From screen to kitchen: Deshawn Miller’s culinary journey comes full circle
Published:Thursday | October 24, 2024 | 12:05 AMAinsworth Morris/Staff Reporter
On a typical day at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, one might run into Deshawn Miller, one of the stars of the Jamaican film Romeo n Juliet 4EVA, whipping up dishes for waiting guests.
Miller’s love for the culinary arts has not only been demonstrated in the movie shot seven years ago when he was a teenager but also in his real life as he actualised his dream of becoming a chef.
“This movie was shot at my house at the time [in the community] where I used to live. My parents had a jerk shop, and every weekend, once it reaches Friday and school is over, I’m rushing through the gate. When I was doing the rehearsals for the movie, I could not stay late on a Friday, and I was not available on a Saturday either, because my parents have a jerk shop and I needed to be there because food is my passion, so getting that part to do was easy. Getting a breadfruit to roast and roasting two yams was very easy to do. Being around a stove [during the filming] was nothing new to me,” Miller, who was a student at Haile Selassie High School at the time of filming, told Food.
Miller was part of a group which had a private viewing of the film on October 1 at the Palace Cineplex movie theatre located at Kingston’s Sovereign Centre, which was beyond his expectations, primarily because years have passed since recordings were done, and the movie had not come to fruition.
“I started out in high school studying food and nutrition, and I went to the [HEART/NSTA Trust], and now I’m working as a chef, so this movie has become my reality,” he said.
Quizzed about his favourite meal or dish to make, Miller was unable to decide. However, if you asked him about his favourite dessert to make and have, he would have one answer.
DESSERT LOVER
As a cake lover, Miller owns his own catering company called Rafeal Artistic Pastries, where he always puts his talent to the test in creating amazing cakes for his customers at affordable prices.
Miller’s favourite dessert to make is a red velvet cake. Why? “Because it is just different to see how a drop of red food colouring can just change the whole construct of the cake, even the taste and texture of the cake. Not to mention when you add that cream cheese frosting, it’s like chef kisses,” Miller told Food.
His advice to persons thinking of becoming a chef is “Follow your dreams. If your dream is to become a chef, there’s nothing that can stop you.”