HASSANE only wants GOLD
“Ilove to experiment in the kitchen. Creating new recipes is my passion and I love to see the smiles on people’s face after they try something they have never tried before,” said award winning chef, Hassane Gordon.
In light of their 55th anniversary, the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission, JCDC, is highlighting significant participants who have excelled within the competition and have even grown to become family over the last five decades. Hassane Gordon, who is from the parish of St Mary, is one of the most decorated chefs that has been entering the competition since 2006.
Her passion for cooking, thrives on the need for competition, as she hopes to build on her skills and boost creativity. She has won over 50 gold medals from the JCDC, excluding trophies and certificates for her noteworthy culinary skills.
Her earliest memory of cooking, dates as far back as age three. “When I was small, I was always playing dolly house and ‘dutty pot’. One day my mother gave me a piece of chicken leg and I proceeded to play the game which involved a lot of dirt. By the time my mother finished cooking, I was ready for dinner and proceeded to go to the kitchen. My mother asked where the meat was that she gave me to cook. I did not know she gave me the meat to cook, I thought she gave me to play dutty pot. That day, I did not get any meat in my plate, because my meat was in the dutty pot,” laughed Gordon, as she recounted the fond memory.
By age 10, she found herself developing her sense of smell and taste, to find the most sensation flavours in the strangest places. She praises JCDC for giving her a creative outlet, and allowing her to grow as a chef without fine art training.
“I wanted to do food and nutrition in school at Spanish Town secondary. They told me I could not choose that subject because my grades were not up to standard. I was disappointed,” she explained. Through the JCDC workshops, she was able to learn how to write recipes and present her work. My aim is to one day open a restaurant, but in the meantime I will continue entering competitions and helping the kitchens within the schools in St Mary.
Here are a few of her award winning recipes.