PAN 2019 finalist Natasha Williams says natural herbs, spices are her secret to success
When Westmoreland resident Natasha Williams received encouragement from her boyfriend Collin Grant to enter PAN 2019, little did she know that he had similar intentions.
As fate would have it, both were competitors for their parish of Westmoreland and they finished in first and second place, respectively. Both have advanced to the grand finals, which takes place on Sunday, October 27, at Grizzly’s Plantation in St Ann.
“I always heard about the PAN event and my boyfriend encouraged me to enter. The experience was tremendous and I am happy I entered. I feel accomplished and I am looking forward to the finals,” said Williams.
Williams, who has a fulltime job working with a pastry service, does pan chicken in Savannah-la-mar on weekends. She said entering PAN 2019 has taught her a lot about the preparation of food.
“I had never heard about Walkerswood seasoning before, so when they gave it to us to use, I used plenty of it. It was a good fit for the meat,” she explained.
The Red Gates District resident, Natasha, assists Collin on weekends with his pan chicken business. She believes that pan chicken vendors are highly respected in her parish.
“I think we are given the respect here in Sav [Savannala-mar.] A lot of persons here do this for their livelihood and I think we are appreciated for the service that we provide,” said Williams.
She explained what made her chicken stand out at the regional round.
“I used the natural herbs, spices and a lot of seasoning. I also used pimento to help marinate the meat. So for the finals, I am not changing much from the recipe. I might pep up things a little and try to improve on where I fell short.”