Denai Moore of Dee’s Table reinvents flavours from her childhood tongue using vibrant plant-based ingredients. This is a re-introduction to Jamaican food, but not as we know it.
Splitting her world between music and food, the British-Jamaican artist rose to prominence as a guest singer on SBTRKT’s 2014 album Wonder Where We Land and released her second album We Used to Bloom earlier this year, but for second half of the year Moore has turned her attention on food.
“I want to show how Jamaican food can go beyond jerk. There’s some really beautiful flavours out there that are yet to be explored,” Moore states. “I’m on a mission to demonstrate how refined Jamaican food can be.”
Born out of frustration for the lack of vegan Jamaican food in London, Moore started trading on weekends under Dee’s Table, a vegan market stall in Hackney Downs Vegan Market and Broadway Vegan Market for the past two months.
“Other than Ital food, which is vegetarian rastafarian food, there’s not that much vegetarian or vegan Jamaican food about,” she says. “It’s meant that I’ve resorted to cooking the food I want to eat whenever I go out.”
After being vegetarian for many years, it was curiosity that made Moore switch to veganism. “Since becoming vegan I’ve gotten the opportunity to explore a whole another world, a chance to try new things and to push myself further,” she explains. “It’s only in the last few years since I’ve researched the environmental connections and ethical reasons behind being vegan.”
The key turning point in Moore’s cooking journey was when she stopped using recipes. “I started to trust my own ideas and make lots of mistakes,” she confesses. “It’s all about experimentation and just trying again and again.”
A few weeks ago, Moore launched her very first supper club, which promises plenty of authentic flavours and dishes with an innovative modern twist. Drawing inspiration from memories of her childhood plate, showcasing bold flavourful takes of these dishes with vibrant plant-spices and using the finest seasonal fresh produce. This is only just the beginning for Moore
“I want to grow a lot more and keep doing more supper clubs in the new year,” she says. “Supper clubs are an exciting space for young chefs like me, it’s a place where I can push my ideas, push myself in this field and turning it an actuality.”
And we can’t wait to see what she’s got in store for us next.
