Serving the good life!™
Recently I had to take an unexpected but much welcome trip to Curaçao. It was quite quick. I had a few days notice. And the most challenging part? It was for one night only. I love to travel but I have never ever thought that a one night stop over was worthy of reporting on-…
Friends, Foodies, Waist Watchers, Iend me your palates. I have found the answer to the moreish pangs of pasta withdrawal. I have discovered the thing that makes so much sense, one wonders, how could bliss be so easy? Eat now, love me later. I promise you, you will. Enter my Cauliflower Pesto Pasta… Cauliflower Pesto…
The other day I was working in the garden. It was pruned rather nicely a couple of months ago by the contractor doing work on the house but the rains came lavishly afterwards and those thoroughly pruned areas sprung forth with vibrancy and vitality like never before. And all in such a short time. It…
One thing I know is that you cannot have too many salad recipes. It is always great to come across one with refreshing ingredients and flavour profiles that tantalize the taste buds. This is one one them. I wanted to create a salad that had all the festive colours of Christmas and New Year’s and…
If there is one beverage present in every Jamaican home over Christmas and New Year’s it is “Sorrel.” In fact, it is pointed to say that it isn’t Christmas until sorrel drinks start brewing and poring aplenty in every Jamaican home. This is a defining part of our experience of the Christmas season. Sorrel is…
For the rest of the year we are going to attempt to do something we have never done in the history of this blog that started in 2010- post daily. Over the years we have amassed a great deal of really good content, some of which are commissioned and published pieces that we have contributed…
As parents of a toddler, there are so many landmarks in our journey with our son. Recently, after homeschooling him all year since we moved to Aruba, we enrolled him in Dutch school. One morning, Chef Lij took me out for a surprising date-breakfast at the Ritz Carlton Aruba. It was the perfect way to…
We have been sitting on our hands for some time trying to keep still. Man we have lots of great news coming out of Chef and Steward and today, it is all about Chef Lij. It is our distinct pleasure to announce that our very own executive Chef Lij Heron will headline this year’s…
Even though this blog has explored all the tasty bits of life, there is one that I very rarely write about, but is nevertheless very close to my heart- baking. As a food expert married to a culinary chef, there is one part of the kitchen that I dominate with almost no interference- the oven….
This article was recently published in Kari’s food and travel column “When Hunger Strikes” in the Khaleej Times “WKND” maagazine in Dubai. The other day I witnessed something that made my heart flutter. My 3 year old toddler reached up on the countertop, snatched one of two Roma tomatoes I had just washed to make…
Tableware and tools provided by Tavola stores in the Middle East, www.tavolashop.com. This was written, photographed and styled by Kari Heron for Gourment magazine. There is something absolutely magical about cooking with kids. Maybe it is their sharp sense of humour or wide-eyed enthusiasm about mundane tasks but having children help to prepare food is…
Make your life simpler with this Jerk Chicken Waldorf Salad . One of the things that living in 3 countries in the space of 6 months has done is force me to adapt. I half jokingly tell people that God is teaching me how to land on 4 feet like a cat (and perhaps have…
This is a story of grace. I made the cover story for the WKND magazine in the Khaleej Times. It is my second known cover in the almost six years since I started my weekly When Hunger Strikes column in Dubai on April 1, 2011. Funny enough, I wrote this story from the same 13″…
We have so much to share with you and will be doing so bit by bit because trust, me you would need a week for and in-depth update in one go! One of the things we are particularly happy about is the fact that Jamaica’s second food magazine, “Indulge” has featured Chef Lij Heron (in…
Whoever said chocolate is for lovers couldn’t be more correct. Chocolate is indeed a natural aphrodisiac. Maybe, it’s the melt in your mouth, rich, smooth, buttery texture, but savouring chocolate is definitely a “sweet” treat (albeit more bitter in the case of the dark variety). There is something about chocolate that seems to be hard…
This is the protein smoothie to end all smoothies. It’s. That. Great. I know we come up with awesome recipes all the time but this one will make ya forget everything you’ve ever tasted before. But by far them most cool thing about this smoothie is that it is supremely healthy for you. It is…
When noted Tech Guru Ingrid Riley wrote “are you really in Jamaica for true? Can I really officially welcome you home? Will you really be around for this year’s Caribbean Bloggers Week and could you guys join us on the Meetup panel?” I was stoked! Having won the “Best Overseas Jamaican Blog” in the Jamaican…
