Young Vincentian chef making waves in ‘Big Apple’

Young Vincentian chef Kamal Rose is making a big name for himself in the USA.{{more}}

Kamal, the son of local journalist Conley ‘Chivambo’ Rose and Giselle Francis, is one of a number of chefs preparing gourmet meals on the occasion of America’s premier sporting event, the National Football League’s (NFL) Super Bowl being held in New York this upcoming Sunday, February 2.

Kamal, executive chef at the prestigious Tribeca Grill in New York, and his fellow chefs, are participating in a fund-raising series of events, called the ‘Taste of the NFL’ aimed at raising awareness and funds for hunger relief organizations in the USA and a number of them are being held to coincide with the Super Bowl. In honour of their contribution, leading figures from the ‘Taste’ including Kamal were invited on Tuesday of this week to be among the dignitaries participating in the traditional closing ceremony of the New York Stock Exchange.

He is also featured in the January 27 issue of the very popular PEOPLE magazine with his recipe on New York style cheesecakes which he is preparing for the Taste’s pre-Super Bowl party on February 1. Last year Kamal was also at the Super Bowl in New Orleans serving up a speciality of Shrimp Creole and Dirty Rice.

Kamal is described as “an inspiring story of talent, persistence and hard work.” His bloodlines on both sides of his family are in the food business but he claims inspiration from his paternal grandmother, Mrs Germaine ‘Granny’ Rose of legendary child-care fame. He migrated to New York at age 15 and in his senior year in high school got the opportunity of an internship at Tribeca. He made full use of this to work his way up and in 2009, having participated in a national cooking competition, obtained a scholarship at the Institute of Culinary Education from which he graduated.

His work ethic, passion and leadership earned him promotion to executive chef at Tribeca in 2012. He has prepared meals for many top-class events in the USA, presenting his signature dishes which reflect his Caribbean (and Vincentian) heritage and his desire to showcase local products.

Curiously, Kamal’s passion for cooking was once frowned upon by his peers. Today he is a shining example and role model for our aspiring young people.