Rendezvous with Chef Raquel Fox, “The Island Gurl!”

BY HRISHIKESH DAS GUPTA

The Bahamian celebrity chef Raquel Fox, also known as “The island gurl” strongly believes that notable cooking comes from the heart. A few years ago, she published her best-selling cookbook “Dining In Paradise” with over 150 soulful and authentic island recipes. This year, Raquel launched her “Island Gurl Foods Sauce Kit” with three delicious sauces: Bahama Steam Sauce, Mango Jerk Sauce, and Island Flavour Pepper Sauce. The low sugar, low sodium and gluten-free sauces are prepared with high-quality ingredients too.

Raquel is also one of the famous hosts of Hyr Live and brings us phenomenal dishes every week. Her creativity in: comfort food cooking, swag in food styling, and enthusiasm for life made her an inspiration to her friends, families and audiences.

Raquel believes in the inspiration of dance and incorporates these moves while preparing her comfort food recipes. Raquel likes to interact with her social media followers to improve the overall taste experience. She figured out from the majority of food lovers about missing flavors in the sauces. Therefore, she incorporates their ideas to make sure that the sauces are not overly spicy and prepared with fresh fruits, spices and vegetables.

She is also donating 10% of the proceeds to A Different Booklist Cultural Centre (ADBCC), a physical space for the well-being of the African and Caribbean Canadian community (https://adbcc.org/). I had the lifetime opportunity to speak with Raquel Fox about her life as a chef. She mentioned how her grandmother and mentor Mary Campbell influenced her to be the best version of herself. I was really curious to learn more about that, so she shared a childhood memory about her grandmother, Mary.

When Raquel was in grade school, she used to bring all the delicious dishes prepared by her grandmother, Mary for lunch. The lunch box was filled with chicken salad or curry chicken sandwiches, with cookies, cakes and juices. The moment she opened her lunch box, the fragranced meals grabbed the attention of her classmates. They used to take the majority of the meals from her.

These ongoing incidents made her upset, so she decided to quit school. She shared all the incidents with her grandmother and Mary promised she would take care of everything. On the next day, Raquel assumed Mary would teach a lesson to the classmates. During lunch, Mary arrived with two big baskets and Raquel pointed out her classmates. Mary started to distribute sandwiches and desserts to Raquel’s classmates.

Raquel was surprised to see that, and asked Mary why she was feeding all her classmates. Mary said, “Raquel, have you ever shared your food with them? Have you ever asked their side of the story? Food is not only for consumption, but also a norm that brings everyone together. Food is a celebration of life. Have a conversation with your friends, share your story with them, listen to their part and be friends by sharing some foods.”

Raquel learned the value of giving from Mary in a unique way. The next day, she observed her friends welcoming her with open arms. That incident inspired her to be more humble to others. She also started to create recipes with a difference with the help of her grandmother.

Raquel mentioned that the lifelong lessons from her grandmother helped her to become the best version of herself. Raquel mentioned when she sees people from her community are going through a challenging time; she prepares their favorite meals and presents it to them with her delightful smile. She prays with them and requests to open up about their anxiety. Raquel mentioned her comfort foods with the Caribbean twist always cheer them up.

Chef Raquel proudly represents Caribbean cooking on her live show. It was such a beautiful moment for me to meet such a wonderful woman at this challenging time. I wish her success in everything she does with her unique style.