Teacher turns restaurateur — Sheereka Ali: Food is in my DNA

SHEEREKA Ali’s parents wanted their daughter to be an educator. After graduating from secondary school, she went on to study for an education degree.

She became a teacher to please her parents, but that was not her dream.

This university graduate chucked her job as a teacher to explore her dream of becoming a restaurateur.

Not an alarming action, considering since she was age ten, her family migrated to Colorado, in the United States, where they delved into the food industry as their primary source of income. They managed their own food business while running franchises for top brands such as Baskin-Robbins.

“Food is in my DNA,” Ali said in an interview with the Newsday.

After her father died, her mother closed the business and relocated to Florida.

Having inherited a passion for food from her parents, combined with a desire to return home, Ali, the mother of ten-year-old Rayhan, with her husband Wayne Bridgemohansingh, searched for options to incorporate both as a viable economic venture.

Resettling in Trincity on her return to TT, at the same time East Gates Mall was being built, Ali thought this was the perfect opportunity to establish her own post-covid business.

She applied for a spot in the mall to vend Mexican food and was successful.

Living in Colorado, she explained, she fell in love with the menu served at the Chipotle Mexican Grill, which was started in Denver in 1993 by Sam Ellis and now boasts of a chain of over 3,000 restaurants in some 500 locations.

In her opinion, “The Mexican food was the closest thing to Trinidad food. The food: the guacamole and taco shell, reminiscent of a good Trini sada roti and zaboca (avocado), the rice bowls with servings of meats, beans and veggies are similar to a Sunday lunch.”

She said with the growing Venezuelan population in TT and other diverse people who make up the landscape, she felt this was an opportune time explore this business option.

Two years ago, Guacamole Mexican Grill was born at East Gates, becoming the only restaurant there to serve tacos, salad bowls, rice bowls, burritos, quesadillas, and nachos with toppings of salsa, cheese, guacamole and sauces other than the usual garlic sauce, ketchup and barbecue sauces. It was a huge hit.

About a year into the business at East Gates, Ali said, Gulf City Mall’s executive chairman Sean Hadeed and his daughter visited, had a meal from her outlet and a week later called and told her what she had to offer was exactly what Gulf City Mall wanted.

“I had no intention to go down this far, but realising that San Fernando was fast becoming a ‘foodie destination’ with an explosion of street foods on Cross Crossing, I made the journey.

“When I came to Gulf City, I found it to be fantastic. The management was fantastic, and it was just perfect, the way they helped me every step of the way to get this together.”

On June 14, Ali had her second branch opening at Gulf City Mall, when Mexican Ambassador Victor Hugo Morales cut an avocado instead of a ribbon to formally open the outlet.

One of the directors of the company, Imran Juman, said the company has invested about $400,000 in the business, and employs about 12 members of staff – all immigrants – along with Ali, who can be seen behind the counter and in the kitchen. Dr Beatrice Zamora, a Cuban doctor working at San Fernando General Hospital, is the supervisor/control manager at both Gulf City and East Gates Mall.

For the doctor, working in a food industry is quite an anomaly.

“At home I don’t cook. I cook here.”

She said she feels “a good energy” working at the Guac and in TT.

“I left my country after my graduation to get and opportunity to work at the hospital. I met Sheereka and she invited me to with her restaurant.”

About the language barrier, she said it is exciting.

“I understand local English a little. This is a new culture, new accents we have to learn. Me and the staff learn very fast. They are loyal and understand customers very well.”

Ali said she intentionally took on Spanish-speaking staff to add authenticity to her restaurants, as management has also done with imported ingredients used to create the different dishes.

“We do everything here from scratch. We pride ourselves on serving fresh food. No leftovers are used the next day. We donate or throw them out.”

She said she is trying to form links with retirement homes or homes for children to donate what remains at the end of the working day.

Although she has no formal training as a chef, Ali said her practical experience growing up in the industry and learning from available cookbooks had put her in a good position.

Now that her second food outlet is up and running, she has dreams of opening a full dine-in restaurant.

“I love what I am seeing in the food industry in my country, which is moving in a more modernised direction, embracing healthier and more diverse options. I think I can add to that diversity.”