Max Rocha: ‘As soon as I head for the park, my working day is done’

I used to go skateboarding in Victoria Park, and to the music festivals, but I’m not sure I ever saw it properly, with clarity. The first year running my restaurant, Café Cecilia, was so crazy that I was leaning on things that weren’t good for me: alcohol and drugs. After a year of that, I had to give it all up. When I first got clean I didn’t know how to have fun any more, but I had all this free time, and running became an escape. Victoria Park has been a huge part of that. It’s changed my life. It might be a little more rough around the edges than some London parks, but it’s a vibe. It feels like the local garden – an extension of people’s homes. It’s also truly mine: my space, no phones, nothing. As soon as I hit the canal and head for the park, my working day is done. There’s a huge community of chefs who run. I’ll meet my friend Augusta, who’s head chef at Café Deco, next to the park's lake, and then come back together for lunch at my restaurant. Pavilion Bakery, next to the park’s lake, makes brilliant Sri Lankan-style breakfasts, so I might stop there at the weekend. There’s an amazing short documentary that was filmed in the park called The Runners, by Ivo Gormley and Matan Rochlitz, where a handful of everyday joggers open up to questions about life, against a backdrop of the changing seasons. That’s my experience too: running conversations always seem to go deep. My favourite sight is seeing a dad running with his kids cycling along beside him — it breaks my heart. I hope I’m that guy someday.