In the kitchen with Venessa Marston and Tiffany Lawson of Teamwork High School,
Montego Bay, St. James. - CONTRIBUTED
VENESSA MARSTON has always had a burning desire to cook.
Trouble was, her mother, Ileen Newsome, was afraid of her daughter getting burned, and so put the lid on Venessa's culinary ambitions.
"Mommy didn't want me to cook before
I was old enough because she didn't want
me to burn myself with hot water."
Her mother gave in gradually, at first allowing her to slice and dice seasonings.
By age nine she graduated to cooking rice,
tin mackerel and corned beef.
"When I was cooking for the first time I tried corned beef. I cut up the seasoning and put it in the frying pot to cook. But the pot was too hot so the seasoning got burnt up. I had to cut up more seasoning and cook it up with the corned beef and it turned out great."
Venessa, now 16 and a Grade 10 student
at Teamwork High School in Montego Bay, is versatile in the kitchen. She can cook
and bake.
"I love to cook because I can get experience in the food industry. And I love to bake because I love to mix up the batter and see when it comes out great."
Venessa says she wants to become a business manager but will never give up cooking.
- Keisha Shakespeare
