Ping Kern Ng (B2 1983-84)
Ping Kern Ng (B2 1983-84) has recently been interviewed in Vice and The Telegraph about his roof top herb garden and supplying herbs to local restaurants. In his words:
“I’ve lived here since arriving in Marlborough in1983 & been in my current home where the garden is for 22 years. I’ve always been interested in having a herb garden, like the ones in manor houses or monasteries. The house went through a refurb 7 years ago & I planted the garden soon after encouraged by my friendship with a chef whose place was nearby. He moved out of the neighbourhood soon after & I offered my herbs to restaurants where I was frequenting as a customer – Pitt Cue, Spuntino & Clove Club amongst others. The chefs mentioned me to their mates or I went on to supply places where they’d moved to & in a short time racked up a pretty cool list – St John Bread & Wine, Noble Rot, P. Franco, Legs, Black Axe Mangal, amongst them. Typically, I can only supply 2 restaurants regularly at a time – weekly or fortnightly – as I have no land & everything is grown in bags on my roof or up a wall.
To be clear, I’m just a keen amateur & I give away my herbs, not sell them – I’m nervous that I’m not thought something I’m not. I’ve learnt just from putting things in the ground & looking them up on the internet. Most of the time, I’m not sure why some things succeed & others fail. In middle-age, after 36 years of being in this country, what I do now enriches & roots my life here – I finally feel part of London, part of its community, like I’ve been accepted into a very cool gang”
There will be an interview with him on Gardeners’ Question Time in July & you can read the article in Vice here.
