Kieshé Simmons beat 11 male professional chefs to become ‘Bermuda’s Rising Chef of the Year’ for 2013

By Nadia Arandjelovic

After her mother Roberta Simmons had gone back to school to further her education, Kieshé Simmons was faced with an interesting dilemma as a youngster: who would handle the family’s cooking?

“I was about 11-years-old and my dad didn’t really know how to cook like that, so it was either I learned how to cook or we ordered take out,” she said.

“So I just picked up my tools and started cooking simple things like macaroni and cheese, barbecue chicken and lasagne. That’s when I realised I loved it.”

Ms Simmons, now age 19, is being hailed as the Island’s brightest up and coming culinary talent, after winning the title of ‘Bermuda’s Rising Chef of the Year 2013’.

She recently beat out competition from 11 other professional chefs at the annual Bermuda Hospitality Institute event, which ran from October 23 to November 1.

Ms Simmons said she didn’t think her odds of winning were very high. Not only was she the only female in the competition, she has also had the least time in a professional kitchen.

She was also very nervous going into the finals considering the fierce competition she was up against and the fact her practice attempts didn’t go well.

“I kept burning things and wasn’t getting it made underneath the 25 minute mark, so I had to keep trying,” she explained.

“We only got to practice three times because we got the ingredient list the day before the competition.

“We had to make a dish using flank steak, Bermuda bananas and arugula, so decided to make flank steak three ways.

“One was a sous-vide flank steak with a mushroom succotash and a Chimichurri sauce, which is from Argentina. It was topped with a sunny side up egg.

“I also made a jerk flank steak with a melon arugula salad and the third part was milk rice with Asian beef curry.”

When dealing with a tough meat like flank steak she said the challenge was in making sure the beef was at the right temperature and not overcooked.

And while she executed the dishes to the best of her ability, she admitted it was still a shock when she was announced the winner.

“If you saw the video of me I actually turned around and cried for two minutes after they called my name,” she said.

“I got back up and you could see the expression on my face, I was completely speechless. Part of it was because I couldn’t believe I beat 11 guys and I was the youngest. It was also because I had worked so hard.”

She thanked Fairmont Southampton chefs Sanjay Leeme and Michael Scott for helping her prepare for the contest.

She told The Royal Gazette: “My parents are very proud of me. And I’m proud that it was a woman who dominated the competition.

“I see myself as a role model now for young Bermudian chefs because I proved I could do it and they can do it too. I am still an apprentice and still young at that.”

Ms Simmons decided not to go the traditional college route after graduating from Berkeley Institute two years ago.

Instead she signed up for the National Training Board’s Apprenticeship Programme and started off making breakfast at the Fairmont Southampton.

It was hard adjusting to making 5am at work, but over time she faced the new challenges as they came.

These days she is working at the hotel’s restaurants, like Waterlot Inn and Ocean Club, while also continuing her studies.

She said: “Every February I go away to Holland College at Prince Edward Island in Canada to do a six week course and when I am in Bermuda I get my practical experience in the kitchen.

“I liked this way because you get more hands on work in the kitchen than if I was to go away and do a traditional college course.

“I’ve found you can’t just graduate from school and think you can work in the kitchen because you really can’t, you need more practical experience. This way you can also move up further and sooner.”

She expects to take the Canadian Red Seal Cook Exam sometime next year to attain her certified chef status.

Her ultimate goal is to work in Dubai, Italy or London and get more experience learning about different types of cuisines.

Ms Simmons said winning the Rising Chef competition was proof that she is living her dream.

“This career means a lot to me because its what I want to do for the rest of my life,” she said.

“The competition helped me to realise that I can do more than I thought was possible before. I can achieve more and probably enter more competitions overseas and travel.”