Yemi Adelekan, Author at The Stray Ferret

Yemi’s Food Stories: The perfect chocolate fix in Pateley Bridge

Yemi Adelekan is a food writer and blogger who was a semi-finalist in last year’s BBC TV’s Masterchef competition. Every Saturday Yemi will be writing on the Stray Ferret about her love of the district’s food – please get in touch with her if you want her to review a restaurant, visit your farm, taste the produce you sell or even share a recipe.

Charles Andrew from Cocoa Joe’s at Pateley Bridge invited me to check out what they are doing with chocolate. He was so proud that I was intrigued to sample what was on offer.

Off I went with my friend, Carolyn and hubby (aka Matthew) who offered to double as driver and photographer.

As a granddaughter of a cocoa farmer, I grew up understanding the front end of the process up to when the dried cocoa beans were sold to warehouses.

My grandfather knew every cocoa tree like the back of his hands, and he would regale me with stories about his life’s work — a continuation from the previous generations. During the harvest season, we would live on the farm for days but still ate food like we were at home, given the fully built and stocked kitchen on the farm.

We relied on good amounts of sunshine to dry the beans and several times a day, we used rakes to move the beans round so they could get evenly dried. I learnt how to test when the beans were dried enough for storage and was responsible for the stock taking when we visited the warehouse.

My next experience of cocoa came in the form of buying Bounty, Snickers and Kit Kat when I was in boarding house from the age of 10 but I never connected what I was eating to my grandfather’s job.

Many decades later, I find myself interested in the ethics around cocoa production, varieties of cocoa beans and making every bean count.

So it was a pleasure to see Charles being as passionate about making great chocolate drinks as my grandfather was about growing the bean.

I learnt about the origins of their cocoa beans, got to sample many including the 100% Madagascar which I found jarring, various dark chocolates, the ruby chocolate with its lemon notes and the sublime caramelised white chocolate.

The quality of their chocolates shone through with their high cocoa contents. The drink had a wonderful mouth fill, felt luxurious without being too heavy.

I left not feeling the need to hit a gym or check my blood sugar level. We enjoyed three flavours of chocolate drinks including Uganda, Sao Tome, and Ecuador dark chocolates.

I couldn’t resist their chilli chocolate drink and for even more exotic taste, there was lavender flavour.

After a few sips from my cup, the child in me asked for some marshmallows. Charles offered to toast them but that wasn’t needed as they melted into the chocolate doing a dance on my tongue and tingling my tastebuds.

Hmm … which flavour to choose?

Cocoa Joe’s is popular with the locals and tourists; I can see why. The skill and passion exhibited by the team and the quality of the varieties of chocolates available to choose from, keep their customers coming back.

I left with some ruby, caramelised white chocolate and Uganda chocolate and I am already dreaming and drooling about what I will make with them.

Charles was excited to tell me about everything the town had to offer, so I wandered around to take as much in as possible and crossing the road was all it took to get to Kendall’s butcher.

More about Kendall’s and the rest of my visit next week.

Next on my list is The Café at the Himalayan Garden, Grewelthorpe which I will visit on Saturday 27 of May from 12.30pm. Come join me and I hope to see you there.

Yemi’s Food Stories: a porky discovery at Crimple

Living in Harrogate means I am surrounded by amazing shops selling the wonderful produces of Yorkshire; but quite often I find myself falling into the habit of going to the same places which means I end up missing out on what might be available in other places or the experience of new sights and surprises.

The last time I went into Crimple in Harrogate was years before their renovation. Every week, I drive past it on my work commute and make a mental note to check it out.

It was a lovely surprise when I eventually went into the food hall a few weeks ago to discover an array of local Yorkshire produces from chutneys, cured meats and bakes to fresh meat.

I only went in to have a quick look but came out with fresh sourdough bread, Portobello mushrooms, eggs, and smoked salmon for brunch. I also found a gem in a balsamic reduction glaze and fresh beetroots that I needed for my next food event, and a tiny gadget that would be great for dipping strawberries into chocolate sauce.

