Between running a open mic night, social media meet ups, keeping us up to date about whats happening through Visit Bristol AND doing her own fabulous blog, Shonette Laffy found time to share some of her favourite foodie haunts with us. And we are so pleased about it!
Tell us about yourself, I’m sure there’s lots we don’t know!
I moved to Bristol in 2008 after various stop-offs in other places including Bath and Berlin (all the Bs!), but I grew up in central London. Bristol is most definitely home now though – I won’t be moving again!
I work for Visit Bristol doing various website & social media bits and bobs, but Twitter folk probably know me from my exaggerated reactions to food pics and my blog lifelessorganised.com, where I write monthly food & drink event guides and the occasional list of my top places for roasts, tapas or whatnot.
I’m also prone to getting drunk and setting up events – at the moment there’s The Rules of Engagement which is a monthly social media & content meet-up where we try to help each other out with tips and ideas; rum tasting silliness in the form of Rumageddon (mainly because I wanted to use the name) and I also run a bi-monthly storytelling event called Let Me Tell You a Story, Jack!, which is an excuse to go to the pub and hear people share embarrassing tales from their past or read out some incredible stories they’ve written. Basically, I like drinking, eating and talking to people and it gets me into all sorts of trouble.
So here come the tough questions… What is your favourite thing to eat?
What a mean question! I love spice and anything packed full of flavour, so probably curry of some sort. I could probably eat pizza every day though. Or mezze.
What do you love about Bristol and its food?
The dedication to local sourcing – I watched Portlandia and saw a sketch about them showing diners a CV of the chicken they were eating, and it made me cover my face because I definitely raise an eyebrow if a restaurant or pub doesn’t promote local produce, because it’s so commonplace and we’re spoilt for choice when it comes to producers, whether it be bread, cheese, meat or vegetables.
The fact that collaboration is the name of the game, not competition.
A lot of Bristol’s businesses thrive because of the support they not only get from us, but each other, and it’s lush to see. A great example of this is the brewery scene – they’re always in each other’s bars and tap rooms, or brewing together and it serves to make the Bristol beer scene even more than the sum of its parts (which is already badass).
If you’re on Twitter you’ll also see how much restaurants, cafes, bars and street food vendors all big each other up. It’s important given what a tough gig it is working in the food & drink industry.
The affordability is also there for the most part – although getting lunch or a pint for under a fiver is getting more and more difficult…but overall for the quality & quantity we get in dishes here, we’re spoilt.
What is your ultimate Bristolian food experience?
Either wandering through St Nicks Market trying free samples and buying bits for home while deciding what to eat, or a pint on the harbourside outside Arnolfini with your legs dangling over the quayside – peak Bristol.
If we’re going for a proper dining experience, the Gallimaufry on Gloucester Road sums up Bristol really well – excellent food from some top notch local producers, a cosy and friendly atmosphere, brilliant live music most evenings and seating outside to watch the world go by.
Where in Bristol could you eat every day?
Souk Kitchen – every dish is packed full of flavour and it’s introduced me to so many interesting ingredients. I also love how colourful their restaurants are.
Quick Sticks!
- Tea or Coffee? Coffee!
- Brunch or Dinner? Brunch!
- Chocolate or Cheese? Cheese!
- Summer or Winter? Winter!
- Cook or Eat Out? Cook (surprisingly) – as much as I love eating my way around town, I also love getting into my comfies and making meatballs or something equally comforting.
Shonette produces one of the most comprehensive monthly round ups of Bristol food, booze and food related workshops on her blog ‘A Life Less Organised’.
You will want to organise your own life around these posts!
If you want to know what else Shonette is doing, or to see these famous reactions to food, you can also find her on all of the socials –Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.
DEVOUR BRISTOL 