For chef and cookbook author Irma Gottshalk, Jamaican cuisine is more than just creating a delicious meal. The Kingston, Jamaica native uses her culinary arts skills to feed the body and, likewise, the soul. Along the way, she introduces individuals to her love for Jamaican food culture.
Chef Gottshalk’s introduction to cooking came early in life. “As a girl child growing up in Jamaica, I had to cook,” she shares about the responsibility bestowed upon her. With parents immigrating to the United States and leaving her and her siblings to live with their grandparents on the island, Gottshalk practiced her cooking skills often. Curry chicken, stewed peas and rice were just some of the Jamaican staples she served up.
A Love For Jamaican Flavors
Once the family was reunited in Houston, 14-year-old Gottshalk continued to help prepare the family meals and was often tasked with going to the grocery store to shop for the ingredients.
But living in the heart of Tex-Mex and barbecue territory didn’t really influence the budding chef or her siblings when it came to food. “We weren’t familiar with the cuisine around us,” she admits, saying they preferred to enjoy the traditional Jamaican cuisine found at home.
After high school, Gottshalk joined the Army and was deployed to Operation Desert Storm and Shield and Iraqi Freedom. Throughout her military career, her craving and lifelong love for Jamaican cuisine never faltered.
“Sometimes I would cook my Jamaican food in the barracks. We weren’t allowed to cook in there, but I had my hot plate, and I’d hide it away when it was time for inspection,” Gottshalk recalls about the lengths she took to satisfy her craving for Jamaican cuisine.
By Jocelyn Amador
