The name Patricia Alexander is a household name in Tobago. For over 40 years this naturally talented and charming lady from the village of Mason Hall has satisfied the palates of thousands of our citizens and visitors.

She caters for small groups, office staff, clubs, organizations, school children, government departments and any other group of persons who would like to enjoy good, tasty, nutritious food ;in addition to the taste, she places great emphasis on presentation. Also, hundreds of Tobagonians of all ages have been tutored by her in the art of preparing meals, desserts, bread, cakes, pastries, drinks, snacks and the whole range of culinary delights in a unique indigenous style. From her years in primary school at Mason Hall she had the privilege of being tutored by the gifted Home Economics Teacher Eunice Elder who loved her great interest in the craft and passed on valuable advice. The Tutor had such confidence in her that if she had a catering assignment elsewhere she left young Patricia, who was just about, age fourteen, in charge of the class. Teacher Elder was very proud of her on account of her skill, precision and neatness in the kitchen.

After leaving primary school there were not many options available to her and in 1972 she took a Course in Food Preparation and followed this up with a more comprehensive Course in 1974 from the Extra- mural Department, UWI in Cookery which was conducted by Eunice Elder at the Mason Hall Government School.

She gained much experience in the following years and together with her husband began catering for weddings and other social occasions.

In 1989 she began her classes in Food Preparation for different groups of adults in batches of about twenty for a three-month period; there is also an Advanced Class which runs for up to six months.

She has tutored classes in several villages including Lanse Fourmi on behalf of the Divisions of Education and Community Development. At her classes codes of discipline and decorum are in effect as she desires to produce not just a good cook but a well-rounded person who would be a welcome asset in any kitchen. She said: 'I do everything with food …….. every type of cake, drinks, meal, dessert, curried dishes, etc. 'When asked what a typical local dish for visitors might be, she suggested: yam pie, coocoo, polenta, plantain, robinson crusoe roll, corn meal and cassava dumplins, breadfruit salad, callaloo, yardie stewed in coconut milk, ginger beer, sorrel, guava drinks, coconut shrimp cocktail with dessert of soursop, passion fruit or granadilla (barbadine) ice cream and a light fruit/sponge cake. There are some significant milestones in her career like when she catered for thousands of patrons who flocked to our island for the Plymouth International Jazz Festival in 2005. When the Tobago Heritage Festival started in 1987 she was also the caterer of choice and produced a range of indigenous dishes such as susumber soup, cassava and breadfruit salad. She relies almost exclusively on the fruits, provisions, meats and vegetables that are produced locally. There are some occasions however when she thinks that the quality and consistency of goods supplied need to be upgraded.

She was one of the core group of workers who started the Tobago Nutrition Co-operative Society Limited, which was the original private caterer for school-feeding in Tobago, and functioned as Supervisor at Mason Hall and Bon Accord branches. She participated in a memorable Tobago Day of cooking along with some other cooks from the island many years ago at the Queen's Park Savannah. Over the years she has had some interesting experiences with foreign visitors. On one occasion there was a luncheon at the Fairfield Complex and after they had begun the meal one of the guests went missing. When they finally located him he said that he went to purchase a hammer to crack the crab gundy! A young man was so fascinated with the taste of her mauby drink but did not remember the name so he asked: 'Can I have some more of that drink from the bark of the tree?'

She has reached the pinnacle of her career but there are still fields to conquer. She is yet to formally document the hundreds of recipes to which she has added her special touch. There is the challenge to compile her decades of innovative mouth-watering recipes into a book which would certainly be a best seller. Over the years persons have copied some of her original ideas but she has not been credited in any way for her creations. Possibilities exist but technical assistance would be required to preserve the works of this talented lady as part of our heritage in the area of local cuisine. Her husband, Lawrence has remained a most efficient lieutenant providing the necessary services to ensure that her dreams become a reality; he is the wind beneath her wings. Viewers of yesteryear would remember the celebrated Sylvia Hunt who hosted a television cooking programme when she was well into her seventies, so the opportunities for topping off her career are not limited. Cinnamon Hill is indeed blessed to have an ambassador of the caliber of Patricia Alexander to add flavour to the lives of so many of our citizens and visitors.