Winner will appear in Taste of Home magazine, cook with Carla Hall, and take home $25,000
To help continue to propel the art and beauty of Haitian cuisine in North Carolina and beyond through our restaurant lounge and culture hous
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You would think I would write griot (Haitian Fried Pork), which is a staple in our cuisine, but it is in fact Kreyol Smothered Goat and our famed Haitian Black Mushroom Rice aka Diri Djon Djon. The goat is bold, tender and savory and pairs perfectly with the aromatic rice made from a dried black mushroom found only in Haiti.
Who is your culinary inspiration?Anna Sivilien is first and foremost our ultimate inspiration. She is a self-taught home cook who trained Chef Andre to be stealthy and adventurous in their tiny kitchen in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, while keeping true to their heritage. Despite lacking a formal education, she learned the intricacies of Haitian cooking from community matriarchs but also gleaned techniques from her French employers. She has passed that knowledge on to us.
What would you do with the $25,000?The things we would do with 25K! The priority would be to further build out a proper commercial kitchen. Our capacity is very limited in the space we are in, and as a result, are restricted from truly delivering the food and service we know we are capable of. Our plans for our supporters in the area are more ambitious than our present circumstances. The funds would help us overcome those barriers.
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