Today we celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary. Wow! To be brutally honest, there are times over the past 7 years that we never thought we would make it this far. Marriage is like that. Last year we came really close… and then we remembered that there was one other person who we had invited in…
When you live in the UAE, one gets bitten by the travel bug pretty often. In fact, every three months my skin starts to itch. It never stops until I hop on a plane. So far this year I have flown to California and Jordan and Jamaica. My planned trip to Washington was cancelled due to…
After 18 years combined in the UAE, we are announcing that we will be moving on to our next adventure in our expatriate culinary life. Leaving the UAE While we are giving up full time residence in the UAE, this is not “goodbye” per se, but simply, “until we meet again.” We still have business interests in…
So many wonderful and exciting things have been happening all at once for us over there that we have been crazy busy for the last few months. Lot’s of major accomplishments- both in family and business and lots of things to celebrate. We haven’t had a moment to stop and do that but we…
Chef Lij Heron with our bubs Jaja, at two months in his restaurant, Lexington Grill at the Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah. Such an iconic picture or present and future. A father and his legacy…. (and the audacity we had to take a 2 month old with us to dinner)! Let’s get one thing…
When Chef Lij’s long running right hand chef- Ganesh Venkiteswaran decided to move on to a new opportunity, we were gutted to see him go but wished him well. After all, a good leader always helps to position their team members for growth. Recently we went to his new haunt as a family and this is…
You must have noticed that the price of certain food items has climbed significantly over the last few years. In one instance, I have noted that the cost of a basic unprocessed cheddar rose a whopping 30 per cent in just six years. As prices for food and the general cost of living increase…
If there is any occupational hazard of working as intensely with food as I do, it is having to eat all the time (somebody has got to do it)! In the land of calories in and calories out, excess consumption and limited expenditure of energy results in the epic battles of several bulges. It is…
I love Jesus. I can’t help it. He has invaded my heart and truly transformed me from the inside out. I may lose followers but so be it. What does it profit a man (or woman) to gain the whole world but lose his soul? He who seeks to hold on to his life will lose…
There is a sentiment that goes beyond words that flood you when you get to go to a place where you have always wanted to go. I’m not talking about merely crossing off a place on a wanderlust bucket list. I am talking about a calling to visit that goes deeper. Much, much, much deeper….
This is not the typical new year’s post. We could focus on collating our best posts of 2015 or talk about resolutions for the new year as we have done in the past, but too many major lessons were received in 2015 to ignore. I wanted to chronicle the experience of my year in that…
If you were to ask me my favourite time to be in Jamaica, I would have to say it’s Christmas time. Christmas and Independence are the two periods in which the already lively Jamaica showcases its best. In our tropical island paradise homeland, Christmas is way longer than one just day and it has little or…
We’ve been rather quiet on this blog and online in general because something major happened. When the earth moves and paradigms shift, it’s best to stop and pause and take notice. When tragedy strikes at Christmas, everything changes. Last Wednesday evening, we both got dolled up and drove to Dubai’s Palm Jumeirah for what promised…
This is tourist season in the UAE. As holiday makers flee from temperate climates to thaw their icy bones, the mild winter of Arabia is a huge draw. While a significant number of visitors are here to explore on their own with their own pre-booked tours, those of us who live here often find ourselves…
Every tummy seated around the table rumbles in hunger and anticipation of the meal, expertly prepared by some amazingly gifted people. The food finally arrives. Salivation kicks into high gear. The dishes are artfully presented and the smells whet ravenous appetites. Everyone is dying to tuck in. As the husband reaches for his fork, the…
Kiyi the authentic Turkish Restaurant is a great reason to head to Ajman. You may only know it as one of the Emirates you normally drive through to get to another but this Turkish restaurant is very much helping to make Ajman and the Fairmont Ajman destinations in their own right. Kiyi the authentic Turkish…
