Doctor Who always goes for a jacket potato

Oct 13 2007 by Gavin O'Connor, South Wales Echo

Mum of three Kemi Nevins, 45, of Canton, runs Kemi’s at The Flourish, Lloyd George Avenue, Cardiff Bay.

In the 1960s a lot of Nigerians came over to the UK to study and my parents were some of those who did.

“I was fostered to a white British couple and I had an Irish grandmother.

“When I was six I went back to Nigeria for a year but suffered malnutrition because I wouldn’t eat the food, it was really awful, so I came back.

“I still have distant family links in Nigeria but I settled in the UK.

“I’ve always been very interested in food.

“My nan, Mary Anne, was brought up on a farm and always had loads of cookbooks around.

“I lived in London and went to a school in Norfolk where I was the only black girl and we had a wonderful teacher there who used to take a group of us to her home to cook – I think to take her mind off her husband.

“She had two kitchens and really encouraged us to have a go – she was a kind of mentor to me I suppose.

“After school I went into nursing and also did teacher training in Caerleon and then went on to teach health studies at St David’s Sixth Form College in Penylan.

“But I always kept my love of cooking and I like to come up with unusual combinations such as stilton and pear and pomegranate dressing.

“An opportunity came by in 1999 to open my own place on Mill Lane – I was 38.

“We opened on the opening day of the Rugby World Cup – can you imagine what that was like, just the buzz of it?

“It was a positive experience and I was there for three years before I took a job as a national facilitator, building links between the Welsh Assembly and the voluntary sector.

“But I was offered a chance to take over this shop in Cardiff Bay a couple of years ago.

“I thought why not? and kept my job on as well, but I’ve since gone full time – Nigerians, by nature I think, are entrepreneurial.

“Because of the great location we get a lot of familiar faces – some famous.

“Doctor Who has come in quite a few times with his girlfriend but he’s quite boring and always goes for a jacket potato with tuna and sweetcorn.

“But here it’s all about the more unusual ingredients – rose syrup or chilli flakes on new potatoes.

“It’s fun to try different things.”

Signature dish: Salad feast.

To make a booking contact: 029 2045 3335.