A knack for winning

Keisha Shakespeare-Blackmore, Staff Reporter

Hassane Gordon has a knack for winning competitions with innovative recipes and her most recent, Maggi Cream Carrot Salad, topped the Maggi Mobile event held in Port Maria, St Mary.

Gordon told The Gleaner in an interview that she loves entering competitions and has won many gold medals in Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) competitions. In addition to her Maggi Mobile medal, she also won a gold medal in a JCDC competition for her Maggi Milk Jump Over In A Salad earlier this year.

The 34-year-old cooking enthusiast said that she loves coming up with new and unique recipes. "Even the names I give the dishes are unique and exciting," said Gordon.

She noted that as a single mother of three, she has to find innovative ways of making the small amount of food she can afford exciting for her children.

"I cannot afford certain types of foods and most times I just sit and a recipe may pop into my head. I try it and if it works, then I just give it an interesting name."

She added that her children are usually excited about the dishes and love them. Gordon said that she learnt to cook from her mother, Roslyn Gordon. She noted that she was always excited about going into the kitchen so much so that when her mother left her elder brother to cook, she would beg to do it instead.

Gordon said her dream is to attend culinary school but it is too costly and she has three children to provide for. But she hopes that one day she will be able to open a restaurant that serves unique dishes that her customers won't be able to get enough of.

GORDON'S RECIPE

Maggi Cream Carrot Salad

Ingredients

1 tbsp cooking oil

1 lb carrot, sliced

1 pack Maggi coconut milk powder

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium sweet pepper, chopped

3 pack Maggi Season Up Chicken mix

1/4 cup Nestle Carnation evapo-rated milk

3 Maggi garlic onion bouillon cubes

Method

1. Add carrots, Maggi garlic onion bouillon cubes into a pot of boiling water. Water should just cover carrots.

2. Boil carrots until tender but still firm and drain off water.

3. Heat pot and add oil then onion, sweet pepper and garlic. Sauté seasoning and add carrots then evaporated milk and Maggi season-up chicken.

4. Cream with Maggi coconut powder then remove from heat. Serve.

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