Hauser & Wirth CEO Ewan Venters’ ideal London weekend

This article is part of a guide to London from FT Globetrotter

I moved to London in 1989 when I was 17, having decided to take a job as a management trainee at Sainsbury’s instead of going to university in Scotland. I had been visiting the city for years with my parents and brother throughout my childhood. Our parents loved London, and had worked there in their earlier lives, so they enjoyed coming back and showing us their favourite galleries, theatres and, most importantly, places to eat. One of my earliest memories of the city was its incredible energy and its smell, particularly the diesel from the trains pulling into London from Edinburgh. Even today, when I arrive at King’s Cross station, I can still imagine that distinct smell from my childhood visits.

On Windrush Day in June, I went to see the sculpture in Hackney by Thomas J Price to celebrate the contribution of the Windrush generation and their descendants in the UK, which reminded me of my early visits to the city. That generation contributed so much to the London we know and love today, and it was so evident to me from an early age that I wanted to live somewhere that represented a true melting pot of cultures.

My ideal weekend in London would start in east London. If I am not at my friend (and food hero) Angela Hartnett’s house for breakfast, I would meet her at St John Bread and Wine in Spitalfields, for a midday coffee and Eccles cakes with cheddar — a brunch combination I deem to be one of life’s great treats. I first went to the original restaurant, St John in Farringdon, with Margot Henderson and Trevor Gulliver well over 20 years ago and it still is one of my favourite places to go for lunch or dinner.

After a leisurely breakfast, a walk through nearby Columbia Road Flower Market is a must. It was originally set up as a food market in 1869, but now, every Sunday between 8am and 2pm dozens of local traders set up their stalls along the road to sell a wide array of flora.

If I’m not too full from my earlier fare, I would go to the Beigel Shop on Brick Lane, for what I think are the best bagels in London. Different to New York bagels, they are made in the traditional way (the secret to a perfect bagel is boiling the dough before baking it) and they still taste as delicious as the first one I tried 30 years ago. I used to live in Enfield, and then Rotherhithe, so a night out in Shoreditch was a common occurrence for me and my friends. We would often wander up Brick Lane and order a bagel for a mere 9p for the journey home.

Another non-food related place I like to visit in Shoreditch is Dennis Severs’ House, a beautiful hidden gem of a museum round the corner from Old Spitalfields Market. You typically must queue as only a small number of people are allowed in at any one time. Severs was an artist who lived in this house until he died in 1999. He created a “still-life drama” featuring an imagined family of Huguenot silk weavers with authentic 18th- and 19th-century artefacts. It looks like a theatrical set — everything is staged perfectly, yet somehow feels like the home of a real family. In one room there is a stand with a ceramic frame and little dishes filled with marron glacés, Turkish delights and marzipan fruits, which apparently he liked buying at Fortnum & Mason. It is always topped with a whole candied pineapple. I have always found this a delightfully charming detail.

From the museum, I would take the Overground to Wapping to go to one of the oldest riverside pubs in London (and the setting of one of my very first London pub experiences): The Prospect of Whitby, which dates from 1520. My father was a merchant seafarer, and when he sailed into London during the 1950s and ’60s he liked to stop by, and we often visited for a pub lunch during our bi-annual tours of the city.

Back in its heyday, The Prospect of Whitby was visited by historic figures and celebrities: Turner and Whistler both sketched views of the Thames from the pub, and Charles Dickens dined there too. In the 1950s Princess Margaret was regularly spotted there with her royal escorts, looking to rub shoulders with regular East Enders. I always love visiting, thinking about how many different people have observed the same river views for hundreds of years, and how it has been such a longstanding pillar of the community.

As I am always thinking about my next meal, my final stop on my way home to Battersea would involve picking up ingredients for Sunday lunch. If I am in the mood for fish, I will visit Rex Goldsmith, a fishmonger who has been in Chelsea for nearly 20 years. He used to sell fish straight from the counter to customers on the street (the shop was too small to actually invite anyone inside), and since then he has upgraded to a fully fledged shop next door.

Here I love to buy anything off the day boat — often Cornish monkfish — or a selection of the incredible array of prawns and shrimp. One of my favourite times of the year to stop by is May, if gulls’ eggs are available. They have a perfectly soft shell (not like a hen’s egg), which you lightly boil and gently peel off to dip the egg into homemade mayonnaise and celery salt. This simple snack is one of the most joyous things one can eat.

Ewan Venters is the CEO of Hauser & Wirth and Artfarm, which is launching its first hospitality venture in London, The Audley, this Autumn

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