Chef on the Rise - Tessa Lafayette

Chef de Cuisine/Pastry Chef

Thursday, January 05, 2012

In her starry-eyed adolescence, Tessa Lafayette envisioned a future crunching numbers, not one that involved pots and pans. "Being a chef was not something I dreamt about," Lafayette admitted. "My sister was in accounts and doing very well so I figured I would follow suit, only to realise it was not for me." Her epiphany came working as an administrative assistant in a hospital when a friend queried whether she liked her job and then encouraged Lafayette to do what she was passionate about. The conversation struck a chord. "I thought about it. I knew I loved pastry and we both agreed I could never lose from having a skill, so that motivated me to pursue studies in the culinary arts," she shared.

Eager to follow her newly found dreams of a life in the food industry, she enrolled at the University of Technology (UTech), where she pursued baking technology, and later at the University College of the Caribbean (UCC), attaining a diploma in hotel and hospitality management. Lafayette would go on to achieve certification as a chef de cuisine through a joint programme between HEART and the Culinary Institute of America.

After her exams, the chef was offered an internship in Nashville, Tennessee, at the prestigious Opryland Hotel. "I spent a year and a half rotating through four different restaurants, and through that rotation I discovered that I also liked cold areas," she told Thursday Food. However, it was her stint in the pastry department during her internship that she most cherished. "It was a wonderful experience that I treasure," a reflective Lafayette said. It's no surprise then, that today she operates her own patisserie, Café Sweet, that produces wedding, birthday, and specialty cakes, miniature delicacies, and croissants.

How is business for a foodie entrepreneur in these economically difficult times?

“It is challenging, but I take it one day at a time,” Lafayette responded. “I try to extend myself business-wise, even though the times are hard, you have to give and extend yourself where possible,” she added. “I produce and deliver wholesale desserts and pastries to sports bars, restaurants, companies, and individuals that are usually custom-made to suit the customer. I also do wedding cakes and finger food platters. It’s a small business that is supported by my family.”

As for her take on The Rock’s pastry industry and where she sees it heading, she surmised that Jamaicans needed to read and research further. “[We] need to be more open where food is concerned, and welcome opportunities to try something new. We produce a lot of pastries but the quality is lacking. I would like bakers to start thinking quality, both in look and taste,” the pastry chef observed.

Do/Would you disclose details of your salary with your spouse?
	Yes
	No

View Results
Results published weekly in Sunday Finance

Username:
Password:

Notorious 'mountain man' arrested in parking lot

Chef on the Rise - Tessa Lafayette