Multi-award-winning reporter from Spectrum News NY 1, Ruschell Boone, emerged winner in the Celebrity Quick Fire Challenge cook-off at the recently held Grace Jamaican Jerk Festival in New York.

“I consider myself to be a really good cook, so I was excited to be asked to participate in the cook-off and showcase my skills. The biggest compliment was when one of the judges, a celebrity chef, said my jerk salmon was something that could be served in a restaurant,” Boone told the Jamaica Observer in an interview on Friday.

She described the experience.

“It was a thrilling experience and, believe it or not, I was riddled with anxiety. I’m a very competitive person who doesn’t like to lose. More importantly, for Jamaicans, being a good cook is a badge of honour. If you can’t cook don’t badda go near di pot”, she said jokingly.

Her winning dish comprised jerk salmon with mixed vegetables.

“The texture and flavour of the fish won it for me. I make my fish the way they do it at Hellshire Beach in Jamaica. The secret is not only in the seasoning, it’s also in the way you prepare the oil and the skillet”, Boone shared.

Boone attends the jerk festival annually since its inception eight years ago.

“I go every year with my family. I love to take my children there because it reminds me a lot of some of the events my mom took me to as a child in Jamaica,” she said.

Boone was born in Kingston and lived in the Bay Farm Road area of St Andrew West Central before emigrating to the United States 32 years ago. She is a former student of Holy Childhood Preparatory school.

“I was born and raised in Kingston in the Bay Farm area, close to the Mall Road and Waterhouse areas. I moved to New York in 1986 when I was 11 years old,” said Boone.

“I lived most of my life in the Bronx and Queens, New York, but I currently reside in New Jersey. I went to Olinville Junior High in the Bronx (I feel like most Jamaicans went there, lol), Truman High School in the Bronx and Baruch College in Manhattan where I got my Bachelor’s degree in Accounting,” Boone added..

Boone has been in media since 1998. She has been a reporter/anchor at Spectrum News NY1 for the past 16 years. Before that, she was an assignment editor at CNN and a news associate at CNBC.

She shared her love for working in the media.

“I love being able to reach people on a number of levels. Media is a powerful tool that brings understanding and clarity to the world around us. As a reporter one of my objectives is to break down barriers through information, but perhaps the biggest satisfaction is the ability to mentor and show young people that no matter what, their dreams are possible to achieve. It makes me happy when people say you know that reporter on NY1 is Jamaican, right! Yes, mi very Jamaican. Still eat bully beef, not corned beef, with white rice on Fridays.”

Boone also shared two of the major news stories that she has reported on.

“The biggest story of my career happened a few weeks ago. It was the congressional primary race between Alexandria Orcasio-Cortez and Congressman Joseph Crowley. Her win shook up the nation’s Democratic Party and my coverage of her win went viral. Another big story I covered was the death of Lessandro Junior Feliz, the 15-year-old boy who was killed by the Trinitarios gang in the Bronx in a case of mistaken identity.”

Boone says she visits often and maintains ties with her family and friends in Jamaica.

“I visit about every two years. I have a house there, which was my childhood home. Mi have a whole heap a family there so they will be very thrilled to see me in the Jamaica Observer.

In 2014 Boone received an award for Best Spot News Reporting from the New York Association of Black Journalists. The previous year, she won the New York Press Club’s award for Best Feature Reporting.