Jikoni

Jikoni means ‘kitchen’ in Kiswahili a word that perfectly captures Ravinder Bhogal’s approach to food.. Ravinder was born in Kenya to Indian parents; when she moved to London as a child the cooking of her new home collided with a heritage that crossed continents. What materialised was a playful approach to the world’s larder and Ravinder’s recipes do indeed have a rebellious soul. They are lawless concoctions that draw their influences from one tradition and then another – Cauliflower Popcorn with Black Vinegar Dipping Sauce; Spicy Aubergine Salad with Peanuts Herbs and Jaggery Fox Nuts; Skate with Lime Pickle Brown Butter; Tempura Samphire and Nori; Lamb and Aubergine Fatteh; or utterly irresistible Banana Cake accompanied by Miso Butterscotch and Ovaltine Kulfi. . These proudly inauthentic recipes are what you might loosely call ‘immigrant cuisine’ with evocative stories from a past that illustrates the powerful relationship between food people place and identity. The tastes and smells of this brazen new world are sophisticated welcoming fresh exciting and bold.