Chef Jason Peru’s Interview with Trinidad & Tobago Entertainment Magazine

Question 1.
Tell us something about you
Jason is realistically a very cool, calm and collected guy. I enjoy some of the simpler things in our everyday world, such as a walk on a desolate beach, I am a sucker for dinner and movies and I thrive on creativity. Being a chef, I tend to see things in a more detail and clean way where I can always apply my touch or spin on things to make it mine. I love activities that are fun and easy on the mind as this helps compensate for the action oriented days I have which are always filled with immense excitement and bustling ..

Question 2 
What made you become a chef?

Truly and honestly I was a really fat kid . I loved eating. I was a child who was always kept away from the kitchen and cooking activities, this would naturally only pique my curiosity. I wanted to be able to pick up any food magazine and say, hey I can make that. So said so done. It was this intention I knew that my creativity and imagination would be implored and utilized in its best way.

Question 3 
What is my advice for people entering this field?

You have to possess a diehard love and passion for this industry. To be a chef is one that is vastly demanding and can take a toll on your body, soul, family life and mental capacity. You have to stick at it and give it your all. 
The hours are long coupled with exhaustive physical work, but if you exude that dedication and commitment to making people happy, smile and fall head over heels with your oral bounded creations, you can find it very rewarding financially and personally. 

Question 4 .

What was your biggest mistake at the beginning of your career ?

Quite frankly, one should always listen to those in higher experience levels . Your lecturers will always urge you to work functions and expose yourself to more whilst contributing your time and talent to other chefs. However not all times will you be rewarded with compensation - and this can be unattractive. However even though I gave some of my time to working freely in functions just to see and experience what other experts in my field were doing , I think I could have made more time for that .

Question 5
How did I deal with it ?

Peer pressure and conformity is a hell of a thing. The worst thing as a chef is to have your ego broken by someone who knows or is able to do more than you can do and outshine you. It depresses you sometime. Me personally, it happened many times and because of this I never missed an opportunity to expose myself to what other chefs are doing. It helped me grow and develop my culinary repertoire.

Question 6 
What would you say is your masterpiece dish?

 I have a natural inclination toward pork dishes. I have mastered numerous ways in executing many different styles and preparations of pork. Two dishes I am famous for is my authentic Chinese style roasted crispy skin pork belly that takes me two days to prep and another dish is my Tri-spiced seared pork loin roulade stuffed with cornbread, goat cheese and cranberries and served with an apricot chutney .
Being a Trinidadian, our culture is one that encompasses numerous ethnic cuisines comprising of Indian, Chinese, French, African, Mediterranean etc. I must say I proudly integrate massive innovative levels of fusion in my food. Food for me is life, and when you indulge in my creationS it should be an experience that depicts our heritage and people. It's unique !

Question 7 
One of my major accomplishments in the past few years 

This has to be my endorsement and cooperation of bmobile giving me the nod to pursue my very own cooking show, namely bubble with us. 
It was truly an honor to be given this privilege and recognized as someone whom in my field was qualified and talented to optimize and pursue such a venture which I think is prolific and innovative. This has always been my dream. To be a television chef. 

Question 8

How do you improve as a person ?

I think as we grow older we become even more critical about ourselves, especially on how we evolve and innovate our skill and personality. Two areas I am constantly trying to improve in is staying abreast in what is going in my culinary field in terms of maturation and trends. Another is my ability to reach out to new audiences and present myself as a chef who isn't your quintessential chef that works in the back of the restaurant. My language, approach and physical ability in terms of presenting concepts, ideas and dishes for people to comprehend and accept is probably my greatest and ongoing challenge.

Question 9

Chef Mentor ?
Chef Cabrera always was a very organized and forward thinking man. He was a young man, age 30 who accomplished so much in his tenure. I admired this lot about him. He taught me strategic planning and how to work smart. For a chef these days, we are more than just cooks who make dishes; we are managers and entrepreneurs who must possess the skill of management of others as well as ourselves. 

Question 10

What’s the Mission of Fanatic Kitchen Studio where your home base is located ?

Fanatic kitchen studio is a concept birthed by woman pioneer Donna Wyke Reece. She is a well traveled and highly educated hospitality aficionado who wanted to create a space where she showcased chefs and there culinary creations in a glorified way and help boost the industry in which we work in. Fanatic studio is what it is.. We host food seminars, cooking classes of different cuisines, chef table dinners, and even do culinary team building for corporate firms. The question is what can't we do with this unique concept and ground breaking enterprise we have. We even shoot cooking shows for the television. The kitchen is a boutique style one in which we not only showcase the skills of our pantheon of carefully chosen chefs but we indulge in using the best ingredients, providing quality service and assure you an experience you never had before. Come visit us.

Question 11 

Local Study vs Foreign Study?

