St.Martin natives Chef Kareem Brooks and Chef Kénila Hyman gave a culinary demonstration in the course of the first-ever ESSENCE Eats Food And Wine Festival on the 2022 ESSENCE Festival of Culture.

The chefs taught participants the way to make a number of tasty staple dishes from the Caribbean island, including traditional favorites like dumplings with crab, johnny cakes (or journey cakes) and saltfish. Those in attendance also got to taste these dishes that so many enjoy from the island that’s generally known as the culinary capital of the Caribbean. 

For Chef Brooks, it was a singular opportunity to spotlight some dishes from his beloved island and connect individuals with the island’s culture through food.

“It’s a surreal experience…Being here is like an amazing mix, a mix of Black joy from all over the world and we get to share that with many individuals through our food. That’s amazing to me,” he said. 

Chef Brooks, also generally known as Chef B, is the founding father of “Chef B’s Cooking Services and has cooked for celebrities reminiscent of Davido, Apryl Jones and Sidra Smith who hosted the segment and served because the chief taste tester. 

Chef Hyman is the owner and head chef of Heritage Kitchen, an organization based on her family’s legacy that goals to spotlight Saint-Martin’s culture through culinary art. 

For her, having the ability to showcase among the island’s culinary offerings is just a vehicle through which the diaspora can connect and she or he is proud to be an element of that. 

 “It’s definitely an amazing honor for us,” she said. “The Caribbean has such wealthy cultures. And St. Martin, we’re a melting pot of the Caribbean with loads to supply, so I do consider that we should be here and represent,” she said.

St.Martin will host its second annual Gastronomy Festival this November. The worldwide food festival is described as being a foodie’s paradise.