2013 MasterChef winner Natalie Coleman celebrates her East London roots

Winner of MasterChef 2013, Natalie Coleman and East Village, the former London 2012 athletes’ village have teamed up to produce a menu celebrating the food retailers and suppliers of East London.

Natalie’s East London menu and collaboration with East Village is the first of a series of events called ‘East Village Presents…’, a mix of events, talks, experiences and workshops held in the Village to celebrate all that’s come out of or been inspired by East London.

Natalie, who was raised in East London, took inspiration from her neighbourhood to create three dishes using local produce from her choice of East London’s independents and suppliers. Natalie’s recipes are intended to draw attention to the range of local food shops in the area and inspire people to shop locally when cooking. East Village has created recipe cards of Natalie’s dishes to be issued to the neighbourhood. They are intended to be simple and easy to follow, especially for young families who have little time to cook. The recipes are gin-cured salmon, slow roasted pork with lentils and salsa verde and vanilla panna cotta with berry compote. She created the dishes for the first time over a special dinner in East Village for residents and local East Londoners.

Derek Gorman, chief executive of Get Living London said: “What better way to celebrate the fantastic culinary produce that East London has to offer than getting a real East End girl along to the village to cook it.” Olaide Oboh, Sales and Marketing Director for Triathlon Homes also commented: “Natalie’s menu perfectly embodies East London and all of the great places we have on our doorstep. Created by a much loved East Londoner, with ingredients sourced from some of the best local producers, we hope that this collaboration will encourage East Village residents to whip up their own East End-inspired delicacies, as well as Londoners all over.”