Seasoned to the bone

Latoya Grindley, Gleaner Writer

For Nordia Williams, who is more fondly known as Desreen in the Bellfield community of Manchester, whether she is cooking commercially or for herself, there is only one way for her to do it.

"Is just one way I cook enuh, if I cooking for myself or for the customers. I just go by the same recipe. I hear other people will have different things they add and stuff like that but I just do it the one way," says the shop owner of Likkle City.

A retailer of food and personal items, Williams also provides passers-by and regular customers with tasty treats, which she prepares alongside her shop. "I used to have a restaurant adjoining the shop but I had to close it down and so I just do my thing on a smaller scale," she says, pointing to her cooking area.

When the Food team visited Likkle City, the cook was preparing her chicken foot soup in anticipation of customers.

years of experience

Having been involved in the food industry for several years, with work experience at restaurants, including KFC, the very jovial Williams says cooking is her passion. "I just love cooking and sharing it. Even during Christmas, I will cook and just invite people to come over. And while I was living in Portmore, I used to have some old people living in my community and I would just cook and give them food," she recalls.

According to Williams, the most important part of cooking is to ensure that the items are well seasoned. And how does she ensure this? "I love to blend my seasoning. I blend my pimento, country Scotch bonnet pepper, onion, thyme and scallion. To me, the liquid penetrates the food properly and gives it a better taste. You see, especially if you season and leave it overnight, it well season to the bone," she says chuckling.

nothing escapes seasoning

While she loves her natural seasoning, she doesn't buy into the idea of using powdered seasoning. "Sometime when you go restaurant and after you finish eat and burp, is just pure powder seasoning on your chest, that can't be good. I not saying I don't use it none at all because I will use the jerk powder but I put it sparingly in my blender."

For meats, such as chicken and pork, Williams says pimento is one of her staple ingredients.

She told the team that not even the chicken foot in her soup escapes seasoning. "I season even the chicken foot so when you bite into that you suppose to taste how well-seasoned they are."

With her ground provisions which include yam, coco, dasheen, Irish potatoes, carrots and pumpkin, Williams' pot started to bubble in time for the lunch hour.

Below she shares her recipe for her chicken foot-corn soup:

Boil water then add corn and chicken foot. The chicken foot would already have been cleaned and seasoned with the blended ingredients.

Dice ground provisions and then add to pot.

Make spinners and add.

Add unblended scallion and thyme as well as a little butter.

Pour noodles into a bowl of water to ensure it mixes out smoothly and then pour into pot.

latoya.grindley@gleanerjm.com