Owen Diaram, a quarter-finalist on BBC MasterChef UK 2023, has won a competition to have a stall at this year’s Harrogate Christmas Fayre.
He was named as the winner of a competition organised by the market operators to give free trading opportunities at the town centre festive market, which begins on December 1.
The winners of Market Place Europe and Destination Harrogate’s Jolly Big Business Boost competition also receive business mentoring and PR opportunities.
Mr Diaram, who was yesterday named as this year’s winner, uses his South African Indian heritage to create traditional spice packs that only need to be mixed with two ingredients to produce tasty bhajis.
Mr Diaram said he was “blown away” by being selected, adding::
‘’Harrogate has now been my home for the past eight years and I am so excited to trade at what is a truly fantastic event that will allow me to achieve my goal of bringing South African Indian cuisine to mass audiences.’’
Market manager Nick Rhodes said:
‘’The Jolly Big Business Boost is a fantastic way for local, ambitious entrepreneurs to get their foot in the door and has proven to be very successful.’’
The fayre’s opening hours are Monday to Saturday 10am to 7pm and Sunday 11:00am to 430pm.
Read more:
Harrogate man through to competition stage of MasterChef
A Harrogate man has made it through the first stage of the 19th series of MasterChef.
Hotel supervisor Owen Diaram made his debut on the primetime BBC programme last night.
He was one of nine contestants battling it out in the third week of heats for a place in the competition round, with only seven going through.
Drawing inspiration from his South African roots, Mr Diaram blended his style of cooking with some Indian flavours – making a “perfectly cooked” prawn biriyani, as described by the notoriously tough judges.
He found himself cooking a second time to fight for the final few remaining aprons that took him through to the next round.
It was his second dish that earned him a place in the competition round of the programme and a famous MasterChef apron.
Read more:
- Harrogate auction house sees 50 year old bottle of whisky fetch £12,000
- Harrogate restaurant relaunches following £30,000 refurbishment
Asked about his food dream, Mr Diaram told the BBC:
“I am hoping that local restaurants in Harrogate will give me opportunities to work with them after seeing me cook in the MasterChef kitchen.
“Eventually I’d love my own business within the hospitality industry bringing my unique style of cooking to North Yorkshire for more people to enjoy.”
In the next episode, he will compete alongside six other contestants for a place in the quarter-final.
It will air at 8pm tomorrow night (Thursday, April 27) on BBC One.
Don’t miss former MasterChef semi-finalist Olayemi A Adelekan’s weekly food feature coming to the Stray Ferret on Saturday, April 29.