A long table draped with vibrant kente cloth, tea lights and small trinkets set the scene for a memorable experience with Jason’s Little Kitchen a Ghanaian pop-up in West London.
The inspiration? Time spent in the kitchen getting creative with his mother’s cooking. Founder Jason Obeng shares this experience:
“I would always add my little twists to her recipes so it’s something I wanted everyone to experience. I also felt there wasn’t a quality West African restaurant in London that I could go to so I wanted to show people that African food and restaurants can be up there with any other cuisine.”
Having been to a few supper club experiences it was great to see families in attendance with small children and the walls featuring old images from both Ghana and Ghanaians in the UK.
Albeit some timing issues due to a last minute cancellation of the kitchen staff, the JLK team did their best to ensure attendees were catered for.
Eating out as a vegetarian can be a challenge when it comes to variety and flavour but my main course – a jollof rice tower decorated with thinly sliced aubergines and a side of plantains and yam was presented beautifully and had the friends I came with (who had the snapper) enviously eyeing my plate!
The jollof rice, I found out is also one of the founder’s favourite dishes:
“I served jollof rice at my first supper club. It was something that took me quite some time to perfect as a youngster, but it’s definitely my favourite!”
The JLK dessert was the perfect ending to an enjoyable evening. Although small in size it was packed with texture, the perfect amount of sweetness and crunch courtesy of the use of Ghanaian peanut cake Nkatie.
If you’re interested in enjoying an evening hosted by Jason’s Little Kitchen check out their website