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Country Spice Restaurant: A Culinary dream realized
By Renay Sambach
Kaieteur News – Coming from a family where both parents expressed their love for cooking, it became a life-long dream of Zalena Boodhoo to own and operate a restaurant.
Today, 62-year-old Zalena is a wife, mother of four, and the proprietor of ‘Country Spice Kitchen,’ a restaurant that offers a fusion of Guyanese and International cuisine.
In April 2019, Boodhoo officially opened the doors to her restaurant. Country Spice Kitchen is located in Parika, East Bank Essequibo, above Boodhoo’s General Store. The restaurant is open Sunday to Sunday from 07:00 hours to 18:00hours.
Not only do they serve breakfast, lunch and early dinner but also offer catering services for parties, weddings, business events and any other gathering. Some of restaurant’s popular dishes are: Alfredo pasta, spaghetti and meat ball, duck/ chicken curry, vegetable rice, cream potato, and the baked chicken.
During an interview, Zalena said, “We are constantly innovating on our menu in response to seasonal fresh ingredients, holidays, and festivals. Our plans are to continue growing and maybe open a second branch in Georgetown.”
“From early childhood, my love of cooking and baking found me in the kitchen with my parents helping and learning their respective secrets. Yes, both my mom and dad were amazing cooks, and each had their individual specialty. Mom was the curry queen and dad the cook-up and pepperpot king,” she said.
Since then, Zalena knew that someday, she would have her own restaurant. However, she stated dreams don’t always come through overnight.
According to her, being married with four children, she was forced to migrate when crime threatened their safety. While in another country, she explained that being a full-time mother became her job and the idea of starting her own restaurant became a distant memory.
Nevertheless, her love for cooking remained and grew even stronger over the years.
“My kitchen was the experimentation ground for the creative dishes to eventually come. I copied, modified, and invented recipes. My children and their friends were my tasters. The reviews were so good, they kept coming back for more and bringing others. When friends and family visited, I would treat their taste buds to my specialties, and they loved it,” Zaleena said. Soon, she said many persons encouraged her to start a business, if not a restaurant, a catering business. She said the encouragement she received caused, “That childhood dream to nag at me more than ever.”
As faith would have it, Zalena later visited Guyana and that’s when she decided to make it permanent, since her children were now all grown and independent. While back in her homeland, Zalena then immediately began working on making her dream come through.
“I looked around me and realized that Parika was now a bustling town with so many businesses, so many people needing food. Excitement bubbled inside me.”
The business owner shared that it is never too late to make your dreams come through. She added, “Today, I am 62 and the last three years, have been a time in my life when I can fuel my passion and creativity. Building my business from idea to success is the most rewarding feeling. It has not been all clear sailing. I have had to work long hours and the trying times sometimes made me want to quit.”
When the pandemic struck like many other businesses, Zaleena had to reduce her staff load and had even considered closing her doors permanently. However, she explained that she could not abandon her business, so she prioritized and today her sacrifice has paid off.
“I am very contented with what I have been able to achieve. But, I could not have made my dream and vision a reality without my husband Awad Boodhoo, my four children, Anthony, Alesia, Felicia and Sanjay, and my extended family, too many to mention. But I must single out my mother who always believed in and encouraged me to reach for the stars. Of course, hers and my father’s flavours run through everything we cook,” Zaleena added. She also thanked her dedicated and hardworking staff who ensure they maintain quality food to serve to the customers. “Finally, without blessing and guidance of the Almighty, none of this would be possible. I am therefore humble in my blessings,” Zalena added.
You can contact the business on +1 (592) 664- 4663 or visit their Facebook page @ Country Spice Kitchen Gy. (To share any useful information, please can contact me via email:[email protected])
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