Tasty Insight into Cuisine by Noel

Like most chefs, it has always been the dream of Noel Cunningham to write his own recipe book. He recalled the days while attending Edith Dalton James High School, when he would write down his favourite recipes from the first food and nutrition class in grade 10. That planted the seed of goodness, but he knew that in order for it to bear fruit, he needed more experience and time.

In the years which followed, he pursued culinary arts at Runaway Bay HEART Hotel & Training Institute and has worked in notable restaurants in both Jamaica and Canada. He is a college graduate in hotel and restaurant management and has represented Jamaica at the prestigious James Beard House in New York City. Described as ‘young, gifted and hot’ by Jamaican Eats Magazine, which also declared him one of its top 10 Caribbean chefs for 2016, he was chosen by Narcity Canada as a must-follow chef on Instagram.

Accolades aside, he discovered his true passion for recipe development, food styling, and food photography. Family, friends and social media followers had been asking him about the possibilities of a cookbook – that only fuelled his decadent desires. So, to satisfy his loyal foodies and celebrate over 10 years as a chef, the Jamaican, who now resides in Canada, decided to make this ‘fooding’ fantasy a tasty reality with Cuisine by Noel: A Culinary Journey Through Recipes and Stories.

The autobiographical cookbook explores his early rise into the world of culinary. It celebrates his professional journey and the heroes who paved the way for him, answering questions like why he became a chef and the source of his inspiration. These 100 easy-to-follow, fast and favourite recipes.

These include the not-your-everyday breakfast, like the ultimate bagel brunch burger, salads, appetisers, soups, entrées, side dishes and desserts for two or the entire family. It offers a fun and novel approach to regular cookbooks and cooking.

“I believe our stories are what sets us apart or make our journey unique. The personal stories and quotes in this cookbook will inspire you, the photographs will tempt you to lick the pages, and even the most kitchen-shy reader may just be enticed to whip up items like my mom’s pumpkin porridge, my stepdad’s pot roast beef, my signature pumpkin pineapple cooler, popular mango cheesecake, breakfast pizza, spicy buttermilk fried chicken, and chocolate chip walnut banana bread,” he told Food.

He hopes that these recipes will inspire everyone to get cooking, or that his stories will inspire others to keep going.

As a bonus, here is a sweet and tangy recipe, just for you.

Honey Mustard Salmon

Ingredients

2 pounds salmon

salt and pepper to taste

For the Sauce

2 teaspoon chopped ginger

3 cloves garlic

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons grainy mustard

1 teaspoon fish sauce

2 tablespoons sesame seeds to garnish (optional)

Directions: Remove salmon fillets from refrigerator and allow to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes. Pat dry with a paper towel and season with salt and pepper. In a heated frying pan with oil over medium-high heat, sear salmon until just cooked. Remove from the pan and put aside. For the honey mustard sauce, whisk together all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and add to frying pan. Simmer until combined. Add seared salmon and cook for an additional two minutes. Remove from flame, garnish with sesame and serve. Prep time is five minutes, while the cook time is estimated at 15 minutes.

The book will be available on Amazon as of December 2 and is making its way on bookstore shelves early 2020. You can email: noelculinaryjourney@gmail.com for pre ordering info.