As I continued my wander around the food hall, I spotted a cut of pork that had the kidney attached which really fascinated me. The butcher wasn’t at the kiosk, but my curiosity made me hang around until he came out from the back room.

I told him I had never seen a cut of meat that intentionally had offal attached and he explained that this was an historic way of cutting pork chops and that only a few chops would benefit from having a cross section of the kidney attached.

He said he was on a mission to bring back old butcher traditions; that is noble from a sustainability point of view and considering the ‘nose to tail’ revolution that many chefs are championing.

I grew up in Nigeria on ‘nose to tail’ eating and we never wasted any parts of an animal with the skin of larger animals used by local artisans to make leather products.

Anyone who knows me well would correctly guess that I walked out of Crimple with some Pork and Kidney chops. I figured it would go well with a honey mustard sauce served with creamy mashed potatoes and some purple broccoli.

I ended up serving it with a gravy alongside potatoes finished with a chilli and herby mustard seed coating which went down a treat. See below.

On my way out I wandered into the garden section, but I didn’t get to really explore it because my arms were filled with my food hall shopping, and I was in a bit of rush. I am going back to the garden centre, with plans to sample food from their bar and kitchen.

If you haven’t visited Crimple, it is worth a visit -there’s so much to love.

I would love to hear about your visit and any exciting food, produce or interesting garden gnomes that you find, so drop me a comment.

Yemi: Out and About

I am in Pateley Bridge today, (Saturday 13 May) to sample Chocolate at Cocoa Joe’s and Kendall’s pies from 12 noon. You can read about it next Saturday on The Stray Ferret.

Next on my list is The Café at the Himalayan Garden, Grewelthorpe which I will visit on Saturday 27 of May from 12.30pm.

Yemi’s Food Stories: A Royal quiche affair

Today, May 6, 2023, is a milestone in British history, the coronation of a new King after 71 years since King George VI who reigned from 1936 to 1952.

It’s also the D-day for my first food feature, which I am honoured coincides with the King’s coronation and I couldn’t be prouder.

It’s only fitting that this feature celebrates the King’s coronation. My son, as part of Blackburn Cathedral choir, sang for Prince Charles many moons ago and I was opportune to be a Princes Trust mentor for some years.

Many of us only knew the Queen growing up and even though we knew this day had to come, we clung on in hope for our Queen to live as long as possible. God rest her soul.

Today’s celebration calls for something special. The Royal family has never failed to inspire, and make us proud when it comes to pomp and pageantry; this time will be no different.

We can’t think of things that are quintessentially British without certain foods or ingredients coming to mind: afternoon tea, asparagus, rhubarb, quiches, coronation chicken and my favourite which is Victoria sponge cake.

So, in celebration of the King’s coronation, it’s only fitting that we have a dish that screams ‘British’ but also reminds us of the Commonwealth nations that are part of this celebration. The King and the Queen Consort have asked for quiche to be on the coronation menu.

The quiche, a staple in many homes and pub menus, is mostly served cold but I love to eat mine when it is slightly warm. Eating quiche feels a tad more elevated than eating cold sandwiches which I personally find to be soul crushing.

Here’s my version of quiche created to celebrate the King’s coronation. It is a play on coronation chicken using ingredients and some bold flavours of many Commonwealth nations.

Curried chicken, onions, peppers, and chilli Quiche

Ingredients:

Quiche base

250g block of ready-made shortcrust pastry

Quiche Filling – for a 23-inch pan or two 15-inch pans

Poached or Roasted Chicken – breasts or thighs – 100g

1 red pointed pepper or bell pepper

1 medium red onion

½ chilli – chipotle, habanero, or scotch bonnet

2 eggs

125ml of milk

175ml of double cream

100g of grated cheddar cheese

Tart base – using short crust pastry

1 tsp of curry powder

½ tsp Kashmiri pepper flakes

Smoked sea salt to taste

½ tsp of fresh mixed herbs – parsley, thyme, and rosemary

Method

Preheat your oven to 190°C
Roll out the dough into your quiche tin and line with baking paper; add some baking stones and blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove the baking paper and stones
Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C
Cook and shred the chicken or use leftovers from your roast chicken dinner
Add a little oil to a pan over high heat; fry the sliced onions, chillies, and pepper; season with salt and curry powder; add in the shredded chicken and cook for 3 minutes allowing the flavours to infuse into the chicken. Set aside to cool down
Beat the milk, cream, eggs, Kashmiri pepper, herbs, and salt together in a bowl
Scatter half of the grated cheese in the blind-baked base, evenly top with the chicken and peppers before adding the custard mixture
Sprinkle over the remaining cheese. Place into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until set and lightly golden. Check at the 25-minute mark.

