KERENSA
Kerensa Mason wears many hats - aspiring musician, only child and, like many their age, works in retail to pay the bills. The 26-year-old’s work ethic is frankly all-encompassing, leaving little opportunity to spend time on what they value the most while doing it in a way that honours their East Asian heritage: connecting with those around them through food.
Upon my arrival at their welcoming North-East London flat, they tell me that they're not making one dish, but three, so in an effort of transparency, this was not a comfort food, it’s more of a comfort meal.
With their mother being from Hong Kong and father from the UK, Kerensa was raised on classic Cantonese dishes, so, logically, the menu followed suit; the main star of the show is a stuffed tofu accompanied by a stir-fry, veggies, rice and lager. As Kerensa begins carving out the hollows in the tofu, they tells me about themself - they grew up in Beijing, is an INFJ personality type, vegan and a Queer person of colour.
“In terms of actually taking time to prepare and really utilise the self-care that is preparing a meal, I don’t really have much time these days,” they say while stuffing the tofu with vegan meat, tofu, Xianggu (a fragrant, dried mushroom that is “a staple in a lot of East Asian homes”), and spring onions. “To actually be able to find a moment of reconnection is really rare for me… It’s nice to slow down and take that self-care time.”
This innate love for food runs in the family - their grandfather, they call him Gong Gong, was a chef and owner of a UK-based Chinese takeaway, and he, through his food, ensured that Kerensa felt loved and taken care of. In their early years, they spent a lot of time watching their Mama cook. Whether it be a way to spend time together or a genuine interest in what the hell she was doing, it’s clear that those moments left an impression on a growing Kerensa.
In the early years, they spent a lot of time watching their Mama cook. Whether it be a way to spend time together or a genuine interest in what the hell she was doing, it's clear that those moments left an impression on a growing Kerensa.
“My mum always cooked and I wish I appreciated her cooking more [at the time]… When you grow up with that, you don’t always realise how special it is and then you leave home and you’re like, ‘Oh, what was that thing my mum cooked when I was 7?” they laughed. “I was just really intrigued.”
The way they worship over their mother shows just how much value they place in the relationships in their life. They possess many of the same traits that they so admire in their mother: gentle, caring, and definitely won’t let anyone leave a meal still hungry.
As a family, frequent trips were made to Hong Kong, another major influence on their self-identity, to visit extended relatives. Like many international homes, language plays a key part in its function; Kerensa speaks Mandarin and English, their relatives in Hong Kong speak Cantonese, and many of them, including their mother, speak over three languages. Like with their Gong Gong, an important source of communicating love was over a meal.
“Even if we don’t really have anything to talk about, we’ll talk about food. You talk about everything over a meal and it’s your way of showing love as well as you know,” they explained.
At this point, they're multitasking three dishes on the stovetop. They're frying the stuffed tofu in a large wok, stir-frying black fungus, oyster mushrooms and fried tofu in chilli oil all while cooking choy sum, a relative of the leafy green bok choy, in black bean sauce.
Food, they tell me, is very much the East Asian love language and although they have been away from home for nearly 7 years, they have found a group of creatives who have turned into a chosen family in London. “I managed to find a community here. Especially as a queer person of colour who’s also mixed, you can’t always walk into a room and feel a sense of community. It’s hard to find sometimes,” they ruminated while standing dutifully over the food.
Hong Kong is a place that, although it was never technically their place of residence, they include in places they miss when feeling homesick. As the plating process begins, Kerensa reflects: “I just always felt really connected there. I guess it might also have to do with the fact that it’s my heritage place.”
Being vegan, they explain, has its challenges with East Asian food being so reliant on animal byproducts. When visiting family and having group dinners, it proved challenging to relive the comforts of home using cuisine. “Veganism has been an adaptation of preserving the comforting foods I grew up with.”
Sitting down to eat, the table is set in a communal eating style. Communal eating, largely practised in China and other East Asian countries, encourages people to deepen their ties to those around them, offering respect and humility by serving others.
This way of eating not only highlights the need for connections within society but also feels far more intimate and meaningful to share things, even if, like at our table, you are strangers.
Kerensa cracks open a Tsing Tao, a popular Chinese lager, obviously pleased with the meal before them, and as the Animal Crossing theme music continues to play, the feeling in the kitchen is good.
Arguably, food can act as a window into a soul and in the case of Kerensa, their kitchen table mirrors millions to have come before this one - performing the most basic human ritual known to mankind, a meal is not just a comfort, but also a time machine.
