Our Feature on FOX 5 DC: Sharing our Caribbean flavors with the DMV
Over the weekend, we had the pleasure of being featured on FOX 5 DC. We spoke to Maureen Umeh about our minority owned business, and why we take pride in showcasing our Caribbean heritage through our flavors. As two Black women from Trinidad and Tobago, we never imagined in our wildest dreams that we would be on TV. But it happened, and it was such an amazing experience! We felt so supported by our community. Our saucy fans who have been with us from the beginning tuned in, and our local neighbors from Prince George’s County to the greater the DC metro area also showed up. Since doing the interview, we’ve heard such positive feedback, not only from past customers, but also from new ones who were excited to try what we had to offer. As the segment was live, we couldn’t take any pictures in the moment. Nevertheless, our saucy community had us covered. We received a multitude of texts and screenshots of the very moment. What we can say is it truly does take a village to move forward. Thank you to all for affirming that our story does matter!
Our Origins
We got started from humble beginnings. While our business officially launched in 2019, we unofficially decided to launch with the support of family and friends in 2018. Why? Because for years we’ve been hearing about how good our food was! And of course, the demand seemed to be there. Taking it back even further, you’ll see that we’ve been making our signature flavors for decades now. Being from Trinidad and Tobago, we grew up exposed to a cosmopolitan cuisine that featured influences from a variety of cultures: African, East Indian, Chinese, European, and Indigenous among others. Those elements all melded together to create a food culture that was uniquely Caribbean. Karen learned a lot about cooking from our namesake, her mom, the lovely Ms. Camella. What she didn’t learn from her mom, she learned while taking food preparation courses in Trinidad. This allowed her to become a skilled chef in her own right. Some of this, she passed on to her daughter Nyana, who aims to be just as good at crafting delicious recipes like her mom. Having made our home in Prince George’s County, cooking food was and still is a way for us to stay connected to our rich Caribbean heritage.
Maureen Umeh speaking with the ladies of Camella’s Kitchen
The Power of Faith
Starting a business was no easy feat. But we found that if we put our minds to it, we could do it. We hope that our story serves as an inspiration to our community to pursue their own dreams. Trust us, we were nervous to be on as the segment was LIVE and we had never done anything like that before. What helped was lots of preparation, and reminders that although we had not done a live interview before, we have done other types of interviews. At the end of the day, we know our story and we know our flavors. There’s no one better to speak about them than us. So, doing the live interview, was to perfect opportunity for us to practice telling our story, which as BIPOC is so important to do. We actively encourage our community walk the talk and #BeCamellaSaucy – we hope that we are serving as a model on how to live your sauciest lives. We never imagined that we would come to a new country and start a business, much less be on TV. So really, ask yourself what can you achieve when you put your mind to it.
Recipes As Seen on TV
We had a lot of fun displaying our flavors on TV. A lot of folks commented on how good the dishes looked! Since we couldn’t do a live cooking demo, we created written instructions on how to make them. Give them a try below:
Pineapple Chow (to come)
Camella’s Kitchen is run by two ladies from Trinidad and Tobago. Based out of Prince George’s County, Maryland, we’re living our sauciest lives by bringing our bold Caribbean flavors to you! How will you #BeCamellaSaucy? Tell us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube!
