COOKING with Olive premiered on NCN Ch 11 on Wednesday, Dec 11, at 10:30hrs.

It featured international chef, Antonio Da Silva of Canada, who put his skills to the test by preparing meals that are easy on the pocket, and very nutritious for the family.

Season One of ‘Cooking with Olive’ comprises 16 episodes, each featuring a theme under which meals are prepared, for example, ‘Dinners for Mothers on the Go’, ‘Think outside of the Box for weekly dinner’, and ‘Transforming fast foods into fine dining’. These are, however, just a few examples of the concept for programmes.

Season One runs for four months (December 2013 to March 2014). The objective is to be festive for the month of December, since persons like to indulge in all of the foods for the holidays. The month of January kicks off with ‘Starting the new year with less calories’ and ‘Be Budget-conscious’.

For February, the theme is ‘Quick, healthy and affordable for mothers on the go’.

Season One wraps up in the month of March, and would feature episodes that would bring fine dining to your kitchen. Some surprises are ‘Sexy foods with health benefits’, and ‘Going vegan is not always expensive’.

Generally, the objective of ‘Cooking with Olive’ is to “encourage healthy eating by promoting healthy cooking.”

The programme’s organisers are encouraging cooks at home to think outside of the box for everyday cooking. According to the host, Olive Gopaul, during a recent interview:
“My main reason for the launch of the programme, ‘Cooking with Olive’, is that I, too, have challenges when I find myself cooking the same thing on a regular basis. That is boring! I know there are many women out there (who) like myself, who are bored of the same vegetables and methods of combining them into good food for the family.”

‘Cooking with Olive’ features a fusion of many cultures, such as Mexican, Italian, Greek, Japanese, Indian, and American. Its selling point is that the chef must use ingredients that are accessible in Guyana.

A few weeks ago, when Chef Antonio and Olive’s team began hunting for ingredients to match the recipes which were created, they marvelled at the amount of ingredients available in Guyana. So it was much fun for them, and very mind-blowing for the chef when he found ingredients he could use right here to prepare meals that are sold in high-end restaurants in Guyana and abroad.

Olive says she is delighted to bring very affordable fine dining to home kitchens, especially since the meals are healthy to consume. The concept of ‘Cooking with Olive’ has been created in such a way as to encourage persons/families to avoid fried foods. Hence the programme would be introducing more grilled and pan-seared foods.

‘Cooking with Olive’ is a light and enjoyable programme that brings out the diversity of the television personality in Olive Gopaul, which we have all followed over the last 14 years. In recent times, we have seen Olive in more hard interviews with politicians and private and governmental agencies.

“For me, ‘Cooking with Olive’ is very different.” She said. “At first, I was not sure how to make the switch from hard interviews to a cooking programme (LOL). What I do know is that once I am placed in front of a camera, I adjust to the role I have to portray. It was much fun, and the food was cooked as you saw it on television.

“The Teriyaki Chicken Stir-fried you saw on the first programme disappeared even before you got to take a good picture of it (LOL). When the programme was premiered, I was very pleased, and for the first time I felt excited. My Assistant Producer, LeShaun Morgan, said, ‘Finally, she is excited! (LOL)’

“Cooking with Olive had many challenges; I do believe that with good energies around you as an individual, any project can skyrocket along with God’s guidance. Since January 2013, we have been working on this project, and there were numerous solid walls in our path. One of the challenges was finding the right chef; that was a tough one. Then when I met Chef Antonio in November, within three weeks I was recording. Before we knew it, the show was premiered.

“Then the other challenge was getting companies on board. Unfortunately, in Guyana, most companies want to see a project mature before they come on board, not realizing that to get to maturity, it requires their involvement. I am forever grateful to the few companies which came on board and stayed with the production. These are: Gizmos and Gadgets, Ashmin’s Trading Enterprise, Atlantic Mining, White Water Resort, National Communications Network, Rossignol Butcheries, Integrated Security Services, Creative Designer Drapery, Wolf’s and Imperial Furniture Stores, Rent-A-Tent, Soltana’s Décor, and Lear Goring for saluting the effort, embracing the idea, and seeing Cooking with Olive come to life.

“For my team — Le Shaun Morgan, Chef Antonio, Zorina Aziz, Rafiq Khan, Lee Glen, Patrick Ramsammy, Jamal Waldron, Keiron Campbelle, Karime Peters, and Fizul Abrahim — they have worked very hard and diligent in ensuring every thought and idea was put into motion.”

Olive would also like to thank Ms. Janice Maison, Samara Murphy and Jamel Johnson for the guidance they have provided to ONG Production to ensure that they all get the best end result.

‘Cooking with Olive’ is broadcast on NCN Ch 11 on Wednesdays at 10:30hrs, and is re-broadcast on TVG Ch 28 on Fridays at 9:30 hrs, and on HBTV Ch 9 on Saturdays at 14:00hrs.