Danny Malin: I think Bradford is the foodie capital of West Yorkshire - here's why

I spent a day with my pal Kalani the other day. Kalani, who’s from Nashville, is known for his ghost hunting and, like me, for his online food reviews.

Last time he was over here, I took him to the Rate My Takeaway Kitchen in Huddersfield. We also went to Halifax to try a wrag pudding.

This time, he wanted to go to Bradford. It’s the foodie capital of West Yorkshire. I took him to the The Sweet Centre which is turning 60 this year.

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We had samosas and curry. Here, you don’t need chutneys with the samosas because the flavour is packed in. Even the curry didn’t have much sauce swimming around because all the flavour is already marinated into the meat.

They’ve built up a loyal following of people who come at all times of the day. They’ve kept it simple with traditional food at a high quality and value for money.

That night, I took Kalani, his wife Savannah, and my wife Sophie and I to try Forde restaurant in Ilkley.

Forde is one of two restaurants founded by MasterChef finalist Matt Healey who I met while recording my Christmas single at Homeless Street Angels, where he volunteers his time.

Forde is at the back of Betty’s Tearooms. Me being tight, we went midweek because it’s 50 per cent off. The sun was shining and it was the perfect setting for Matt’s restaurant and summer menu. It was sharing plates - tapas style.

I tried the giant hash brown, enoki mushrooms and - the ultimate test for me - the kebab. The plates varied from £10 to £12 each. The enoki mushrooms had been deep fried in a light batter. Matt described it as his version of KFC. It was bang on. Light and crispy served with aioli.

The hash brown certainly was giant - it was made up of shredded potatoes, which were fluffy and super filling.

When I ordered the kebab, I’d been expecting a lamb kofta version. Instead, it was doner style off the skewer but nothing like the dirty kebabs you get on a night out. The lamb had been slow cooked overnight - and it was lovely and tender. The gluten free flat bread had then been dipped in the fat. It tasted almost like a pancake. It was sprinkled with crispy chickpeas.

It tasted clean and fresh. I could have had this on its own it tasted so good.

You could tell these ingredients were good quality and fresh. It’s hard to do simple food well but this was spot on.