Tavel Bristol-Joseph

Looking back at my life in Georgetown, Guyana makes me smile because of all the things that I’ve been through that have made me the proud, successful man I am today: the pain of losing my father at a young age, being poor, moving from relative to relative, not doing well in school, which made me an angry and aggressive kid. It’s a blessing and a miracle that my aunt made me bake with her every Saturday evening for Sunday school. It basically turned my life around and helped me as a young man to channel my negative energy into something sweet. I never wanted to be a chef or pastry chef growing up. It was just the only thing I was good at, and it made my mother happy and proud of me, which is all I wanted.