W H AT ’ S O N T H E M E N U ?
P E AC E , LOV E A N D K I M - J OY AT CHRISTMAS ‘Tis the season to be jolly… AND to talk life in Leeds, Ilkley inspiration and choux snowmen with former Great British Bake Off finalist Kim-Joy…
My early childhood in Belgium is a bit of a distant memory, but I do remember sometimes eating biscuits for breakfast which I really don’t think I should have done. When it comes to baking, it was something that neither of my parents did, but it was something I wanted to do. As a child I hated mincemeat but I did make mince pies, it was a tradition which Dad encouraged me to get involved with. I enjoyed the process of making the pastry and putting the mincemeat in. When I was still quite young (5 years old) my family moved to London and there was a pandan cake that Mum got from China Town and I loved it and was determined to bake my own. So I spent hours with my Malaysian recipe book and made pandan cake over and over again. I first came to Leeds to study for a masters in psychology and met my husband Nabil, who has lived in Yorkshire all his life. Not like me who’s moved around, from Belgium to London, then to Bristol University. I immediately loved Yorkshire and settled in straight away. It’s such a contrast to London, which stressed me out with its busyness. One of my favourite places is Bettys Café Tearooms and that’s where Nabil and I went on out first date … Bettys in Harrogate. It was my birthday and was one of those just friends sort of dates.
20
That’s where it all started and Bettys holds such lovely memories. Leeds is a special city and has a fantastic food scene. It’s ALL about the food for me. Nadil and I enjoy going out to eat … when not restricted by the pandemic. Tharavadu is a fabulous restaurant serving the most amazing South Indian food, Sukhothai is another favourite and its authentic Thai dishes are delicious, plus Leeds Kirkgate Market is huge, there’s a wonderful variety of food for sale and it’s somewhere we often go for lunch. My life revolves around food. Can you tell how important food is to me? (laughs) Being part of the Great British Bake Off (2018) completely changed my life and was an incredible experience. You go on as a contestant, but you have no idea how you’re going to perform and don’t know how far you’ll get. So I was very, very happy to get to the final and it’s meant that I’ve since been able to write two cookery books, Baking with Kim-Joy and now Christmas with Kim-Joy, and start my own YouTube channel, which is incredible. Before the show, baking was just a hobby and now I can do it and make a career from it which is wonderful. It’s increased my confidence and I know a lot of people probably say that but it’s true.
There are so many great things about living in Yorkshire. Leeds is an ideal base from which to explore and enjoy the whole county. Favourite places to visit are Bettys (of course), walking and making the most of having nice places and trails to explore right on the doorstep, Mother Shipton’s Cave in Knaresborough - I love how bonkers it is (in a nice way), Bolton Abbey is stunning and is surrounded by great walks too, plus I love that place where Harry Potter was filmed … Malham Cove in the Dales. Gorgeous! Our current home in Leeds has fantastic countryside views out the back, as we live next door to a farm with cows, chickens and horses, so we get to see them without having to look after them. I appreciate my home comforts and feel content just being at home. It helps that house prices in Yorkshire are much cheaper than in London too. Nabil and I are planning to move to Ilkley in the coming weeks, as we are currently in the process of buying a property. For the same price down south we’d have had to settle for a much tinier place, but in Yorkshire there’s so much more on offer for the money. One of the good things to come out of lockdown has been the reduction in stamp duty. We’ve viewed some great houses in lovely locations, across different parts of Yorkshire and have found what we’re
yorkshire.com
