EXPERT INTERVIEW WITH CARIB GOURMET
1) Please explain your journey as ‘Carib Gourmet’ so far.
I was working in the publishing and marketing industry and I’m a native of the Caribbean. Therefore whenever I go home, I bring back goodies: sweets, rum, coffee etc. I would offer it to my friends and they would ask me to buy it for them when I went back. Ultimately I ended up doing private sales and family and friends pushed me to start the business saying it would be awesome to discover new aspects of food and drinks from the Caribbean. The experiences came naturally as the products themselves are experiences but customers wanted more: history, cultural background, learning the right way of using ingredients. It sort of just happened.
I’ve been running the business for 3 years and it’s a great joy. The experiences were introduced 18 months ago and they are a real success. Really good feedback from customers that really enjoyed the wealth of knowledge they gained.
The best part is customer satisfaction. I guess all I do is to make the customers happy. If I fail to do so I have to find ways of improving, but that rarely happens. The challenge that keeps me interested is gaining more knowledge to spread it to thirsty students that come to my events.
2) What has been the biggest or most memorable event you’ve provided?
The two most interesting moments were when I was invited to do some cooking videos for a well known brand in the Exotic food industry and also winning a Great Taste Award for one of the product I manufacture.
3) Is there any inside information you can give us?
The best thing to do is to come with an open mind, a relaxed attitude and forget all the rules. Caribbean cuisine isn’t about measurements and knife skills. It’s about sharing and cooking from the heart but also understanding the ingredients.
4) Do you have any exciting plans for the future that you’d like to tell us about?
The classes are going to be available online very soon so we’ll no longer be restricted to the walls of our London kitchen. Customers across the UK will be able to attend a class from their computer, or tablets.
5) What would you say is your most frequently asked question?
Can I put rum in that?
Many thanks to Vanessa for completing this interview for us.
Authentic Caribbean Cooking Lesson, London
Caribbean Chocolate Making Workshop, London
Any questions? Contact me on evie.stacey@experiencedays.co.uk
Facebook: Experience Days
Twitter: @experiencedays
Google Plus: +Experience Days
