How It All Started
'Life is for living and food is for enjoying.'
Back in 2020, like many others, we found ourselves rethinking how we lived — and what we ate. We wanted something better for our family: better food, better choices, better connection to where things come from. But finding that, day to day, felt harder than it should.
So we built it ourselves.
In summer 2021, The Deli on Church Street opened its doors in Colchester. Our aim was simple: to offer genuinely good food — local, seasonal, and thoughtfully sourced — in a space that felt warm, welcoming, and true to how we live. It quickly became part of the local fabric, and we’re proud of the community that’s grown around it.
By 2023, the idea had evolved. We weren’t just running a deli — we were curating a modern larder: a practical, purposeful way to shop that makes it easier to eat well every day.
That’s where The Larder comes in.
We opened the doors in East Bergholt in November 2025 and it’s built on the same values: quality, provenance, and a deep respect for good food. A place where everything on the shelves has a reason to be there — because we’ve tasted it, tested it, and stand behind it.
This isn’t about trends. It’s about better basics, better habits, and a better connection to the food we eat.
Our Vision
Our vision is to help more people eat with intention. To support sustainable, local supply chains. To bring warmth, soul and practicality back to food retail — and in doing so, reshape what the local shop can be.
And it all starts with your larder.
We believe that your larder is more than a cool room in your home with meats curing and vegetables pickling, maybe that was what they looked like in the past, but life has changed alot!
To us, your larder is that drawer in your kitchen stuffed full of the ingredients to make your mum’s gravy, the fridge your Aunt gave you when you bought your first home, the cupboard with the cookie cutters that you use to make your kids favourite gingerbread biscuits.
It’s everything in your kitchen that brings your family together, and we are hear to make it better!
We’re building something that sits between the supermarket and the farm shop. A trusted space where busy people can shop with confidence. A source of everyday staples, mid week meals and epic lunches and at the heart of everything we do is one simple idea.
If it’s on our shelves then it should be in your larder.
OUR ETHOS
We are foodies, which is at the heart of what we do and we believe good food shouldn’t be complicated, but it should mean something.
At East Coast Kitchen, we are bringing back the larder, with a modern twist: practical, seasonal, and simple.
We’re here to make everyday eating easier, better, and more fun — not through shortcuts, but through thoughtful choices. That means stocking products with provenance, preparing food with purpose, and showing up with consistency and craft.
We always ask ourselves; would we eat this, would we cook with this and would this make our life a little better in some way.
We respect our producers and suppliers, and the rhythm of the seasons.
We value simplicity done well. We don’t do gimmicks, and we don’t chase trends.
We’re here to help make your life easier — with flavour, with integrity, and with a quiet kind of excellence that speaks for itself.