At the age of just 5, Jamel G. Stafford was flipping pancakes from a stool his mother placed him on so he could reach the stove.

The Bermudian culinary student and chef, 26, has had a passion for food for as long as he can remember and believes it is a trait that runs in the family — both his father and grandfather were chefs. The sky is the limit for this driven young man who aspires to one day open his own gourmet restaurants both in Bermuda and overseas. He is on his way to completing an associate’s degree in applied science and culinary arts at Bermuda College while working as a chef at The Docksider Pub and Restaurant, and is planning to further his education overseas.

He told The Royal Gazette: “My grandpa, ‘Captain Burt’, who I never even met, he was a cook and my father who just passed away and my stepfather. My brother took up cooking, too. I can cook real good nowadays.

“When I was in P6 at Purvis Primary and I saw my first open-faced sandwich: it was simple, just toast, tuna mix, shredded iceberg lettuce, tomato and they covered it in cheese and they baked it off. It tasted so good I just went home and started making them myself.

“I was in middle school, I came in late to school at Spice Valley [now T.N. Tatem], we were in the cooking class and everybody was cheering me on — everybody has the same recipe, stir-fried rice, and the best tasting stir-fry rice was mine.

“Even though I came in late I hooked it up there and then and everybody loved it.”

At the age of 14 he landed his first job working in the kitchen at The Reefs hotel before going to live with his father in the United States, at which point he started taking his passion seriously.

“I was getting into a bit of trouble as a youth in school and I went to live with my father in America. That’s when I really started to get into cooking. I honed my mindset and skills — everything — into culinary arts.”

Jamel took a cooking class in Connecticut, which culminated in trips to the Culinary Institute of America and Johnson and Wales University.

“I had seen these two campuses and they were really off the chain,” he said. “It really changed my perspective about what cooking really meant — I saw the pastry department, I saw the garde manger [cold section] where they whip together vinaigrettes and dressing … it triggered me and I knew I was meant to cook.”

Jamel returned to Bermuda and took an internship at The Reefs before moving to Elbow Beach, where he can boast he cooked for the Saudi Arabian king. His progress was set back when he broke his leg in an accident but once back on his feet he worked at Hunts Food & Supplies for a short time before enrolling back with Bermuda College and then working for Devil’s Isle.

“I got to really expand my cooking at Devil’s Isle with chef Josué Lemus. I applaud him because he opened my mind right up to where I am right now. I learnt about the tools of the kitchen and how to play with flavours to make new creations. At this stage in life I can cook over 1,000 soup stocks and sauces and I can create entrées, canapés and desserts from instinct.”

Jamel says he would encourage any young Bermudian to become a chef.

His advice to anyone considering it? “Young and up-and-coming chefs — common sense goes a long way. Be very alert when you are working in a kitchen. Always expect the unexpected and work as hard as you can — go out of your way. Keep pushing, don’t let nobody hold you back and you could be Bermuda’s next best chef.”

Speaking of his aspirations going forward, Jamel said: “I want to further my education abroad to expand my knowledge of culinary arts. Bermuda is a small island and it can be limited. I want to open my own restaurant eventually. I would cook gourmet food — I have only been raised around gourmet food. I would like to open both one here and one in America. They will know who I am and I will come back to Bermuda to show my talent.”