Pedal Me x Padella = Pasta Delivered Faster

Catching Up With Jordan From Padella.

Above: Rider Yo at Borough Market Padella.

Padella has cemented its status in London’s food scene as serving some of the best pasta in the capital.

They realised that the way they were moving food and equipment between their restaurants was inefficient. How could they improve their logistics? That’s where Pedal Me came in.

Padella decided that the quickest and most environmentally friendly way to move stock between sites was on our bikes.

We spoke with co-owner Jordan Frieda about his experience with Pedal Me so far.

Pedal Me: Thanks for taking the time to chat with us.
Jordan Frieda: No problem, glad to speak with you.
PM: Can you give us some background to Padella and how you came to start the restaurant?
JF: I started a restaurant with the amazing chef Tim Siadatan in Islington in 2010 called Trullo. We had both worked in the restaurant industry since the early 2000s, at The River Cafe and St. John respectively, and it was these icons of the London food scene that inspired us to open Trullo.
PM: Is Trullo still open?
JF: Yes, it’s still going strong, with a deli next door. It’s more like a traditional trattoria and it was from this that Padella grew.
PM: I’ve seen the queues outside your Borough Market site. What’s the deal with Padella?
JF: We opened Padella there in 2016 with the mission of serving up the best quality pasta in London but keeping it reasonably priced. It’s a real passion for us. As you say, the original Borough Market Padella is incredibly popular, but it is very small.

PM: Is the pasta made there?
JF: No, you need a bigger site, so we used to use a separate kitchen in Borough. When we expanded and opened our second restaurant in February 2020 we moved all our kitchen operations there (Shoreditch). You need all the right kit to be able to make the pasta, bread etc.
PM: It’s a great space, but obviously this meant you had to start moving stuff between all your restaurants.
JF: That’s right, and before we started using Pedal Me, we would put it all in taxis and cars, which I hated doing!

PM: I can imagine! You’re a keen cyclist yourself aren’t you?
JF: I am indeed, and it was when I was riding my bike that I first saw a Pedal Me.
PM: Amazing! Our riders do love to chat about the business and the bikes.
JF: That’s exactly what happened, we kept stopping next to each other at traffic lights, so I struck up a conversation and the lovely rider told me all about the company. They said that they use the bike themself more than their own one at the weekend, and explained how much the bikes can transport, and how long the batteries last.
PM: That’s good to hear. Give that rider a bonus! So did you switch to Pedal Me soon after that?
JF: No, it took a little while. We were so busy, and it was only when lockdown kicked in that we started using Pedal Me to move stock and also to do home deliveries. Like I said, we used to use taxis for moving stock. This pained me! I didn’t like the idea of us contributing to congestion and pollution in the city. So, lockdown was an opportunity to restructure and change how we worked. I remembered my chance meeting with the rider and got in touch with you!

PM: We did a lot of home deliveries, I remember.
JF: Yeah, I think it was 60-90 home pasta kits every day. It was an amazing enterprise and I loved the first few days working with you. It was a bit chaotic, but your riders made things work. They are fun, friendly and personable.
PM: Thank you. That’s a common compliment we get, which is reassuring! What would you say have been the main benefits of switching to Pedal Me?
JF: I can now trust that our food is being moved around London in a clean way. We wanted a service where we didn’t have to worry or think about how things would be processed. It just needed to be efficient and cost-effective.
PM: Have you found that to be the case?
JF: Absolutely. The cost of Pedal Me’s service is equivalent if not cheaper than how we used to do it with cabs. But it’s the other value that you can’t put a price on that makes me so happy to use Pedal Me. I would be sad to see our quality, artisan products in a system that was not environmentally friendly or considerate to Londoners. It just makes so much sense to use cargo bikes.

PM: And what would you say to other people with a similar business? Would you recommend Pedal Me?
JF: Yes, I would. I cannot imagine going back to using motor vehicles to courier our food across the city. We are fully committed to continuing to work with Pedal Me. We hope to expand again, so that will mean using Pedal Me even more!
PM: Excellent!
JF: Our pasta must get to diners as fresh as possible, and Pedal Me are the only people I trust to do the job of moving it safely and considerately. I am proud to be partnering with Pedal Me.
PM: Thank you for the chat, Jordan!
JF: My pleasure.