Tips for getting a great pasty base:

To avoid the side collapsing: allow the pastry to overhang the tin and trim once it’s cooked, make sure the tart is filled to the brim with the baking beans or rice so the weight pushes back against bottom and sides.

Also I always put my pastry in the freezer for about 15 minutes to harden up before baking which slows down the shrinkage.

To avoid a soggy middle – once pastry is part baked, remove the beans and brush with whisked egg yolk, return back to oven for about five minutes to help seal it before adding the filling.

Serve warm with some salad, spiced chips, and curry-mayo.

Long live the King! Happy celebrations!

Masterchef semi-finalist to write for the Stray Ferret celebrating district’s food

The Stray Ferret is delighted to introduce Yemi Adelekan who many will recognise from her success on BBC TV’s Masterchef last year. Every Saturday Yemi will be writing about her love of the district’s food – please get in touch with her if you want her to review a restaurant, visit your farm, taste the produce you sell or even share a recipe.

My name is Yemi Adelekan, welcome to my food stories.

From food and restaurant reviews, highlights from county food events, recipe creation to dining experiences, farm to table and nose to tail cooking, allotment to combatting food waste, foraging, visits to market stalls and independent shops to showcasing diversity of flavours and ingredients, nothing is off the menu.

We live in a beautiful district with amazing food scenes; I want to showcase, celebrate and champion our community, people, food and what we have to offer through my food stories.

So here’s a little about me.

I am married and a proud mother of two wonderful young men. I grew up in Nigeria, moved to Nevis Island, West Indies for a few years before relocating to the UK where I forged a career in Banking and now Telecommunications.

I moved from West to South Cumbria, made a pit stop in Manchester, spent ten years in Lancashire and finally settled in Harrogate for the past decade.

All of these places and holiday destinations have influenced my food from Cumberland ring sausages, Lancashire hotpot to Yorkshire pudding. I came to Harrogate with the red rose of Lancashire and was gifted the white rose of Yorkshire; both plants have their pride of places on my front yard.

I have had a long-standing love affair with food, a passion for cooking and baking that led me to the Masterchef UK kitchen in 2022. From not daring to dream about being on the show, I ended up as a semi-finalist making it to the top 6 showcasing a fusion of my Nigerian flavours with other global food influences.

I was gutted to narrowly miss out on finals week but really grateful for the opportunity. I didn’t know I could wee every five minutes until I went on the show and found nerves that were previously undiscovered.

My first food memories include me using tin cans and sticks for my ‘pretend’ kitchen, tasting my mum’s food as she put a little taster on my palm to being trusted to go buy an ingredient. I was never far from the kitchen and learnt by watching others like a hawk.

My mum didn’t allow me to be hands-on in her kitchen because she took pride in doing her own cooking but thankfully my dad believed that mistakes help to make us better people. He lived away to avoid a long commute and allowed me to cook whenever I visited him giving me feedback and what I definitely now know to be undeserved compliments.

Here’s what you can expect from me; personal, witty, open and honest food writing without any pretentiousness.

My goal is to make it just what you need to kickstart your weekend with a smile, bring your community to you, get you out with a little luck and encourage you to attempt new recipes.

I am a local who doesn’t get around enough so I need you to tell me what and where you want me to check out, what’s going on in your part of the county, also comment and share recipes you want me to try out.

If you have a wow experience that you would like to shout about from the roof top, then drop me a line so I can go sample and write about the experience.

Welcome to my food stories. I will see you next Saturday.

To read more about Yemi visit her website here.

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Yemi: Out and About

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Curried chicken, onions, peppers, and chilli Quiche

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