Pickle put to the test on TV

Top of the Shop with Tom Kerridge launches tomorrow night on BBC2 with four food producers from fledgling businesses, competing in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.

Louise, 36, has two days to promote and sell her Filipino papaya pickle, made using a much-loved family recipe, with the aim of proving her business is most viable and deserving of the title best up-and-coming artisan.

Having given up her career as a lawyer, Louise loves making and selling her Filipino recipes at Street Diner, Brighton’s weekly street food market.

She said: “It is extremely hard work but I love it. I always wanted to have my own little restaurant. I imagined it on a little beach and to build it as a family business.”

On the programme, Louise is up against a woman who makes apple and chilli jelly in London, a Dorset couple who make their own peanut butter, and a retired florist and her daughter who make runner bean chutney.

She said she learned a lot from the experience as everyone was so different, with their own ways of approaching customers and ideas on branding.

Louise said: “I loved it. It was quite an experience, learning about selling. I have never had an experience like that before, being filmed and being asked questions in front of a camera.”

Louise has a Filipina mother, British father and Scottish roots. Her granny came from Hull, so she has links to Yorkshire, but Louise said there were not many Asian restaurants there, so it was very different to selling in Brighton.

Describing her Mestiza Filipino Pickle, she said: “It is spicy but it not a blow-your-head-off spice because the vinegar is made of sugar cane and you do add some sugar, so it is like a warm feeling. You get sweet, sour and spice.”

Louise was a solicitor for 14 years but left her job to travel the world. Sitting in a café in Melbourne in 2015, she decided to pursue her passion for cooking.

She set up Mestiza Filipino Food and cooks the food that is familiar to her. Her street food menu is pork belly, adobo and vegetarian dumplings with noodles and pickle.

Visit mestizafilipina.co.uk for more information.