Taste of Guyana Food Expo: A Feast of Local Flavours and Culinary Creativity

Normally, when people walk onto the Seawall, they may be immersed by the waves that rush onshore.
However, on Wednesday, everyone who was on the Seawall was glued to the vast number of cuisines showcased. This was because the Taste of Guyana Food Expo was held that day.
This news publication had the pleasure of interviewing key participants, who brought their ‘A’ game to the people of Guyana.
Kicking off the show at the far end of the showcase were the two youngest entrepreneurs, Aaliyah Henry and Elektra Osborn, who are the owners of Twisted Lemon, a beverage company that provides an array of tasty drinks for the public.
According to the two young businesswomen, the genesis of their business started when they saw someone who created a similar business in an attempt to pay off their law school bills, and they thought, “Why not?” as they are also aspiring lawyers themselves.
They expressed that they did not choose this ‘Taste of Guyana’ event but rather the event chose them.

“It was not necessarily us choosing the event, more like the event chose us. However, with this business, it was not one sole person that came up with the idea. It was the two of us who agreed on the name half and half…So every time we might go to the market or something, we’d say, ‘You know, we should try a passion fruit lemonade.’
They even had advice for people who would like to start a culinary business and come out to events such as these.
“It’s always good to have a shoulder to lean on. With our business, it’s a partnership. There’s two of us, so if I feel as though I haven’t been 100 per cent, she’s there to tell me, ‘Okay, you need to put in some extra effort.’ And same goes for her. But when you’re starting a business alone, that can sometimes be a struggle for you to see on your own. It’s always good to have someone there to tell you, ‘Yeah, we need to put in some more.’”
A key juice that had persons coming back time and time again was their special dragon fruit flavour.
“You might see the fruit in the market, but it’s very hectic to get it. My mom says it’s very hard to find, right? So we were like why not create a juice with dragon fruit flavour since its so hard to get? And we decided to mix it with lemon as well and we realised that it might be slightly better and more natural. So that’s how we came up with the dragon fruit lemonade, and it’s our bestselling flavour.”

Meanwhile, despite the variety of foods being showcased, one exhibitor took it to another level and decided to showcase snacks to the population.
That person was the co-owner of Guyana International Market, who revealed a creative way of making snacks.
“Here, we are showcasing some locally made snacks, you know, from, as we would say, from farm to table, because we’re part of a processing programme. So, we have our coconut biscuits, plantain chips, diamond balls, fried channa, and fried split peas, right among other things.”
He also added that all their foods are natural and that they are trying to bring back the experience so people can get a taste of their childhood.
“Everything we have here is all natural, and we’re offering it to the general public. So, if anybody wants to know what it was like back in the day, you know, with the coconut biscuits and all these things, it’s here. Back in childhood, we had this little experience. Maybe you’d go to school, and you’d get a little snack, or change on your person, and you’d want to buy some chickpeas or fried dhall beans.”
The best cookup was also found amidst the clash of foods.
Speaking to the organiser of this cook-up – D’s, the owner of D’s Kitchen, she relayed how the expo had been going for her business.
“We have the best cookup in GT, along with white pudding, chicken foot souse, local juices; the famous swank to go with the cook-up, and cane juice and ginger beer. When this news publication came on-site, all the cook-up was already sold out!”
“Well, today is a better day than yesterday,” she continued, “based on the weather. The rainy weather wasn’t so nice on us yesterday, but we are so grateful for selling out.”
Pastries didn’t get left out of the fun and action, as Karen David, the owner of Destiny Delights and Catering Services, showcased her creations.
“We do cakes for parties and finger foods, whatever. But right now, we have been doing pastries, like Jamaican patties. The response has been really great from the public. People are coming every day for the Jamaican patties. As you can see, we only have two Jamaican patties left. It was good!”