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BERMUDA | RSS PODCAST

Bermudian’s side job in Puerto Rico takes off

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Banana Bread made by Roslyn Famous.

Many Bermudians who live abroad leave their work behind when they come home to visit Roslyn Famous has brought hers with her.She’s worked in San Juan, Puerto Rico for the last 14 years as a Spanish language translator.On the side, she has a small baked goods business called A Taste of Fame.This Christmas she is back at home in Bermuda, and has bought A Taste of Fame with her.“I will be here until January 7,” she said. “So far, I have had about four orders. It is slow because people don’t know I am back.“Mostly, my own personal friends have asked for me to bake for them.”She wasn’t bothered by the idea of working through her holiday.“You fit it in,” she said. “Because this is a side job in Puerto Rico I am used to working around my own schedule.“I don’t take things on that I can’t handle. Since I have been home, the demand has been much slower than I thought it would be, but that’s okay.”Ms Famous is offering chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin cranberry bread, banana bread and carrot cake — all excellent choices for a small gathering or a New Year’s Day breakfast with friends.“I was born in Bermuda and went away to college,” she said. “I ended up in Puerto Rico. I went there to do my master’s degree in translation and then continued working there. I work full-time for Atabex Translations.”Her interest in cooking started when she was in college.Her parents, June and Thomas Famous, loved to cook and she often called them to find out how to make dishes she was missing.“I started baking cookies for friends and it just grew,” she said. “It is not a major business, but a cottage industry. My chocolate chip cookies are the bigger sellers.“I am trying to get them sold in different establishments in Puerto Rico. I have one place selling them right now. I found the recipe; I didn’t create it or anything.“People just loved it. I said, ‘well, why fix it if it is not broken’. I use the best ingredients I can find and I try to be consistent.“My cookies are a bit thinner than the regular chocolate chip cookies. That could be why people like them so much.”So far, she doesn’t sell anything typically Puerto Rican, because she doesn’t feel confident enough with that style of cooking.“When you grow up you know how things are supposed to taste,” she said. “I didn’t grow up in Puerto Rico. I don’t really have the taste palate.“I can follow a recipe, but it doesn’t guarantee it will taste right. However, someone said they would show me how to start cooking Puerto Rican dishes.”Her main clients in Puerto Rico are fellow members of a gym she works out at, and co-workers at her translation company.“Last year, a fellow classmate of mine opened an organisation to raise funds for deaf children who cannot afford certain things.“I was inspired by him to start baking to raise funds for deaf children. I have done that now for about a year. With each semester, the fundraising has grown.”While in Bermuda she can be contacted on 236-5787 or Roslynfamous@gmail.com or on Facebook under A Taste of Fame.

Treats made by Roslyn Famous.