Latoya Panton has always had a special love for cooking. From an early age, the Jamaican chef found her passion in the kitchen, assisting her mother, and learning the basic techniques to create delightful delicacies. Today, Panton who is an executive chef is recognized not only for making delectable dishes through her catering services but also for teaching cooking lessons through her Delicious Occasions Cooking Classes, where she helps children master the craft and become future culinary artists.
Chef Panton, who has been offering cooking classes for 17 years explained that while she had always wanted to teach youngsters, the idea to offer lessons developed after she helped a teenager who was having difficulty using some of the tools in the kitchen.
“I met a young lady who was 16 years old, and she didn’t know how to use the knife, and for me, this was so shocking because I have been using the knife since I was so young and so I helped her out. She became confident and independent in the kitchen and from that, I wanted to do some classes with children,” she shared.
Though she offered cooking classes to adults, the Young Chef’s Cooking and Baking Club, a division of the Delicious Occasion Cooking Classes grew as word spread about her generous efforts in assisting children in cooking. She then began offering summer lessons, which evolved into courses provided during the school year.
The classes, geared toward children aged four to 16, provide cooking techniques taught by committed and experienced instructors so that each student feels confident in the kitchen. For Panton, she finds pleasure especially in teaching four-year-olds as it reminds her of her experiences with her children at that stage.
“I enjoy teaching these four-year-olds. It’s always quite interesting because I’m a mother of two. I have a 17-year-old and a 21-year-old, so I think one of the reasons why I love working with little children so much is that it makes me relive all those times I had with my children. I thoroughly enjoy doing it and just watching them grow,” she said proudly.
In helping the budding chefs grow, Panton shared that at the end of each term, the children from the cooking club have a pop-up gourmet restaurant called Tarragon and Thyme, where professional chefs come in and execute dishes on their behalf. However, the young chefs are usually the ones who are operating the restaurant.
“They are the ones greeting you, helping you, serving you, explaining dishes, with professional help. The idea is that it’s their restaurant for the night,” she said excitedly.
She said these experiences aid in building the children’s confidence, not only in the kitchen but also in public speaking and engaging in media-related activities.
“They are also learning confidence building. They have to learn to go out and speak publicly, they do TV appearances, so they get the exposure.”
Chef Latoya Panton is also a lover of charitable deeds and believes that her students should give back to the community in whatever way they can. As such, she shared that the proceeds from the pop-up restaurant go to children within the community, noting that they have given back to a children’s home, the Bustamante Children’s Hospital, and the Jamaica Autism Support Association (JASA).
She expressed that while she enjoys helping the various organizations, giving back to JASA brings a special joy because she offers cooking classes specifically to autistic children.
These give-backs, she said, allow the children to take charge of handing over the charitable items to the organizations to assist in helping children just like them.
“The children will go in at the end of the restaurant event and hand over funds or equipment, and depending on where they go, they bring gifts as well,” she said proudly, adding that this year, they will be giving back to the Bustamante Hospital for Children once more.
Though the young chefs are learning to master the skill in the kitchen, Panton said the classes are about more than just cooking and becoming future chefs, but are also about using their new talents to impact those within the community.
“It’s not just the children learning how to cook, but they are also learning to give back, share what they have, and appreciate what they have.”
In addition to supplying funds and equipment, Panton dedicates time to providing formal cooking lessons for children from rural and inner-city communities, offering them the same experiences as her very own students.
“At the end of our summer sessions we go to a community somewhere and we usually have cooking classes for the day with children who wouldn’t normally be able to attend the classes. We will have the instructors demonstrate different things to the children and give the same experience as our other students.”
Chef Latoya Panton envisions her business impacting more communities in the next five to ten years. She hopes to have a wider influence on young people across Jamaica by being able to offer her classes in other parishes, as well as online, especially during the summer.
By teaching a knife technique, or introducing a sauce for a dish, Chef Panton has been able to positively impact and connect with young people in such a remarkable way. With only passion as a prerequisite to joining her classes, she is convinced that children will leave feeling competent in the kitchen and confident in themselves.
“My aim is to have my young chefs feeling more confident when they leave. Not just being confident that they can cook something new but also being confident in themselves overall.” -Chef Latoya Panton
