Here at The Staff Canteen, we felt it would be a great idea to show our appreciation to our loyal users, so to honour this we will be featuring a different member every month who we think deserves to be celebrated - this month’s winner is Kareem Roberts.
As a member who regularly contributes to our site via the app Chef+, Kareem will receive a copy of Meat and Game by Tom Kitchin, a goodie bundle from our appsponsors Essential Cuisine and The Staff Canteen mug.
Current place of work, position and a brief overview of where you have worked before.
I am currently working as a relief chef at the Varsity Restaurant in Cambridge but there are quite a few stops before I got here. I began cooking professionally 11 years ago on my home island of Antigua. I wasn't classically trained, and didn't go to culinary school. Life just happened to toss me into the professional kitchen midway through my twenties, after my position was made redundant at an online gaming casino company. I really was not cut out for a desk job anyway so I figured I liked to cook... how difficult could it be?
They make it look so easy on Food Network and all the Iron Chef’s get their jobs done in under an hour. This was supposed to be a breeze. My first official position was making salads in small 20 seater cafe at a port of entry for the cruise ships. slinging pots alongside a good friend of mine, the Chef Junior Conway and his AMAZING team at the Varsity Restaurant in Cambridge.
What is your cooking style and what can people expect from the food on your menu?
If I had to describe my cooking style, I would say it is modern rustic. I like food that makes you hungry when you look at it. I think that is something that gets lost the higher you climb the restaurant dining scene. Elite chefs lose their connection to the diner's appetite and are caught competing against themselves and their peers with the customer being a convenient consumer as opposed to a focal point.
Do I wish I could do a lot of the things Michael O'Hare does? Yeah! Do I wish I could have Marcus Wareing's precision and technique? You are goddamn right! Do I wish I had Tim Kewley's secret pheromone elixir? Yes! But that’s the point- as a chef, it is difficult for us to not get distracted by the guy in the other lane. Of course we are all inspired but at what point does inspiration become imitation? Do I try to imitate Daniel Humm? Yes. I also try to cook like my grandmother.
9 spice roasted chicken breast with smokey
cauliflower and kashmir chilli puree, mango
and pomegranate salsa
by Kareem Roberts, brokedinner
To put it plainly, my cooking style is cheap, flavourful, attractive, and a summary of everything I have ever seen, eaten, heard, smelled, and forgotten in my entire life.
What do you like about The Staff Canteen app and website?
I love the sense of community The Staff Canteen permeates and I also admire the affinity for working along with the chefs. Food sharing platforms are a dime a dozen in this social media era and there are very few that I see out there like The Staff Canteen. I feel like it actually has a purpose that exists outside of notoriety and capitalism.
This isn't an exposure thing, it seems like The Staff Canteen genuinely identify with the market they serve. The Staff Canteen teaches A LOT, and for me as a non-traditional culinary student that knowledge invaluable. The Staff Canteen also promotes and uplifts members.
What is your favourite dish to cook?
My favourite dish to cook is curry. Any kind, any day, any sort. It is the most versatile method of cooking and it lends itself to any ingredient you have on hand. That is somewhat the cheap way out so I guess it goes from day to day for me... and since I have some chicken's feet in the fridge I guess my favourite thing to cook right now would be chicken foot curry.
I adore polenta, in my country we make it with okra and it is called Funjee and we serve it with either curried or creole stewed conch (awesome!) or sometimes we eat it with braised salt cod with bacon.
Guilty pleasure: list food item / dish / ingredient that aren’t considered ‘cheffy’ but you love to eat
Quavers. Easily. I wish my toothpaste came in Quavers flavour, instead of mint.
Wok fried Shanghai noodles with
Polish bacon, leeward island conch, and
Bangladeshi spring
onions by Kareem Roberts, brokedinner
What are your plans for the future?
I do not know if I ever see myself owning a restaurant and I am letting go of the Michelin star dream- but fear not! I would honestly love to work on Brokedinner and develop it further across other social media platforms.
I have been blogging on Facebook as Brokedinner (@thefoodfunnel) and I share images on Instagram as Brokedinner (@brokedinner). The next thing I am working on is my Brokedinner website which should be ready within the next couple of weeks or so and then I would like to put together an eBook.
Ultimately, I would like to teach. I think I do a good job of connecting with the youth since I myself am a slave to my boyish charm. I know I have value to add to this industry, even if it is in a less than orthodox approach.
Oh - and I am pretty sure that there will be a Tweezercrew pop up before the apocalypse, but you didn't hear that from me. Speaking of which, shout to my boys Tim Kewley, Louis Robinson, and Josh Donachie. Ahem, #tweezercrew
Do you want to be the next Member of the Month? Download the app now for free and start sharing your images, videos and recipes and interacting with other members to be in with a chance of winning!
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