Foxy Lady cooking up a Surinamese storm in Harringay

Harringay Online talks to Ladder local, Jessica Vos, and finds out why she wants to cook up a world food storm in Harringay.

Jessica, originally from Surinam, is newly arrived in our neighbourhood and in the UK. She’s a passionate Foodie whose love of good food knows no national boundaries. Whilst she’s clearly proud of her native Surinamese food, she loves to cook up a feast from whichever culinary tradition takes her fancy on a particular night.

Perhaps it’s that rich multicultural tradition in Surinamese food that makes her interests so broad. Jessica, (aka FoxyCooks) told me that Surinamese food takes its lead from Indian, Indonesian, Chinese, Caribbean and Brazilian traditions, but focuses on whatever fresh ingredients are to hand. “Our food is rich and spicy”, Jessica explained, “You can feel the warmth of Surinamese people through it”. Amongst the cuisine’s staples is pomtayer. “It’s a bit like cassava”, Jessica told me, “In Surinam a party isn’t a party without pom!”

FoxyCooks spent her last eleven years in Holland with her Dutch husband who works in IT. The couple wanted a change and the bright lights of London beckoned. So, they arrived in Harringay in early January via a year in Wood Green.

With its colonial history in Surinam, the food of Jessica’s homeland wasn’t unknown in Holland. But in England it's practically unheard of and this has given birth to a one-woman Surinamese food mission. “London’s one of the world’s culinary capitals, but no one seems to know a thing about Surinamese food here. I’m now on a mission to get it out there!”.

And just a few weeks after arriving in the UK, she’s made a start. From 10th March she’ll be running a stall on Saturdays at Hackney Homemade. For the time being, that’s where you’ll have to go if you want to try Surinamese food in London. But fear not, plans are afoot to give us a taste closer to home.

Jessica’s trying two ideas. First she asked me what I thought about the idea of a Harringay Market. I told that I was certain that it would get a lot of support and that I'd do all I could to support it. So encouraged was Jessica by this positive feedback, she started testing the waters on the idea with a post on HoL later the on day we met for the interview at Moka. As I suspected, this seems to have a real following, but it’ll need the energy and commitment of someone like Jessica to make the dream a reality.

On another front, FoxyCooks will also be starting a homecook meal service along the lines of one she ran successfully in Holland. The Amsterdam business started as something for friends then as the word spread, it grew into a small business, catering mainly for locals. “It works like this”, she explained, “A few times a week, I just cook more of what I’m preparing for my family and offer it to my neighbours. Some of the dishes will be Surinamese, but we don’t eat just Surinamese food. So you might be just as likely to get French or Italian”.

Jessica hasn't set a start date yet, but I'm sure if you beat her door down..........

If you’re just itching to get your hands on some Surinamese food, the good news is that Jessica also blogs. You can cook up your own South American storm with her recipes on FoxyCooks. This week's treat is bakabana.

Welcome to the hood, Jessica and good luck with the market. I’m up for a bit of Surinamese!