StrEATfood Awards winner's interview

We speak to Kameca Gayle of Genuine Dining Co, who won the main prize of StrEATfood Dish of the Year last month...

Congratulations on winning StrEATfood Dish of the Year! Can you just explain what your dish was please…
I made a rum-battered snapper with plantain fries, coconut curry sauce and a pineapple and black bean salsa.

How did you decide on that particular dish? Is it something you cook a lot?
Not at all, the majority of the time I don’t cook Caribbean food, the inspiration came from my mother. Also, we have a mutual love of fish and chips. It’s typical British food, I am British myself, she’s from Jamaica, so I decided to fuse the two together and try something different.

I submitted the recipe thinking it probably wouldn’t get anywhere… but I’m here now!

You’ve pre-empted my next question there, were you expecting to win?
Definitely not! I was hoping to get some feedback from the judges on what I can do better next time to improve, but no… I was really shocked and amazed.

I also understand that this is the first time you have ever competed…
Yes, it’s the first time I’ve been in a professional competition, and it’s been amazing, just fantastic. The food that everyone has put out has been so impressive and so well put together… I can’t believe I won.

It wasn’t an intimidating atmosphere out there then?
It was very friendly, everyone was nice and after you’d finished the other finalists were all asking about your dishes. There was a great atmosphere.

Finally, it must have been a great moment when your name was read out – all your colleagues went mad!
Yes, it didn’t really come to life for me until all my colleagues were screaming in my ear! Just saying that we did it and we won… it was amazing.

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