Kwesi Selvon's Youuchef pancakes powered by Trini flavours

Pancakes, although not a local delicacy, have become a stable breakfast dish for many in the islands. With a ton of recipes online to play around with, the sweet treat can be paired with just about anything.

While many have grown accustomed to pairing fruits such as strawberries, kiwis, and bananas and dousing them in syrup, honey or agave, one local chef has decided to turn tradition on its head and his creations have already made their way into local supermarkets.

Just when you thought breakfast couldn’t get any sweeter, culinary teacher and owner of Youuchef, Kwesi Selvon has decided to take things up a notch by infusing the colours and flavours of local fruits and vegetables into his pancake creations.

Selvon has a line of just-add-water pancake mixes to rival that of top international brands on the local market such as Pearl Milling Company — formerly Aunt Jemima — and Betty Crocker. The mixes come in nine flavours: banana, barbadine, beetroot, carrot, cinnamon, Julie mango, pumpkin, sapodilla, and soursop.

"These pancake mixes give parents with their children and individuals a healthier option in consuming very beneficial ingredients," Selvon said.

Even with the promise of success of his new business, Selvon said he is a teacher first and foremost.

“I have been a culinary lecturer for about 16 years. The teaching has always been in me. The aim as a teacher is to pass on information that people can use whether they want to start a business or do something at home.”

Selvon offers tutorials on how to make everyday Caribbean meals on YouTube, which can be accessed on his Instagram page @youuchef. He begins each video with the phrase, “Welcome to Youuchef, where you are the chef.”

He said, “The second ‘u’ in Youuchef represents the person (learning).”

Selvon began his career in the culinary arts after being prompted by his mother, who enrolled him in classes after he finished secondary school.

“When you are young, you’re not sure what you want to do. My mother signed me up for classes and came home and said, ‘You have school on Monday,’” he joked.

“I wasn’t sure what to do with my life, but she saw the cooking in me and that was it.” He said it was also his mother’s advice that encouraged him to start his own line of pancake mixes.

Selvon has a bachelor's degree in culinary management and a masters degree in business administration which he completed earlier this year.

He said while he was in school other teachers noticed that he had a gift for teaching and would often place him in teaching positions wherever possible.

“Because I have been teaching for some time I picked up certain things, like how to substitute certain ingredients.”

As a Caribbean chef, he did not always have access to certain ingredients needed in some of the recipes he was taught.

“When I was looking at being innovative…I researched Steve Jobs (Apple creator) and others who showed me there is more to be done in the field I was in, but I had to be creative.

“When I began creating the pancake mixes, I realised the competition is more foreign-based. I was looking for local companies doing what I’m doing but I haven’t seen it as yet.”

He said he is in talks with farmers to source locally-grown ingredients, so that his product sales not only benefit him and the consumer, but local producers as well.

“This is a really local company with a local person pushing the limits with the funding that I have.”

He said the recipe was originally designed as just pumpkin pancakes, but he wanted to push further, and experiment with as many flavours as possible.

He started by dehydrating ingredients and turning them into powder, which he began doing in 2019.

“However, when I started my MBA I thought I would be able to do the two but (school) was very demanding, so I put it on hold and as soon as I finished in May I started again. The day after I found out I passed, I started one time.”

He said, “As somebody who believes in God, I asked for wisdom and realised I could take local ingredients and infuse them into something.”

Born in Trinidad but currently living in Tobago, Selvon said he also left his teaching position at the Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute (THTI) to focus on his new business venture. Within five months, determined to get his product on the shelves, he was able to complete the requirements for entry into the supermarket retail space, sending a proposal to supermarket giant Massy Stores in late August.

“Even as a culinary lecturer for 16 years it’s still a learning curve. It’s not like I learned how to do all of this. Even the process of getting the product approved and becoming a distributor, I had to learn.

“I am self-funded. This is a one-man team. I have part-time workers, but I do everything.”

He said he is also in talks with ExporTT — the national export facilitation organisation — on getting the product on the regional market.

“By the grace of God, I will be distributing to main Caricom countries, the US, UK, and Canada soon.”

For now, Selvon’s creations can be ordered online and delivered on his e-commerce website youuchefmeals.com or purchased in store at eight Massy Stores locations: West Moorings, Glencoe, Maraval, St Augustine, Trincity, Marabella, Gulf View, Chaguanas and Freeport.

Selvon also has three culinary books – The One Baking Book, The Culinary Connection, and The A-Z of Beneficial Cooking.

He has worked in the British Virgin Islands as a pastry chef at two establishments before returning to teach at THTI, where he was head lecturer.