‘It’s not all about the taste!’ 
Mitchell works with some of the latest equipment that makes his work more efficient 
Mitchell works with some of the latest equipment that makes his work more efficient 

Chef Mitchell Humphrey talks about passion for the job

By Telesha Ramnarine 

WHAT is ‘diabetic’ bread? Mitchell Humphrey knows. He makes it. Being a chef for practically all of his life, he loves to experiment with various types of ingredients to come up with a product that is not just tasty, but healthy for his customers.
It was with this kind of approach that he came up with the idea to produce bread made with grains like pumpkin, chia and flax seeds that especially appeals to those with diabetes (a chronic condition associated with abnormally high levels of sugar in the blood).
“Making quality, good tasting products is not a walk in the park,” Mitchell told the Pepperpot Magazine just recently at his business called ‘WholeSum Foods’ at Lot 350 East and New Market Streets, in the City.

With his help, Ryan Alexander

It takes effort to research what ingredients can replace the unhealthy ones and quite a bit of his finances too. “But I bake with my head and then with my heart, and the products always come out fantastic,” he said, meaning that he always opts to put the health interests of his customers first. “And these new and improved breads have made a big impact because a lot of persons have reported that it not spiking their sugar.”
To Mitchell, baking is not simply about mixing flour and water; it’s a science plus an art that he has managed to master so well that he can now make cheesecake, banana bread, cookies, to name just a few, without the use of wheat flour. He can even give you butter-less sponge cake!
“While it is not a health shop, I try to ensure that everything I do is healthy. So we do mostly grilling; hardly any fried foods here. Even our doughnuts are baked instead of fried. We have pastries but we always keep a tab on the fat content so that we don’t go overboard. In fact, I don’t do much of our local pastries because the fat content is very heavy.”
Ironically, while Mitchell has always been around the kitchen, whether he wanted to become a professional chef or not was not exactly clear in his mind. In fact, he took up several other jobs before realizing that this is the field that he will settle in.

Tasting the pot 

Mitchell could not complete his secondary education for circumstances beyond his control, so he took up various jobs to support himself as a teenager. Back then, things were hard, but he managed.

Mitchell prepares a number of new and improved breads

He landed a job as a stores clerk at the Calypso Restaurant formerly located on Robb Street and was in charge of stocking the pantry and keeping records of what went into the kitchen. But the cooks would always ask him to taste the pot, and he did a great job with the reviews he gave them! Of course, he ended up in the people’s kitchen helping to cook.
But his experience in cooking didn’t start here. His stepmom Desiree Hendricks was an expert in preparing all kinds of foods, and he couldn’t refuse to help out in the kitchen. When he would catch fish in the nearby trenches, his stepmom would ensure that he was taught how to clean and fry it. “I learned a lot from her. We had an issue when flour was banned and we had to struggle in lines to get bread so she started to experiment with rice flour, and I’ve never had a rice flour cake like hers ever again.”
After his stint at Calypso, he spent two weeks at a bakery that used to be on King Street. Two weeks, he recalls, was all he needed to learn what they were doing.

Always coming back 

Mitchell decided to take up a job in the interior as a sailor on a pontoon. “It was cold and horrible; my hands were never tough, so you can imagine the bleeds and burns I got from the sand and stone,” he recalls.
After working with the dredge for about six weeks, the kitchen cook was offered a job to help manage the dredge and the owners were now looking for someone with baking experience. “I put up my hand when they asked.”
Even though he was just working with the experience he gained at that bakery in two weeks, the bread came out exceptionally well. He would soon leave this job to work on another dredge.
But Mitchell still wasn’t sure that a baker is what he wanted to become, so he next took up diving. “I told myself its best I be a diver because I ain’t cut out for this sailor thing. I went overboard and enjoyed it thoroughly.” But here again, the kitchen cook was made the manager of the dredge, and knowing of his experience with baking, they asked him to work in the kitchen.

In the process of preparing his dough.

Wouldn’t you know, Mitchell left the job and returned to Georgetown to work in a diplomatic shop, before moving on to work at Cara Lodge, Ocean View Hotel, Grand Coastal Inn. and NAMILCO (National Milling Company of Guyana).
He especially enjoyed his stint at NAMILCO because the company allowed him to experiment with various ideas, and supplied him with everything needed for this. “They tried to bake according to the American standards and they found that I was the only one who came close to what they were doing. They even sent me to Puerto Rico, the farthest they had sent anyone at the time,” he said.
It was at this point in his life that Mitchell realised that he wanted to stick with baking. “My career finally took root, I knew what I wanted, I could see a clear vision.”
Although continuing to maintain a good relationship with NAMILCO, Mitchell moved on to work with the Brazilian Embassy, as a personal chef of the then ambassador. After the ambassador retired, Mitchell took his work to Grenada, Barbados, Antigua, and Dominica, before landing a job with the then American ambassador.

‘WholeSum Foods’ is located at the corner of East and New Market Streets

As he got older, though, Mitchell realised that he needed to be a bit more stable, so one day while driving by on East Street, he noticed the available space where his business is now located. “It was really expensive, but I decided to take it.” Now in his fourth year, Mitchell couldn’t be happier that he was brave enough to accept the challenge even though not knowing how the business would turn out.
Over the years, he has used every ‘penny’ that he got to build the business, and today he works with some of the latest models of equipment that make his work easier and more efficient.
Mitchell said he would be happy if a ‘WholeSum’ can be established in all of Guyana’s towns.

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