As a young boy growing up in Central Kingston, Andre Fowles always looked forward to helping grandma bake potato pudding for Sunday dessert. Little did he know that this experience would reveal his true calling. His love for cooking grew even deeper over the years, and so he would always prepare meals for his family and friends. For Fowles, there is no greater reward than seeing people enjoying his food; so becoming a chef was a natural progression for him. After attending the Donald Quarrie High School he enrolled in the Kingston Skills Training Institute and subsequently, the Girls’ Town HEART Academy, where he completed Level II Culinary Arts studies, topping his class as a Certified Chef de Cuisine.

The modest and diligent chef tells Thursday Food he is “continuously driven to learn something new about the culinary arts”, and has been cooking professionally since the age of 17. Now 22, Fowles has done a few stints in restaurants and hotels across the island. The chef de partie is currently whipping up contemporary Caribbean cuisine at the five star-rated Round Hill Hotel & Villas, under the tutelage of two-time Jamaica Observer Food Awards Chef of the Year winner, Martin Maginley. He already has a few accolades under his belt, too. As a junior member of the Culinary Federation of Jamaica (CFJ), he copped a trophy for Best use of pork, and a bronze medal for his overall performance in the CFJ Taste of Jamaica Culinary Competition 2010. He has also appeared on the Follow the Maggi Menu Trail, where he created one of his signature dishes — ackee and codfish stuffed chicken with sweet potato pumpkin mash and roasted garlic cream sauce. Additionally, he assisted Jamaica Observer contributor Jacqui ‘Juicy Chef’ Sinclair to create a Heroes’ Day menu for the Thursday Life publication last October.

Besides “always looking for a new food adventure”, Fowles enjoys creating new recipes and reading books and magazines on his favourite subject… food. His future plans entail “taking a culinary journey to Europe and the Mediterranean”, and he is currently pursuing a professional chef programme at the Runaway Bay HEART Training Institute/Culinary Institute of America, where he will graduate as a third-level certified executive chef.