Keisha Shakespeare-Blackmore, Staff Reporter
VEEJOORUTH
CHEF PURMESSUR Veejooruth is the reputable chef now at Sandals Whitehouse European Village and Spa, who gained extra prominence when he was invited to Turks and Caicos Islands to prepare Chief Minister Michael Missick's wedding pastries.
Chef Purmessur Veejooruth, 40, certified executive, having worked in the island before, was no stranger to Minister Missick. Also, he has a close relationship with Jamaica as his wife is a Jamaican.
Chef Veejooruth can take a dash of flour and whip it into a fantastic and tasty treat. He has been in the kitchen since he was 15 years old learning the trade from his mother, Lilawutee Rechoye. However, in 1993 he joined a bakery shop in Mauritius Island, coast of South Africa, his hometown, where he further learnt the art of baking. He recalled that his first experience was baking bread on a wood fire. "The bread came out good but it was stuck to the pan. I did not grease the pan before putting in the dough. From then I learnt I had to grease the pan first," said Chef Veejooruth.
He later worked in the little bakery shop for seven years until he decided he needed a change. He caught wind of the news that there was a baker's position at the Saint Geran Hotel in Mauritius, so he set off to his new destiny. He noted that in his eagerness he forgot his résumé, but fortunately for him, it was his lucky day.
"I met with the chef and he told me to come and start working immediately."
BREAD, PASTRY
Having landed that job, he baked breads in the nights and learnt the art of making other pastries during the day. He caught on so quickly that he was promoted to working directly in the pastry shop at the hotel. Shortly thereafter, he received sponsorship from the French Government to do a culinary course at the Mauritius Catering School. It was a case where they had 12,000 applications but chose only 60 and he was one. He emerged among the 10 best of the group. Subsequently, he joined Club Med Hotel as the assistant pastry chef.
Travel opportunities opened up and he worked in countries such as Turks and Caicos Islands, The Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Mexico, and the United States of America. He stayed with Club Med for seven years before moving to Beaches Resort in Turks and Caicos Islands in October 1997.
CELEBRITIES
He spent a year before being shipped off to Parrot Cay, a small island north of Turks and Caicos. Celebrities like Bruce Willis, Demi Moore and Donna Teller have tasted his culinary expertise. That job lasted one year as he was tired of daily boat trips and sand-flies. "Plus, it was just too demanding."
Chef Veejooruth later returned to pastry chef duties at the Beaches in Turks and Caicos where he remained for six years before moving to Jamaica. The general manager of Sandals Dunn's River invited him to conduct a buffet pastry making training course. He fell in love with the island and before long he was working at Beaches in Negril. And in 2005 he became the executive pastry chef at Sandals Whitehouse, and has been there since.