This is a topic I have become very candid about. 
When culinary schools decide to offer a program of study to students, they need to always mentor or research what a well developed similar culinary school is doing. I have had the opportunity to study both locally and internationally and when comparisons are made, we have lots of work to do. We need to stop becoming a society that is producing paper mill diplomas and degrees. Sure we do what is within our range and capacity to educate students, but we sometimes cheat them so much when we are not prepared with the skill and man power to successfully deliver to them in an adequate and real time manner. More is needed such as experienced lecturers and tutors to professionally impart what the industry demands of us. If not, we end up sending out students into the work place and they are chastised by seasoned individuals who expect basic commonalities that were not bestowed onto them by the teaching grounds. 

Question 12 

What is Success for you?

I believe success is something we determine as we mature throughout different stages. Hurdles and barriers are thrown before us to strengthen our ability to succeed. Personally at this point in my life, success will encompass being a market leader in my field, one who is respected and exudes professional decorum amongst his peers and counterparts. I work expeditiously to become a well respected television chef who can change an attitude of how people see or view food. When this is done, then I would have made a change and this equates to success to me.

Question 13

Work Challenges Faced In the Industry?

Attitudes are what help define our predisposed behavior toward something. It is all in our culture and socialization that we are born into. No matter how much food and beverage advocates yearn for betterment and change, we have to own it and change attitudes and enculturation from young. We need to understand that chefs and beverage professionals are individuals who belong to the hospitality industry. We are not scalawags who "cook ah food and mix ah drink". We work equally as hard as any other blue color or white color professional  and we deserve our respect and commendation. We are not to be viewed as less than another because we serve people, but instead we delight people with our service. It is with this notion we are here to ensure your meal and dining experience or event was exceptional and should not be viewed as "servers". As  a result we should be dually compensated for our skill and should not be categorized with paltry remuneration. The sooner this is done, I guarantee our service industry with rise omnipotently with lower turnover rates, food and beverage staff with have higher work ethic and morale to guide their output and our smiles will lead to greater consumerism and tourism for our country.

Question 14

Local Cooking, sustainability and Fast-food ?

With vast spending and flow of money in our country, foreign food chains are seeing us as a great market to open up fast food outlets and convenient international food restaurants. As a chef, variety is something I applaud. With a great number of food establishments present In our country helps give that experiential feeling for citizens. The down side is, what does this do to our local restaurant and chefs who pride themselves on using out local ingredients and community labour to showcase our level of culinary fusion creativity. One such example of this was the closure of Chaud Creole restaurant which was my local chef mentor's restaurant; Khalid Mohammed. Chef Mohammed prided himself on using our local ingredients In very innovative ways using classical French techniques of preparation. It was welcomed and praised by many open minded citizens but shunned by many who preferred to have their "cream of dasheen leaf and Dougla styled chicken" done and presented traditionally and as "stewed chicken and callaloo".  I believe we need to be a little more supportive of our local cuisine and note that most chain restaurants usually are associated with hydrogenated fats and flash frozen goods. 

Question 15 
As a chef, how would you try to intrigue patrons to fine dine at restaurants?

 Some of the things local restaurants can do to regain this patronage lies within communication and awareness. Sure everyone might find it easy and convenient to buy a box of fast food for 20 dollars because it may be cheap and simple, but local restaurants need also to understand our culture; of who we are and what influences us. Having prefix menus that are affordable and easy to prepare within short times and affordable is one great way to start. Advertising and making people know about these offers and boasting that it supports our local farmers, and use off local ingredients gives people a sense of supporting socially and emotionally. 
Government and even large local businesses and cooperation’s within our hospitality industry can even run educational and social outreach programs to help make citizens and even tourist aware of what we offer and where to find great food, superb service and a memorable experience. 

Question 16.

Major trend in the culinary industry today.

With the whole Food Network paradigm, I have seen that many young citizens and even mature ones are gravitating toward a rewarding career in this field. The yearning talent and education to be a qualified chef and mixologist is growing everyday in our nation. I see this as a new trend culinary wise as, what I beckon and dream to see in the future to make out industry a promising one is becoming hopeful. It means we are destined to make our country one that will embellish our food culture and package it, own it and even market it to the world. This is the journey I am on right now, and I'm always looking for disciples. 

Question 17
How can government assist in Local Food Sustainability ?

 The government has been assisting expeditiously in making food more affordable to its citizens. Quite recently value added tax was removed from local born products. What can also be done is greater concentration and encouragement to local farmers who produce livestock and produce. Subsidies for grains and related fertilizers can also be of great benefit to us. If this is done, we would be able as a nation to evidently purchase local ingredients at a Cheaper rate due to lower production costs and most definitely be a healthier nation. 

Question 18

What are something’s that set me apart from others chefs?

I believe a chef is one who is unique and distinct in his own way. It's what makes restaurants different from another, the skill and talent of the hands and minds that cook and develop the flavours and presentation of your food.
For me, I think my endless creativity and imagination is what makes me the chef that I am. I dream food in the night and get up suddenly and write down my ideas and sketches of my plating presentations. It's my thirst to excite, amaze and amuse the clients I cook for and see There smiles is what I connect with. I play with there emotions through food and this is what drives me. There words of appreciation are what also fuels me to outdo myself next time. It's with this catalyst that I ensure my food is attractive, delicious, tempting, experiential and my mantra of it always being  "sexy".

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