Community / Global cuisine meets local produce at sold-out Taste of Shetland event in Skeld
A similar cooking demonstration will be held in the Brae hall tonight (Wednesday)
A PACKED audience at Skeld Hall enjoyed a night of Italian and Indian flavours at Taste of Shetland’s event, with just a handful of tickets left for a second cooking show at Brae.
Chair of Shetland Food and Drink Marion Armitage opened the evening by saying: “The reason we were so keen to run this was because when we had bigger festivals, we had one that was an international kitchen, which was always really popular over the two days. And we thought, let’s try and make a whole event out of it.”
Photo: Sarah Cooper
The atmosphere in the hall was warm and lively as husband-and-wife duo Osla Jamwal-Fraser and Akshay Singh Jamwal took turns showcasing Italian and Indian dishes.
As they cooked, volunteers circulated with tasters so everyone could enjoy a flavour of the action.
Jamwal-Fraser went first with an Italian classic, a rich and comforting lasagne made with Shetland hogget, lamb that is between 12 and 18 months old. The meat added a depth of flavour to the dish. She also did a demonstration for making pasta at home.
“It was a really nice honour to be asked,” she said. “I wanted to cook a dish that people can make easily, as some pasta dishes can be quite difficult, and I wanted to make a dish I could use some Shetland produce in. My dad is a local crofter, so it was his hogget I used.”
Drawing inspiration from her 17 years living in Italy, Jamwal-Fraser shared insights into the Italian philosophy of food, explaining: “For Italians it’s about the ingredients, it’s not about the chef. It’s about where the ingredients came from.
“It’s an incredible thing, and something to really be appreciated and celebrated.”
She added: “A good cook should not be the star of the show; a good cook should be helping the ingredients shine and that’s what you should be talking about when you’re enjoying the meal.”
Local chef and caterer Jenny Watt compered the night, keeping the audience entertained and encouraging the chefs to talk through their methods and recipes.
Jamwal was up next, cooking a fragrant matar paneer, a delicate tomato-based dish with cubes of fresh cheese. He used feta, but paneer or halloumi would work as well.
He also made a rich dal makhani, a lentil dish reserved for special occasions. He said: “It’s more of a festive occasion kind of dal, it’s very rich, you can’t eat it every day. But it’s my favourite dal and I wanted to share it with other people.”
The dish itself traditionally takes over 24 hours to make, so Jamwal demonstrated the beginning, and then volunteers brought out one that was made earlier for sampling.
He used the dishes to highlight how Indian cuisine is made, saying: “Both the dishes land well for describing how Indian cuisine works, with the layering flavours on top of each other.
“You start with oil, then you put the base in and then it varies from there, but that’s the process.”
While some of the ingredients Jamwal used would be hard to source locally, they can be bought online. He brought a lot of his ingredients from India, showing the difference in Indian and British bay leaves and cardamoms, as well as other seasonings.
He also gave a practical demonstration on cooking rice correctly.
Getting out into local communities is something Armitage hopes to see Taste of Shetland do more of.
“We have our own peerie kitchen, so it’s possible to take that to different halls and areas in Shetland. If you’ve got a community and a hall and think this is something that would fit in well, we’d love to hear, so get in touch with us.”
She added: “We should spread ourselves out, our members come from all over Shetland and the produce comes from all over Shetland, so we should be representative and inclusive.”
Jamwal-Fraser also highlighted the importance of running events in local communities.
“I know Lerwick is central and it’s easier to get to, but if you come out to the rural halls the local community will absolutely show up,” she said.
“It’s a Tuesday night and the hall was full, the event was sold out, and that’s because people will really appreciate events happening on their doorstep.”
The next event takes place in Brae Hall tonight (Wednesday). Armitage was tight-lipped about the produce and cuisine on offer, but said: “It’s a completely different set of cuisines, with different chefs, and a different take on other kinds of local produce.”
Become a member of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:
- Removal of third-party ads;
- Bookmark posts to read later;
- Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
- Hide membership messages;
- Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.
Already a member? Sign in to hide this message.
