This Friday one of Bristol's favourite events is coming back to the city after a two-year hiatus. Bringing a buzz to the centre of the city, the night market brings fun, food and character.
The market was cancelled in March 2020 due to the COVID 19 pandemic, with the organisers saying they would be "back with a new date as soon as it's safe to do so". And this Friday (April 8) the excitement will return.
The event brings together the best of everything local, from food to traders and live performances. One of the traders who's excited to join back in with one of the cities most memorable evenings is Indira, who is known for her delicious homemade Cuban food.
READ MORE: Everything you can expect to enjoy at St Nicholas Night Market this Friday
Indira has been making food from her kitchen for five years, inspired by her own Cuban heritage. Speaking to BristolLive she said: "I am a Cuban woman from Havana and my main job is a singer, however I started La Cubana five years ago, inspired by my mum and grandma's who cook amazing food with amazing flavours."
She first sold food at a Latin American event (Latin American Encounter) that runs in Bristol every year after being asked to represent Cuba with her food. "This was my first time I served my food and I was completely new to it. It sold out so quickly and everyone loved it, so this was a big motivation."
Despite having started up La Cubana in 2017, Indira saw major success during the pandemic, when she continued cooking from home whilst pushing her business. "In the pandemic my business started growing because I was selling food from my house and because people were in lockdown with no restaurants I got very lucky" She said.
Although she is known for serving food to order from her house, Indira also pursues a career in music and hosts events at La Ruca, a family owned business on Gloucester Road, where she combines her love for Cuban food with her passion for singing. She often hosts events where she serves her homemade Cuban food and performs. "I love to sing and love to be in the stage but my dream is to have my own place where I can have my own restaurant with music and food it’s a dream that I’ve always had" she said.
However, selling at St Nicholas Market along other traders is still exciting, Indira said: "I feel very excited to be at St Nicholas market again as we were supposed to have one in April 2020 before the pandemic. It’s a very respected night because it’s very popular market and it’s full of people who enjoy a different variety of food from around the world which is amazing, you can find so many things. It’s a very special event."
Indira also is involved with St Nicholas Monday market where she serves vegan food. "I make sure to serve meat and vegetarian options always, I also serve gluten free options and try and use local fresh organic products and free range. I make sure to be conscious when I'm cooking" she said.
At St Nicholas Market, Indira will be making sure customers can get an authentic taste of Cuba. "I'm going to be serving traditional Cuban food. I’m going to have our traditional black bean rice, which is different to the Jamaican rice - the flavour is different. I will also have cassava with mojo, which will have spring onions and lime and coriander which is absolutely different."
"I'll also be serving rice with plantain, the Cuban way and my traditional and popular tamales. A lot of people love my tamales. There are different tamales in Latin America mine are wrapped in banana leaf there will be vegetarian and meat (chicken) options and they are 100% gluten free. There will also be the La Cubana special sauce that goes on top of the tamales."