If you’ve been diagnosed with the ‘silent killer’, your diet will need an overhaul – AND, NO, that does not mean a sentence to awful food. Read on… To be diagnosed “diabetic” or “borderline diabetic” by a doctor seems like a big, ominous and scary thing for any person or loved one but all is…
The iconic Beatle’s singer and songwriter, John Lennon once succinctly penned for his song Beautiful Boy, “Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans.” And so it is. Recently I found that despite my well laid plans to start the year with a cleaner than a whistle nutritional bang, life simply happened. A series…
Mornings. The sleep is still in your eyes, you are up but not yet running on all cylinders. You want something practical to get you going. Perhaps even to to cleanse and do a little mild detox? And certainly, boosting your metabolism would be an added treat. Enter this juice. The fact that our little…
This is fast, efficient homestyle cooking from the spice loving countries of Indian and Pakistan. With dishes full of thick, flavoursome sauces and traditional foods cooked in traditional vessels, this is as authentic as it gets. A simple spot with delicious and very affordable food from colourful curries to soothing lassi. Karachi Darbar is a…
There are few things more satisfying than a hearty meal of Filipino Adobo. What’s there not to love about this pot of of salty and every so slightly tangy, tender, juicy bits of meat and root vegetables? The one thing about living in the UAE is being able to meet with people from all over…
If there is one thing we are always short on but crave more of as a chef family, it’s time together. When we got an invitation for a family getaway to the brand spanking new Fairmont Ajman, it presented an opportunity to get a little family R&R in an emirate that was just a 40…
If there is one thing that we believe in here at Chef and Steward, it’s making your life easier. You have enough on your plate already so our aim is to simply enrich your experience of life. One critical we we do so is to offer you recipes that make sense, with easily accessible ingredients…
We’ve been together for a while now We’re growing stronger everyday now It feels so good and there’s no doubt I will stay with you As each morning brings sunrise And the flowers bloom in springtime On my love you can rely And I’ll stay with you Oh I’ll stay with you through the ups…
As a working food & travel photographer based in Dubai, I have been guilty of being a purist when posting pics here. You see, I believe in DSLRS and have made quite a formidable investment in my professional photography equipment, which includes two full format Nikon cameras and top end, super fast Nikkor lenses….
As the weather gets cooler and even cold in some countries around the globe, our appetites yearn for warmer foods and beverages increase to keep us warm and cosy. However, ss children of the tropics – with year-round tropical island weather- we have learnt to enjoy soup and hot beverages all throughout the year. So…
We produced a short film!! That’s right! Yes, we did a few informal videos for our Youtube Channel, but this is a professional production that we produced for a client based in the USA. Kari has almost 20 years experience as a trained TV Producer/Director, Presenter, Photographer & Media Coach but we are officially launching professional film…
Yesterday, I posted the following statement on our Instagram and Facebook about Ramadan which I also wanted to share here. “We are Christians, but the funny thing about faith is that if you TRULY believe in your own faith, you will respect others for theirs. At the end of the day, we are still all…
The trick to achieving kitchen prowess is knowing and mastering simple techniques and letting the food speak for itself. This dessert is perfect as it can be made in advance and you will look like a professional pastry chef with this presentation. This is how you impress any dinner guest and the tiny serving size…
This post has been almost a year in the making. It is dedicated to the legacy of my grandmother, Olga Leonie Thompson, who was crowned “The Real Jamaican Rice and Peas Queen.” One day I will share her story with you. In the meantime, here is a rice and peas that comes in a box…
Dear PR , Social and Digital Marketing execs, we know that reaching out to bloggers has become an import part of your arsenal of tools in maximising exposure for your valued clients. We know you are very busy people so we have compiled a list of things you may want to apply in order to…
Here is the second video in our Boss Chef Series. Are you on YouTube (like who isn’t)? Join us over there and subscribe for more videos. We believe a lot of our content will translate well to video but we want to hear from you. So subscribe to our channel and tell us what kind…
I have not had a mango for ages. It’s so long ago I can tell you where and when. It was Jamaica, this time last year. As an island girl I am really particular about my mangoes. I shy away from the mango flavoured water fruits often sold over here (having been picked way too…
