Mum in the ’hood: Hillary Graves
We love our West London Mums! Each month we feature a local mum from an area in West London who shares her favourite places in her community. This month we feature Hillary Graves, founder of the children’s food range Little Dish, who lives with her husband and two sons in Notting Hill. Find out what she loves about her ’hood:
Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a mother to two boys, Monty (age 8) and Ridley (age 6), and founder of healthy children’s food brand Little Dish.
I’m originally from New York. I moved to London 15 years ago on a two-year work assignment, met my husband, Dean, and never left. We have always lived in Notting Hill and love the area. We are lucky to live near our children’s school and Little Dish HQ, which makes for an easy commute.
I set up Little Dish in 2006 when I noticed no one was making fresh, healthy and convenient food for toddlers. We now feed over 100,000 children each week and we’ve just published our second family cookbook. I’m very passionate about healthy eating, and getting little ones hands-on with food from a young age, so I hope our new cookbook will inspire families to cook together. [Get your kids in the kitchen and make Hillary’s recipe for fruit muffins.]
What do you love about the area you live in?
I love the fact we can walk everywhere and don’t need a car. We are surrounded by beautiful parks, like Holland Park and Hyde Park, which means there’s plenty of greenery to escape to and there’s always somewhere for the boys to let off steam.
What’s your favourite neighbourhood place to hang out as a family?
We love Portobello Ristorante & Pizzeria. The food is delicious and the staff are lovely. The owner even takes children back to the kitchen to show them how to make pizza.
Yashin Sushi is another family favourite. They do a great value lunch special and are very accommodating at making kid-friendly sushi rolls.
Where’s your favourite place to escape in your area for a little ‘me’ time?
Saturday mornings with Robbie at Heartcore is key to my sanity. His classes are brutal, but in a good way.
What local activities do you and your family take part in?
My children are obsessed with football and have played with Little Foxes since they were very little. Now they are on the FC team, so training and matches pretty much take up the whole weekend.
Is there a hidden gem in your area you’d like to share?
What I love about this area is that there are so many local gems. The greengrocer on Clarendon Road, the fish shop at Kensington Place, Huntsworth Wine on Kensington Church Street are just a few of our favourites.
