It is difficult to imagine an eight-year-old girl still making her way through the rigours of primary school, otherwise preoccupied with grappling with the skills associated with cooking. That was part of Debbie Houston’s experience as a child. Baking, she says, came later. Her culinary preoccupation had derived from watching her mother “in the kitchen baking and cooking up a storm for Christmas day lunch and other little family gatherings.”
Unsurprisingly, she became stuck with the cooking habit. At fifteen she enrolled in the Carnegie School of Home Economics and after she had made her way through her first tilt at a formal education in the culinary arts Debbie decided that it was time to strike a balance between Home Economics and academia.
She made her way to the University Guyana to pursue the Social Work programme there. There was, however, no escaping her ‘addiction’ to ‘the kitchen.’ “Whilst I was studying friends would hire me to prepare lunches and snacks for workshops, corporate functions and other events,” she recalls. It was at this point that Debbie established a linkage between her skills and her financial fortune. Her various cuisine contracts “helped me to take care of myself as well as my school fees.”
Old habits die hard; some become immortal. So it was with Debbie and her passion for culinary pursuits. In 2009 she quit her permanent job and established Glitzy Glamour, an online catering service. The enterprise is financed by her own resources with the support of members of her family and a handful of friends. Debbie’s training has allowed her to create a multi-service enterprise that provides services in event planning, culinary tutoring and what she describes as “a creative catering service.”
Glitzy Glamour’s offerings include Cup Cakes and Character Cakes for ‘fun’ events, finger foods for cocktails and a range of local and international cuisine for formal and event dining.
Keen to develop her understanding of business management and entrepreneurship Debbie has undergone training with Action Coach, the local business training entity which, apart from offering business training has also facilitated events for local organizations and individuals.
Glitzy Glamour is one of a number of local business enterprises that have been impacted by the advent of the coronavirus pandemic. Enduring optimist that she is, however, Debbie believes that the venture is doing well in the circumstances. Keen to stay abreast of developments in the wider local small business sector Debbie has registered Glitzy Glamour with the Small Business Bureau.
Securing funding to sustain her business enterprise in what she concedes is a difficult business climate is one of the challenges that Debbie faces. Of the commercial banks she says…….”often times we get the royal run-around in order to get support from the banking sector. Most small businesses cannot afford the burden of large loans. I believe that the banking sector needs to do more in the way of sitting down with small business owners and designing loan packages that are affordable to small business owners, packages that are manageable as far as repayment is concerned.”
Debbie can be reached at: glitzycakes3@gmail.com
Cell: 680-4171
