Pop star Estelle tells us what she’d eat for her last meal
Grammy award-winning British singer, rapper, and actor Estelle tells us what she would eat for her last meal, from West African puff puff to Granadian saltfish and a glass of whisky
My mother and my grandma were both chefs. Mum went to school for it, and learned how to cook all these amazing things. She would come back from cooking school and make French pastries for us all – we were the guinea pigs! It blossomed into a career and she went on to be the head chef for a bunch of nurseries. So I grew up knowing about food in a very specific way that felt quite ahead of its time.
My mum was from West Africa so we grew up eating a lot of food from that region, lots of jollof rice and plantain and okra stews. We all learned to cook that stuff. We had a big family – there were nine of us – and my mum ran a tight kitchen. There was no version of any of us that left the house without doing our rounds in the kitchen. There were always kids to feed so life kind of revolved around the kitchen – I still have vivid memories of being there with my mum, chopping onions or peeling potatoes or stirring a pot of stew.
When I got my first apartment in New York, that was the thing I carried with me. I would do Sunday dinners at the house with all my friends from the US and any of my London friends who had come to visit. They knew that Sunday dinner was good at my house so they made sure they came hungry. I still do that to this day. I’m in LA now and there’s a place called Datmoi that sells food from all over the world – West Indian, African, Chinese, Korean – it feels like Shepherd’s Bush Market but all in one store. I’ll often make jerk snapper, which is so easy but it’s something people just don’t expect.
To finish things off, I’m going to get a selection of desserts because I have a real sweet tooth
If I’m eating out there’s this amazing restaurant in LA called Ardor, which is quite upmarket but I go there for the steak and onion rings – I have no idea what they do to the beef to make it taste this good but it’s really amazing.
For my last meal I’m going to start with some West African puff puff, which is essentially fried dough that you make rise like bread. You can have it either savoury or sweet and it’s the perfect thing to get a meal started as it’s not as heavy as bread.
Next up is my auntie’s fried chicken. My mum is the chef of the family but all of her sisters are great cooks too and my auntie is always in charge of this particular dish. You have to make it with chicken drumsticks and this very particular orange breadcrumb. It looks so pretty. I’ll have this with jollof rice and some fried plantain – but not mushy, it has to be just right. These are all foods from my childhood which would trigger nice memories for my last meal.
Then I’ll make a diversion from all the West African food – my dad’s from Grenada and they have the most amazing saltfish fritters. It’s almost like a mini fish burger but the bread is fried dough and the patty is made with saltfish. You can make it with red and green peppers, some onions then mash it all together with loads of seasoning. Once you’ve had that you don’t need to eat for the rest of the day. It’s dense, you know what I mean?
But we’re not worrying about that as it’s my last meal. So I also want you to fly in some cacio e pepe from my favourite Italian restaurant, which happens to be in Cologne in Germany. I’m not telling you the name because I want to keep this place on the down-low just for me. But trust me it’s really amazing.
And to finish things off, I’m going to get a selection of desserts because I have a real sweet tooth. I’m going to have a small cup of banana pudding, which is the most amazing American dessert I’ve ever come across. God bless whoever thought to put a load of bananas and cream and biscuits in a pot. I’m going to have some sweet potato pie, another amazing American dessert. I grew up eating sweet potato as a savoury food – as fries or mash. But sweet potato pie is the holy grail in America around holidays. And I’d also have some apple and blackberry crumble.
To wash it all down, I’d want some good wine. A lady called Ingrid Best has a brand called IBest wines. There’s a South African white blend that I can drink without getting any kind of hangover. Some wines affect my voice so I have to be careful but this I could drink all night. It’s light and crispy and just a great dinner wine. And before I go, give me a small glass of Oban whiskey on the rocks. Then I’ll be ready.
• Estelle’s new album, Stay Alta, is out now