Best Chef contributing to culinary culture of SVG

Akah Johnson is all about food. It is a passion that was ingrained and nurtured in him since childhood.

As the firstborn of his parents, he was introduced to the kitchen early, helping his mom prepare the family meals.

Other serendipitous circumstances, such as family connections to Basil’s and Aggie’s Restaurants allowed for early exposure to the professional aspect of food preparation.

Johnson initially started out as a nail technician, but he never strayed from food. He would often cook for clients at his home, where he operated his manicure business, and eventually a series of fortunate accidents led him into full-time catering.

He has taken a unique approach to the business, by developing a number of brands, which he makes available at special events. These include Assorted Grill, Up in Smoke (Texas style barbecue), Wok It (stir fry) and Faster Pasta.

While he has enjoyed success with all his brands, Akah Sushi has so far been his biggest and most passionate investment. Johnson spent two years teaching himself all about sushi, then pursued formal studies at the Sushi Chefs Institute in California, with an international group of mostly Asian chefs, among whom he was the only Caribbean national. Rather than seek opportunities for employment in renowned international restaurants, he opted to return home, intent on making his mark on the culinary culture of St Vincent and the Grenadines. Akah Sushi, available by order on Fridays, has attracted a loyal following of locals eager for an authentic taste of Japanese cuisine and Johnson is hoping to make sushi more appealing to the average person.

He is full of energy for the culinary arts, and he wants to dish out his passion to all Vincentians.

“I know the quality of the food is entirely up to me. I spare no effort in making sure I have the best ingredients. I don’t want to produce food that people cannot relate to. I want everybody to eat and drink the very best, understand food in its best state. We in the Caribbean are blessed with good food. I don’t think we’ve been appreciative of it and I just love to see the look on people’s face when they eat something for the first time and it’s me that introduced them to it,” he told SEARCHLIGHT.

Johnson is concerned about what he views as a lack of emphasis on the culinary arts here.

“Because over the years, chefs have not been treated with respect, are being underpaid and taken for granted, you find that we haven’t had success in producing younger chefs. People don’t see it as a profession. They just see it as a hobby, or something to do after school, but to push themselves to reach on that level, they still would need help from the Government and different institutions. They need programmes for the younger ones to actually have that foundation.”

He also believes that more opportunities need to be provided for local chefs to display their skills. “We have Fisherman’s Day; you don’t see chefs come out and do anything for Fisherman’s Day. We have Independence; you don’t see chefs come out and do anything for Independence. We need more of that,” he emphasized.

Johnson is flattered about receiving the award for Best Chef of SVG, but warns that he intends to take it again next year.

“It’s a good feeling. Now, I have to step up the game and raise the bar a little more, which I intend to do for 2018. It wouldn’t be an easy walkover to get this title next year. I’m always working. I lie down, I read food. Put on the TV, food. I like to buy equipment that I see the famous chefs use. I will take on a recipe and when I master it, I move on. I try to keep my hands in a little bit of everything and keep the food part sophisticated, part simple, so it can reach any audience.”