The book is laced with Guyanese favorites like: Foo Foo, Split Pea Soup, Mettemgee, Pepperpot, Phulourie, Yeung Chow Fried Rice, Garlic Pork, Sorrell, Fish Cakes, Cheese Straws, Chan Jairam’s Cassava Pone, Bara, Black Cake, Dhal Puri and Callaloo Cook-Up. Deborah also infuses her own specialties like: Sweet Lobster Pomegranate Salad, Pineapple Galette with Cherry Jelly Glaze, Slew Yuk (Cantonese Crispy Roast Pork), Fish Pie with Cheese, Blueberry Pie with a Pineapple Twist....Her admitted favorites: "I love food, I love cooking all of my recipes, I especially like the Cantonese Lo Mein, my fit for a Goddess Pot Roast, Pineapple Holiday Ham and the Curry Chicken with Potatoes Caribbean."
Deborah started cooking at the tender age of 9, watching her Mother and Grandmother cook, the young Deborah just absorb everything she was seeing. "I became so good that my siblings wanted me to cook instead of my mother," recalled Deborah. It was then that she developed her culinary skills. Her daily trips to the markets where fresh fare was selected for the day’s meal was a highlight for her. After migrating to the United States, Deborah continued her culinary exploits, venturing into the many culinary arenas exposed to her in the US. "I always seem to return to my roots, amassed with beautiful memories of my homeland’s rich culture and exotic foods. So I wrote this book basically for first generation Guyanese and introducing people of the world to our exotic cuisine. We do have great food, fresh fare and a rich heritage in which our food comes from. The books brings something tangible for Guyana."
Deborah is also looking forward to bringing this unique cookbook to the American masses as an introduction to the multi-layered cuisine of Guyana. Deborah said that over the past decade or so, Guyana has become more diverse with immigrants from Brazil, Columbia, Jamaica and other countries. "This only makes for a larger pot of ethnic stew to sweep the nation into a culinary renaissance." She referred to the already `national’ dishes brought in from the six races - "Our indigenous people know as Amerindians, Africans, Indians, Portuguese, Chinese and Europeans. Together we’ve shared a love of each others food, music, and traditions taken from each ethnic background and ultimately molded it into a magnetic sphere that represents us as a whole." It is with that spirit that Deborah is presenting this informative book that celebrates a slice of Guyana’s rich culture.
