OUT AND ABOUT | MANJIT'S KITCHEN YELLOW HORSEBOX LAUNCH PARTY

Yesterday I went to a very special event indeed. The official launch of Manjit's Kitchen new yellow horsebox, a result of their successful Crowdfunder campaign earlier this year after a horrific turmoil involving their previous mobile which was vandalised and written off.

Their Crowdfunder wooed the hearts of many locals but also of many up and down the country. Becoming the proud owners of a blue horsebox, Manjit's Kitchen needed to raise funds in order to make it into a mobile Indian chaat station which they could use at events and to indeed make a living from.

Reaching their target in only a matter of days, Manjit's Kitchen then went on to transform their little blue horsebox into a spanking new mobile kitchen in around three months. Just see below for the before and after pictures.

(Photo: Manjit's Kitchen)

Celebrations of their new horsebox were ideally placed at the venue and vegetarian haven Wharf Chambers, Manjit's Kitchen teamed up with friends That Old Chestnut and The Grub & Grog Shop to offer a delectable feast. Matched with great beer and some musical vibes from Mr J it made for a gloriously sunny afternoon.

Tucking in with my friend Diane, we first launched into The Grub & Grog menu. With two options on the menu, we opted for both. First up was the Beetroot in Stout (£4) served with braised barley, malt oil, hop syrup, herb sauce and pickled carrot. Beautifully sticky and succulent wedges of beetroot on a seasoned bed of barley - real healthy feel good food. I loved the sauteed leeks and pickled carrot which garnished it too adding a sharpness to the dish.

Next up were the Courgette and Chilli Fritters (£3) served with herb sauce and malt. The chilli was subtle but the herb sauce enhanced the flavour. It was like a mixture of a salsa verde and a chimichurri, a real beaut!

Onto the main appeal of the day, I joined the winding queue at Manjit's Kitchen and waited in line for my food from their shiny new yellow horsebox! On top of their show-stopping chilli paneer wrap, they had an option of five different small dishes where you could mix and match three of them for £10. We went for the Samoosa Chaat, Avocado Pani Puri and the Watermelon Chaat (£10).

Being served up an amazing platter of vegetarian Indian delights, I'm never left unsatisfied by Manjit's food. It's always pleasingley fresh, homely and filling - but definitely not lacking in flavour. We devoured the meal in a matter of minutes. Samosa Chaat was indeed my favourite but then Chaat is perhaps to me the most delicious Indian food to exist, so slightly biased!

With one of my favourite bakers at hand, That Old Chestnut, I had to get a slice of what I will just say is the best ginger cake you will ever grace your mouth with. Their Sticky Stem Ginger Cake (£1.50) was as always a moist, spicy, and scoffable treat. So scoffable that it didn't even get a chance at seeing my camera lens!

It was an afternoon full of community cheer and high spirits, which is what to me street food is all about. Congratulations to Manjit's Kitchen and to what the future holds for them and their yellow horsebox!

OUT AND ABOUT | LEEDS CREATIVE FAMILY TREE

Last night I attended the launch for the Leeds Creative Family Tree for Mabgate & Sheepscar and Quarry Hill.

The Leeds Creative Family Tree is a not-for-profit project which is continually ongoing to raise awareness and showcase the huge range of culture and creativity in Leeds and to help the community flourish.

Inititated from a Kickstarter fund in Winter 2012, the project blossomed from the ideas of Photographer Sara Teresa and Designer Oli Bentley who were looking to raise the profile of the huge range of creativity on offer in Leeds. Their main vision was to visualise the huge network of Leeds’ creative and cultural organisations and individuals.

With a grand total of £1756 raised, the pair have been able to create, print and distribute their family tree's with the aspiration to be used for networking, collaboration and research and to find like-minded creatives in the area and show off the variety of creativity and culture within the wider Leeds community.

On offer at the launch night was also a few creative independent businesses included in the Creative Family Tree. Namely, two of my favourites... Vegan cake and catering conisseurs That Old Chestnut and Leeds pop up favourites The Grog and Grub Shop.

That Old Chestnut are stern favourites of mine. Run by the visionaries Elly and Chris they have landed themselves in the unique area of offering exceptionally good vegan cakes and catering.

Stocked by every single respectable independent cafe in Leeds these guys are on a no-returning-back mission to success and there's a reason why.

Vegan cake might not sound appealing to the average ear, but one taste and I promise you will be hooked. Favourites of mine include their stem ginger cake, peanut butter tiffin and cranberry and macadamia slice.

As well as That Old Chestnut on offer was Leeds independent pop up The Grub and Grog Shop offering the finest in local produce in their own creative form. Never to fail me, they had an extremely impressive menu featuring three 'tidbits' encased in Leeds Bread Co-op nigella seed flatbread with mouth watering varieties, as well as a vegan and gluten-free stew.

 Attending with my friend Diane we first both opted for the beef flatbread (beer braised beef brisket, beetroot, mooli, pearl barley, watercress and horseradish). This was a real delight and lovely in texture and flavour, although lacked the horseradish hit we both craved. Albeit, still a lovely flavour and texture in the mouth which was new and enlightening to me.

For seconds (of course!) we enjoyed the vegetarian option on offer. The flavours were spot on and I could not fault this in any way. Beautiful arrangements on Leeds Bread Co-op flatbread of charred cauliflower (my favourite vegetable), roasted hazelnuts, spring onion, lentils with parsley, scotch bonnet pepper and natural yoghurt were seriously mind-blowing.

A great evening showcasing the creative and cultural independent talent that Leeds has to offer.