Mother and daughter duo Theresa and Satema Tarawally are spicing up Thornton Heath with their delicious Sierra Leonean food business: Theresa’s Kitchen, writes Aisha Jade. 

The brand was established a year go by having a stall at the CR7 market.

Satema explains: “I wanted to give something to my mum, something special for her to do and make some money. She had to stop working to look after my brother who is autistic. She has been cooking for a long time and really enjoys it. When we saw that Thornton Heath was having a market and they needed vendors it was just a given really.”

Theresa continues: “I have been cooking since I was seven and catered to a party back home when I was just 13. My daughter is just like me she has been cooking since she was a little girl.Ground nut soup also known as peanut butter stew is one of my favourite things to make and eat.”

Satema loves jollof rice but only her mum’s version.  Otherwise she likes suya – spicy West African meat skewers.

She said:“In the future we would love to do more pop-ups and market stalls on a regular basis, to really get our brand out there. We would also love to host supper clubs and cooking classes.”

Theresa adds:“Working as a mother-daughter duo brings us together. It’s really nice watching her learn to cook our cultural foods.”

     @theresaskitchen1