Paul Shoucair, New Leaf Vegetarian proprietor

“Lebanese people’s lives revolve around food so it was always in my blood,” Paul Shoucair replied when asked how he ended up in the kitchen of his five-month-old New Leaf Vegetarian restaurant in Liguanea’s Lane Plaza. Living in Canada for several years, Shoucair remained within the food industry orbit there for some time working as a cook, bartender, waiter and dining room manager. A vegan himself, he shuttered his previous business venture – Mobile Music – and decided to have a go at it in the food biz after he identified the need for a vegetarian restaurant that combined a variety of international vegan foods with the right pinch of Jamaican flair. Notwithstanding his absence of formal culinary training, he’s actively involved in preparing the food. Shoucair, however, doesn’t shy away from crediting his female chefs Kamesha Campbell and Jheanelle Green for giving New Leaf’s cuisine its distinctive flavour that caters to healthy-minded diners.

Francis Velaganni, Head Chef and Ravi Singh, Assistant Head Chef (both of Pushpa’s Indian Restaurant)

Both dimunitive in stature but highly talented, Francis Velaganni, 38 and Ravi Singh, 24, are the two men who keep the expansive menu of Indian foods at Pushpa’s Restaurant tasting tangy, sweet and spicy. The two relocated from their native India at separate times; Francis almost two years ago while Ravi arrived only five months ago. Francis, who acts as Pushpa’s head chef, shares that he’s from a long line of cooks and gained a degree from Crest College in his homeland in Hotel Management, after which he worked in a number of food establishments, including a six-year job stint in Oman. With his wife, Esther, and teenaged sons Anthony and Jerry still living in India, the head chef looks forward to reuniting with them next year when his Pushpa contract ends, but will miss much about Jamaica, including “the beauty of the women and the exciting tastes of jerk and ackee and saltish. Francis’s protégé Ravi plans on spending three years here, and is already embracing a lot of the island’s culture, having developed a love for the music of Vybz Kartel and Jamaican food. Back home, the boyishly handsome assistant head chef attained certification from the Institute of Hotel Management and worked as a gravy chef at ITC Welcomgroup, a five-star business hotel chain .

Melva Williams, Kitchen Supervisor, Cuddyz Sports Bar and Restaurant

It’s been a fulfilling six years working at Cuddyz for Melva Williams. “I love the environment here and the people,” she noted, as the first few of the typically many lunchtime customers began coming into the popular New Kingston eatery. Melva discovered a passion for food as a child, and started cooking dinner at 13 without her mother’s prompting when she would come home from school. “She [her mother] never had to cook, I would cook things like rice and peas, stewed beef or pork, fried or baked chicken, boiled bananas, dumplings and yam,” the Cuddyz kitchen supervisor recalls. The 45-year-old mother of teenagers Jahvier and Tashna, simultaneously completed a Level I HEART NTA ourse and aone-year certificate while attending Jan’s School of Catering. Before Cuddyz, she worked as an assistant cook with a catering company run by Alhambra Inn’s Sonia Grey and also as a pastry chef at Loshushan.