No Place Like Home: Founders of Oppo Ice CreamBy Angelica Malin
In our new column, No Place Like Home, we explore the relationship between people, place and space, understanding how individuals are influenced by the world around them on a day-to-day basis. This week, we sit down with Harry and Charlie Thuillier, two brothers, who run Oppo Ice Cream – a healthy alternative to traditional store-bought ice creams – to discuss home towns, brunch and more:
So, guys, why do you love your home town?
Harry: London gives you a feeling of immense opportunity, freedom, history and variety. There is no one idea of London as a city – because it’s so big, it’s a collection of small towns all with their own unique identity and quirks, so you can be here your whole life and still be exploring.
Charlie: Safe, busy, dynamic, multi-cultural and cosmopolitan, phenomenal food, and so enormous there is always more to explore.
Describe how you see your home town in 3 words:
H: Diverse, bustling, wet
C: Alive, innovative, evolving
Where do you go for street food?
H: Brixton Village or Pop Brixton
C: All my meals are usually Fresh Fitness Food – bespoke meals delivered to my office every morning. It saves me hours per week cooking and shopping and I get top quality nutrition to support my training – love it! However when I’m out I love to head to Brixton Market or Dalston food market.
Where do you like to work out in London?
H: British Military Fitness (BMF) in most of London’s parks – my local is Clapham Common.
C: Clapham Common, Tooting Bec Lido and Richmond park are my favourite haunts outside. Indoors it has to be Barry’s Bootcamp! I’ve heard of BaseFit, which I’m keen to try out – it’s functional outdoor training and meant to be fantastic.
What would you change about London?
H: More provision for cyclists and more restrictions on junk food takeaways and betting shops – make it easy for people to be healthy.
C: Pollution. I love cycling around town, it’s the only form of transport where you actually know what time you will arrive (and it’s fun!) but I really hate breathing in the smog. Black cabs are the worst to be behind – we all need to go electric, as soon as possible.
What’s your favourite part of London? Where did you grow up?
H: Teddington because I’m moving there soon! We grew up in Buckinghamshire but have family in North London.
C: I grew up in Christchurch, Dorset. Then moved to London to live on my brother’s sofa whilst I was creating Oppo Ice Cream. Christchurch is fantastic for windsurfing and kitesurfing which can be fairly limited in London! My favourite part of London though has to be Clapham, where I live. It has the perfect combination of function and form. Green space, transport, and amenities.
What’s your favourite park in London?
H: Bushy Park
C: Hampstead Heath. Easy to get lost in and imagine you are somewhere far away from a big city. Then you might turn a corner and have a wonderful view of London.
Describe your perfect Sunday in London
H: Waking up with no alarm, doing a BMF session in the park in the morning, eating a big healthy brunch, walking our spaniel Poppy in the afternoon, having a Sunday roast with friends and family in the evening (with crumble and Oppo for pudding!)
C: Firstly – it would be sunny! Few things beat London in the summer. Up fairly early for recipe experiments on the next indulgent food category Oppo is going to transform to be healthy. Then a hard workout before a healthy (but massive!) brunch with friends outside in the sun. And that’s just the morning. The rest of the day would involve more sport, more friends, and more food.
For casual drinks, I like to go to…
H: The Windmill Pub in Clapham with our dog
C: Have friends over to mine. I’m currently re-designing my little garden with firepit, ping pong table, summer house and barbeque! Can’t wait to get it fired up.
For dinner, I like to go to…
C: Mommi on Clapham High Street – their Peruvian Japanese fusion food is fantastic.
For coffee, I like to go to…
H: Brickwood, Clapham Common
C: It’s got to be my friend Sandows Nitro Coffee. The nitrogen infusion cascades like Guinness, makes a creamy mouth-feel, whilst tasting like the freshest cold-brew you could dream of.
For brunch, I like to go to…
C: Tart on Clapham Common – “not a quiche, not a pie, not a quiche, just a terribly tasty tart!”
If you didn’t live in London, where would you like to live?
H: The south coast so I could go on the water everyday. Heaven.
