Keenan Lezama's chronicles of a pastry chef

BEING a pastry chef requires patience, precision and creativity, and Keenan Lezama has got it all.

The 28-year-old creates and experiments with a range of pastries, – cookies,truffles, framboisier cakes and even replicas of fruit – and enjoys it thoroughly.

Lezama was raised in Santa Cruz and went to the San Juan North Secondary School. He told Sunday Newsday that growing up, he had a keen interest in cooking.

"My aunts and my grandmother used to cook a lot, and I used to be in the kitchen every Sunday just observing them and it stemmed from here."

Noticing his interest, his father suggested he "check out" the now-defunct Trinidad and Tobago Hospitality and Tourism Institute (TTHTI) in Chaguaramas. So he did, in 2016.

"I think I was going through Instagram some time before an interview and I saw a red croissant, and I told myself, 'I want to learn how to make that.'"

Admittedly, he was never really interested in pastry-making before then.

"But the (TTHTI official) was like, 'You can't do pastry and culinary at the same time, because they're different courses,' and I thought, 'Wey, boy.'

"Then I said, 'You know what? I'll take a try at the pastry (course) and see how it goes.'"

He recalled investing several hours into his craft, even outside school hours.

Learning the art of pastry-making, he said, "can be a headache. It's high science, real technical, everything has to be precise...It's not like if you cooking something and you could just fix it with salt, or how you can fix certain things when you're actively cooking.

"Pastries have to be precise, step-by-step and with exact measurements."

But, he said, this does not stifle creativity, as pastry chefs are still able to express themselves through their dishes.

He said over time, though, he has learnt how to "tweak things" in his dishes and "find ways to get over certain obstacles."

While at TTHTI he was also part of the school's team in a culinary competition called A Taste of the Caribbean in Miami, Florida. Individually, he copped bronze in the category of pastries.

He did his internship at the Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain, and was hired there afterwards. He stayed there for five years and described it as a great learning experience.

"Working in the hospitality industry (requires you to work) some crazy hours, but I always saw it as a way for me to be better.

"Sometimes, I used to stay back on work and just try to make certain things in the kitchen."

But in 2023 he decided he wanted a change – to venture into self-employment. The opportunity came during the height of the covid19 pandemic, when he began to post more of his work online, under the social media handle Chronicles of a Pastry Chef.

"On Sundays, I used to do (posts called) Quarantine Desserts," he said.

He would invite his friends and/or family over so they could enjoy the treats afterwards.

"They used to repost it on social media, and then more and more people just started interacting with the page."

He said he used the word "chronicle" because he felt he was documenting his journey as he improved on his craft.

He takes great pride in his work and describes his style of pastry-making as a combination of authentic, gourmet and weird.

Asked what type of pastry a particular creation is, he immediately starts to explain – excitedly – the flavours, textures, layers and concept of what you're about to eat.

On self-employment, he said it is going well so far.

"I was looking for change and I wanted to grow more, so I said I'd work for myself and try and develop my skill even more.

"It's plenty work when you're on your own, but with the support of those close to me, like my dad, aunts, friends, other family members, I think that makes it easy."

Recently, some of his creations that got a lot of attention included replicas of Trinitario cocoa, and a meteorite.

He said the Trinitario was a "passion" project, as he grew up near cocoa estates and loves the fruit.

"So I wondered how I could make Trinitario into a dessert – the textures, the flavours. When it came to the meteorite...," he paused to laugh.

"I asked myself, 'How would a meteorite taste?' Because you're basically going to be eating a rock."

He said when he gets an idea, he sketches it, then thinks about it some more before starting to make it.

He wants to try replicating the solar system soon.

When Sunday Newsday asked if he had ever had any kitchen disasters during his career, he said at times, "Everything (the entire process) feels like a disaster.

"It's only coming to the end of it I would be like, 'Okay, Keenan, you can stop panicking, you could relax."

In addition to wanting to own a patisserie, he hopes to open an academy one day to help others learn the craft.

"I want to showcase what TT has. People always think you have to venture out internationally to get it (this quality of pastries), but right here, we have people who can do these things."

Lezama can be contacted on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook under the name Chronicles of a Pastry Chef.

See more of Keenan Lezama's creations below: