For as long as she could remember, Faaneesa Elemoodeen has always had a love for cooking. It grew when she started to share her food with family and friends in Number 72 Village, Corentyne, Berbice, who sung her praises for her meals.
For Elemoodeen, cooking is relaxing. “… Going to supermarkets and taking my time searching through the aisles for ingredients that make different types of dishes… I prefer to be in the kitchen by myself and have fun preparing a meal for an entire army than to do any other chores around the house,” the young woman, who is a teacher with dreams of one day opening her own restaurants, said.
She often tries to make a mixture of dishes from different cultures and countries, so that when she is ready to open her restaurant she can offer a great menu.
Elemoodeen, who teaches at the Darul Arqam Academy located at Number 78 Village, Corentyne, said that since schools have closed due to Covid-19, she has been taking small orders from people in her community. “A lot of people would message me on social media and ask me if I can sell food to them because the pictures I post always look amazing and then I decided to start taking orders because I do not mind cooking the food,” she said.
Addressing her long-term goal, Elemoodeen said she is working towards opening her own restaurant in the next five years’ time. “It’s always been my dream to have a super fancy restaurant that serves a variety of different food,” she said. She hopes to have a catering business alongside her restaurant.
Touching on her teaching career, the driven young woman said, “I teach Grade Six and I love to teach children so that I can make a difference in their lives. I do not only teach at school I also help children who are struggling with low self-esteem and problems at home.”
She advises young people to go after their dreams but to ensure that they have a Plan B. In terms of cooking, she said, you do not need to start out with a huge number of utensils. “Make use of what you have,” she advised.
She can be contacted on Instagram @Ameena.xoo.
