As part of a new series, The Artful Diner does dinner with interesting characters and gives you the low-down…

My date for Tuesday night at Floridita was South African jazz singer Nicola Emmanuelle. Yes, that’s right. Date on Tuesday night. My thinking being, what better way to propel oneself through to Friday than with a rum cocktail or two midweek? (We discovered one cocktail so good Nicola declared it a “pour it over your boyfriend drink”, ie you should always have one on hand.)

Nicola was born into South African jazz royalty. Her parents were Nathan ‘Dambuza’ Mdledle, lead singer of the Manhattan Brothers and Louisa Manuel, a singer with the Woodpeckers. They moved from South Africa to London in 1961 and Nicola was born in Hackney.

Classically trained, the singer’s heart has always lain with jazz and soul. Highlights of her career include singing live for Mandela and on the soundtracks for films like The Constant Gardener and City of Angels, as well as working with Pete Townshend of The Who. She regularly performs live at The Savoy, Boisdale and for Floridita Live.

First impressions

I arrive and spot Nicola settled into one of Floridita’s cream-coloured booths. She is sporting one of the spotted scarves seen in the picture above, making her immediately recognisable. Very quickly formality is dispensed with (kisses all round) and Nicola’s infectious laugh kicks our date off onto a good foot.

Nicola’s food loves and hates

This is straightforward. Nicola is pescatarian. She loves dim sum, rose martinis and, we discover, Floridita’s Ambassador cocktail. She hates rice (“it fills you up, but doesn’t make you feel satisfied”), meat and, controversially, chocolate (“I just don’t get it”).

What we ate

All the Floridita classics – Nicola went for spiced black bean soup to start, followed by red snapper in a banana leaf. I enjoyed grilled sea scallops and Angus beef with chimichurri sauce and a selection of side salads/chips. Dessert was a plate of fruit and a slice of cheesecake, not forgetting the Ambassador cocktail and a Pina Colada.

Best story of the night

Nicola’s parents always knew she could sing, but for her it all really began in the toilet. “I was 13 years old and our teacher asked if anyone could sing,” she says. “Now, I was always singing in toilets. I’m a toilet singer. My friend Sandra Pratt pipes up ‘Miiiss, Nicola’s always singing in the toilet. You should ask her to sing.’ So that lunchtime I’m there with Miss Cartwright playing the piano, my friends standing at the window – Sandra, Angela – staring as I went higher and higher and sang and sang. From then on it all began; I was in the school choir. I was a soloist.”

Let’s get serious

As we become better acquainted to a soulful Floridita background of singer Nathan Watson and all-girl act Drizabone, Nicola lets me in on the fact that if she hadn’t become a singer she would have been a vet. She actually still harbours ambitions to open an elephant sanctuary.

Any hidden talents?

Drawing the aforementioned elephants (see Nicola’s picture below) and, secondly, tigers. I tell her that to my eye this looks very good, but in her own words, “I’m a better singer than I am an artist.”

Famous friends?

In 2008, Nicola performed jazz classics at a bash given by Princess Diana’s brother Earl Spencer to celebrate 500 years of the Spencer family at Althorp House. In her own words, he was a complete gent and utterly welcoming. She also performed in front of Wills and Kate when they turned up unexpectedly one evening at Bush Hall in Shepherd’s Bush.

Would we meet again?

Absolutely. It was a hoot. In fact, I make a pact to see her perform next time she is on stage as part of Floridita Live.