The south coast seaside breeze mingled with the scent of garlic and caramelised pineapple as Chef Kamilah Callendar stepped behind the burners at the Barbados Food and Rum Festival’s International Chef Demo in Hastings.
In her first public appearance back home in eight years, she greeted the audience with genuine joy.
“It’s a privilege to be here. I’ve been away for eight years, and I’m extremely excited,” she said, smiling.
Her featured dish – a slow-roasted pork belly filled with green seasoning and roasted garlic, served with breadfruit purée, caramelised pineapple, toasted cassava flour with plantains, and a Bajan cherry beer reduction – was a crowd favourite. As the pork emerged from the oven, its golden skin crackled under the light while the deep-red cherry glaze shimmered across the plate.
“Cassava flour is so versatile,” she told the audience. “I wanted to show another way it can be used instead of just soups or steamed dishes.”
The dish reflected the philosophy that has guided her culinary career from the shores of Barbados to the kitchens of Brazil, and now the diplomatic circles of Botswana.
“I try to stay as close to my roots as possible,” she explained in an interview with Barbados TODAY. “That means using traditional Bajan ingredients but expressing them in new ways.”
Armed with a bachelor’s degree in gastronomy and post-graduate credentials in baking and pastry, Kamilah’s path to the culinary world was unexpected. After receiving a scholarship to study geology in Brazil, she soon realised her true calling wasn’t in science but in the kitchen.
“While I was there, I started experimenting with dishes in both culinary arts and pastry—and that’s when I realised I had found my calling,” she said.
She went on to study gastronomy formally in Brazil, eventually working at the Embassy of Barbados in Botswana, where she continues to explore new culinary traditions.
“Right now, I’m at the embassy in Botswana, so I’m learning Setswana culture and cuisine, which is a very fun learning experience.”
Kamilah’s earliest influences were much closer to home.
“My mother, who has passed, and my grandmother were my first role models,” she shared. “I grew up watching them cook.” Her sister, Chef Janelle Hyland, an accomplished pastry chef and repeat participant in the Food and Rum Festival, also inspired her: “I saw her competing, being part of Food and Rum, and that motivated me. Both of them [my sister and mother] shaped who I am today.”
At the festival, her onstage composure and warmth shone through as she answered questions from the audience. Asked about navigating a male-dominated industry, her advice was grounded and empowering:
“It hasn’t been easy, but nothing that’s worth it is easy. Don’t be afraid of failing because that’s how you learn and come back stronger.”
When the conversation turned to balancing tradition and innovation, she didn’t hesitate:
“We can stay true to our traditions but be innovative and creative. It’s about expression and being creative.”
As she plated her pork belly and breadfruit purée on one side, cassava flour and plantains on the other, topped with a sprig of parsley – the audience approved. “Pork perfection on a plate,” someone murmured, and the sentiment rippled through the crowd.
Before leaving the stage, Kamilah summed up what her food represents: “I want you to remember what it felt like eating at home but also experience something new. It’s a culinary adventure through food.”
That same philosophy extends to her pastry creations, which she’ll showcase at the Festival’s Liquid Gold event. Though she remained secretive about the details, she teased that they would feature “a lot of nostalgic Bajan flavours.”
Looking ahead, Kamilah hopes to continue blending Caribbean authenticity with global innovation.
“After this, I’d love to go to Japan,” she said. “Or maybe open my own restaurant or pastry shop—something that fuses the Caribbean with global techniques.”
For Chef Kamilah Callendar, every plate is a story of heritage, creativity, and the evolving identity of Barbadian cuisine. Her journey proves that rooted in tradition, Bajan chefs can rise and shine on any global stage.
The post Rooted in tradition, Food & Rum fest’s star rises on global stage appeared first on Barbados Today.
