loved it. I remember one of my really good friends saying to me: “Oh my God, you should sell this!” That lodged in my brain for years.

Your very first step into the food world was your application for a stall at Borough Market. What led you to apply?

I worked in advertising for about nine years, still cooking all the time, and I used to come to Borough Market a lot – every Saturday. At the end of the day, I’d see everyone packing up their stalls, folding up their tablecloths, and I remember thinking how much I would love the satisfaction of making something of my own thing, selling it, and then finishing for the day. My old job took me all over the world, it was very intensive, but you never really had that moment of completion, of satisfaction. I decided I wanted to make my mushroom pâté and I wanted to sell it here. It was a complete leap into the unknown!

What do you remember of your first day of trading?

After I was accepted, my dad died, and it was absolutely terrible. I wrote to Borough by hand. I told them how much it had meant to me to be offered this chance, and how dad had encouraged me with food all my life. Would they let me delay my start? They wrote me the most amazing letter back offering their sympathy and saying that they were going to keep my place open for a year. I started on 8th September 2006. It was a blue-sky day, really cold. I set out my stall and waited. My first customer was an American man. I’ve never forgotten him. He picked up a sample and tasted it. I just watched. I couldn’t breathe. “Oh my God,” he said. “That’s one of the nicest things I’ve ever tasted.” He bought my first pot. I phoned my mum straight away to tell her! From that moment I never looked back. I’d sold out by 1pm and had to work all through the night to make enough for the next day!

Compared with that first pot, how different is the pâté you’re selling now?

It’s identical. Made by hand every single week, less than a mile away in my kitchen in Bermondsey. The only thing that’s changed is the volume I make, but it’s all still made by hand, by me. I’ve also extended the range. I do a dairy and gluten-free version, and one with truffle, which was originally a special edition, but it sold like hot cakes, so I kept it on.

Your pâté has developed a cult following. What’s the secret?

I use brilliant ingredients. There’s nowhere to hide if you’re making such a simple product. It all starts with great-quality mushrooms from Suffolk. The tamari I use is the best organic, non-GMO, double-fermented tamari you can buy – I could use one that’s two-thirds the price, but I wouldn’t get that flavour depth. Even my lemons are organic. I cook my mushrooms very slowly, for a long, long time, until all the liquid is absorbed. I will not cut corners. I make it fresh, and I don’t use preservatives – the onion and lemon essentially act as the preservatives.

While running an extremely hands-on business, you’ve also been a single mum to your daughter. How have you managed that?

She’s been with me on the stall since she was little. She learnt all her maths adding up the sales and counting my change out. She’s now 16 and knows everything about the pâté, inside and out – and thank god she likes mushrooms! What’s great is that she’s grown up seeing a woman doing every single aspect of the business. A food business isn’t just about making the product, it’s about managing those you work with, it’s about the logistics, the sourcing, the seasonal shifts, being on top of orders, the payroll, the tax, there are so many different things to do. I’ve had to learn these entire skillsets myself. I’m glad she’s seen that.

Is Borough Market a good environment for a female business owner?

Oh, I love it, and it’s never been more supportive than it is now. It’s changed a lot in 20 years. When I started, markets had quite a masculine energy to them. People forget how physical the work is, moving heavy crates and working in all weathers – it’s not for the faint hearted. There weren’t many women running stalls back then, and I had to work quite hard for my voice to be heard, but I feel like my presence as a small female producer is as valued as any of the men. It was a slog at times, particularly with a little baby, but I’ve had nothing but support and encouragement along the way.

You still spend a lot of time at the market, as well as making the product yourself. What keeps bringing you back here when you could be taking it easy somewhere warm instead?

Partly it’s the other traders. I’m quite community minded, always have been. I like to know my neighbours and I like to interact with them. I love meeting other people who are as involved with their products as I am, people who really care – you can share that passion, but also you can trade off each other’s knowledge. It’s also important to be constantly learning about your customers. If I wasn’t on my stall, and I was just cashing in the money, I’d miss all of that. I’ve become such good friends with so many of customers over the years. People write me the most incredible emails as well. I’ve got hundreds of them, written to me out of the blue. I think they can taste the care that goes into the pâté. They recognise that I’m not a faceless brand – it is all me doing it.

IWD