Meet Janelle

A little bit about me...

Hi! I'm Janelle. I was born and raised in beautiful Trinidad and Tobago. Don't know where that is? Time to buy a map... Tis in the Caribbean :P

As a child, you'd have most likely found me in a tree somewhere. Who am I kidding, you'd probably still find me in a tree. Or the ocean... totally convinced that I'm a mermaid. I'm third generation Syrian and my cooking style is heavily influenced by my background... I like to think of it as a French/Middle Eastern fusion. So if one of my recipes call for more garlic than you're used to, blame my adapted tastebuds!!

Food is my everything... my passion, my art, my education.

I started off as a cashier in a popular local sandwich joint and it quickly evolved into a hunger to learn more. I enrolled in the Trinidad and Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute (TTHTI - fondly still referred to as 'hotel school') in the Associate of Science Degree in Culinary Management. Hands down, the best days of my life.

I pursued multiple internships in many well known establishments. From Hilton Trinidad, to Angelo's Italian to Chaud Cafe. Then I got into the catering business out of both home and rented space with my then partner-in-crime, Ed. It sidetracked into a successful bottled product cottage industry but fizzled out just as quickly. But the catering continued. Especially for buttercream cake orders. Buttercream is life. I guess you could say I get a kick out of the adrenaline rush of deadlines. Tis a possible side effect of being in the rush of a dinner service for too long I guess.

But something was still missing. Yes, food is this glorious medium that can enliven and enrich a dining experience. Food is ART. But it was not enough. There was this little annoying voice in my head that kept nagging - 'food can help the ailing too'. I listened to that voice and enrolled at Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia in the BSc. Nutrition and Dietetics program. Almost a full school year later, the world as I knew it collapsed. There was an 'incident' at Acadia that forced me to come home. Time for me stopped for 8 months. If you asked me what I did between the months of March and October of 2011, I couldn't really tell you. It's a black hole. What I do know is that I happened to come across a course offering on Facebook that opened my eyes. A Permaculture Design Course was being offered at Wa Samaki Ecosystems in Freeport at the end of that year. I didn't know anything about permaculture... it was a total leap of faith. So I listened to the nagging voice who had been silent for some time and registered for the course.

I owe my life to that farm... I was this sparkless individual drudging through a mundane existence. Until I was exposed to the raw beauty of Gaia and Her beautiful intricacies. Everything that was once taken for granted was exposed in a whole new light. If anyone is ever stuck in a deep well and the walls are too high to climb out, I do recommend going outside, burying your hands in fresh soil and just breathing in the life that it holds. She heals in ways that conventional medicine will never fathom.

It was the push I needed to finish what I started. I completed my degree at the University of the West Indies and am now looking to take it further, hunting down international internships and Masters programs. The final goal is a PhD in Nutrition. Why you ask? Because I believe that there is a need for research in the Caribbean. We have so so many unanswered mysteries.

Now I've come to what I initially referred to as a dead-end. Having polycystic ovaries and the possibility of not being able to bear children scared me. I have 2 sisters, 3 brothers and just about 50 first cousins, so naturally I wanted a large family of my own. For me, I thought having a chronic condition was like being handed a death sentence. It did mean that life would never again be the same. And again, years later, that annoying little voice came to me again - 'food is a spiritual experience'. 

I hate that little voice sometimes... she's always right.

While I treasure the art that is food, it can also be medicine. Capable of healing any ailment with the right intention. And I lost sight of that despite studying the medical properties of the food for so many years.  So here I am, with open arms, ready to face this journey with a clear mind and willing spirit :) 

A little bit more about me...

There's more to me than food. Surprise!! :P 

I spent my teen years as a competitive swimmer. Which led to me becoming a recreational triathlete and adventure racer. To now *hopefully* becoming a national cyclist. In my spare time I go back to my cheffy roots and churn out sinful desserts that I refrain from for health reasons. But it gives me great joy watching my family enjoy them.

I was once a partial scholarship holder for visual arts. But that was cast aside to do the 'hotel school' thing. Absolutely no regrets. I do however continue to paint and collage.

Finallyyyy I'm a proud mom of a barrel of worms. No joke. They are my babies.

(Pictures featured here are by Lulu Fakoory, Annelie Solis and my daddy).