Cake Therapy
Cake Therapy is a heartwarming and uplifting podcast that celebrates the transformative power of baking therapy. Hosted by Dr. Altreisha Foster, the passionate baker, entrepreneur and advocate behind Cake Therapy, this podcast is a delightful blend of inspiring stories, expert insights and practical baking tips. Each episode takes listeners on a journey of self-discovery, emotional healing and connection through the therapeutic art of baking.
Cake Therapy
Craft, Consistency, and the Courage to Begin: A Conversation with Chef Noel Cunningham
A whisk, a visa, and a vision. That’s how Chef Noel Cunningham went from Kingston kitchens to Canadian acclaim—building a culinary brand that balances savory discipline, pastry creativity, and deeply human storytelling. We sit down with Noel to trace the line from Sunday dinners with his mom and aunt to high-pressure hotel brigades, early media buzz, and a pandemic pivot that made cake both a business and a balm.
Noel breaks down the real toolkit he took from Runaway Bay HEART—professionalism, language skills, and the soft skills that open doors in luxury resorts. Then he gets candid about migration: accepting a fast-food role to learn the market, putting ego aside, and steadily rebuilding Cuisine by Noel brick by brick. His return to pastry reads like a love story—red velvet, rum cake, and clean design—proving how precision and play can keep a creator sane when the world wobbles.
We dig into self-care and boundaries: how to say no, set lead times, and choose work that protects both craft and health. Noel shares how he launched What’s Cooking with Chef Noel by starting before perfection, serving a focused audience, and letting consistency compound into global reach. He also takes us inside his cookbook, Cuisine by Noel: A Culinary Journey Through Recipes and Stories, and teases Dirty 30, a date-night-at-home concept that guides you from breakfast in bed to dessert with simple, confidence-boosting recipes.
If you’re a baker, chef, or creator building a legacy without burning out, this conversation is your blueprint. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs a nudge to start, and leave a review to help more food lovers find Cake Therapy.
Remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcast. Share the episodes and let's chat in the comments.
Support the Cake Therapy Foundation:
1. Cake Therapy - Cake Therapy (thecaketherapyfoundation.org)
2. Buy Me A Coffee : The Cake Therapy Foundation (buymeacoffee.com)
3. Buy The Book: Cake Therapy: How Baking Changed My Life https://a.co/d/76dZ5T0
4. Buy The Book: Lessons I Never Learned from My Father: Things We Missed Out On and How They Still Impact Me https://a.co/d/9wLOguc
Follow Sugarspoon Desserts on all social media platforms @sugarspoondesserts
Welcome to the Cake Therapy Podcast, a slice of joy and healing with your host, Dr. Altricia Foster. This is a heartwarming and uplifting space that celebrates the transformative power of baking therapy. The conversations will be a delightful blend of inspirational stories, expert insights, and practical baking tips. Each episode will take listeners on a journey of self-discovery, emotional healing, and connection through the therapeutic art of baking. There's something here for everyone. So lock in and let's get into it.
SPEAKER_05:Hi everyone, welcome back to the Cake Therapy Podcast. I am your host, Altrecia Foster. So I am really excited to be here today because I have another Jamaican in the house who is making waves over in Canada. Before I introduce you to Chef Noel Cunningham, though, I wanted to thank our subscribers who continue to listen in on our podcast. If you're new here, welcome. Please go ahead and subscribe. And to all you listeners who've been listening but haven't yet subscribed, please do so. It means the world to us. We're over there. We're on YouTube, we're also on TikTok. And you can find the podcast in our new app, Cake Therapy App. You can find it in the Google Play Store and the App Store. So um download it. You've got the kitchen in the palm of your hands now. Yeah. And some much needed resources in the app as well. So go ahead and do that. But like I mentioned, that we have Chef Noel Cunningham coming in in a few minutes. And this gentleman, he's Jamaican, but he currently lives in Canada. He's captured the hearts of food lovers everywhere. He's an author, he's a culinary influencer. Man, he does so much in the culinary space. He has a passion for creating healthy Caribbean cuisine. He started his baking journey in Kingston where he learned to cook alongside his mom and his aunt. And today we're gonna get to hear from him about his journey from cooking in the kitchen with his mom and aunt to leaving Jamaica and then now just making waves in Canada, pretty much. His accolades include a recognition of the most significant next generation game changer. You know, game changer in the Jamaican community in Toronto. He gained international attention as the youngest member of the Jamaican culinary team at the James Beard House in New York. Since relocating to Canada, he has made more waves. He continues to make waves as the executive chef at Burntwood Hotel in Thompson, Manitoba, and has collaborated with prominent brands like Appleton Estate and the Jamaica Tourist Board. And if you know Jamaica, tourism drives the economy. So for Chef and Chef's Food to have made, you know, to have caught their eye, and they've asked him to collaborate with them. He's a big deal. He's a big deal. You know, I think when I think of Chef, I think about Chris Martin's song. Big deal. I'm not gonna sing, so I can't sing, but you can find it on Google. So in addition to his culinary achievements, though, he's a food writer. He has his own podcast and he knows how these things go. It's called What's Cooking with Chef Noel. On that podcast, he shares insights from the industry experts and he talks about food trends. We want to talk to him about his cook book, though. I think it has um 100 easy to follow Jamaican recipes, like you said. It's called Cuisine by Noel: A Culinary Journey Through Recipes and Stories. Woo! My friend, you have a long bio. Welcome to the podcast.
SPEAKER_00:Thank you for having me. Thank you so much for having me.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, I'm love having um Jamaicans in this space. I always um create the table and ask you for just pull up your chair and come. And so I'm happy when you know when my my my my countrymen and women say yes, um, I'm super proud of you. As I'm a fan, I've been watching you, you know, work your magic in your space. And I as I was telling our listeners that you're Jamaican Canadian. Yeah, so did I read correctly? Is El Nina and on the way? Like what's going on over there?
SPEAKER_00:We're over here in Canada. I'm not even sure what's up, but you know, there's always you know something happening. Yeah, weather good. Yeah, so far it's on and off now. We know in what October now, so it's like all over the place now. It's a crazy time now. Yeah, where you don't even know how to dress.
SPEAKER_05:I know, it's weird, it's always weird, not knowing, you know, like in a weird space with the the weather and stuff.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:Listen, I've your bio speaks so much, it's very inspirational. You know, when I looked at Anam, I was like, oh my god, how long has this guy been in Canada? Yeah. So I really want my listeners to get to know you a little bit. But to kind of set the stage, what was your life like growing up in Jamaica? I talk about Jamaica all the time to my listeners, but tell me a little bit about you.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, thanks so much for that. So, of course, you know, I grew up in a family, just my mom, my three sisters, my stepdad, and that was life for me for like maybe 12 years. And but we're, you know, it's always a fun family, loving. Um, grew up in a church, of course, and lots of cooking, of course. Definitely cooking is a must with the family, especially on Sundays. And, you know, traditional, you know, went to like basic school, primary school, and high school, Eli Delton James, they're in doing a park for those of you who know where it's from Marvell, of course. Big up Marvell. We have some topic from Marvel, you know, QQ. We have um Ryan Sterling, we have topic from Marvali.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, and and Chef, and Chef Cunningham.
SPEAKER_04:Chef Navali, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, so definitely I like to make up Marvel, of course. It's definitely not, you know, the uptown area, but we produce good people, and we always try to promote the good things because oftentimes the negative is out there, so let's highlight some of the good. Yeah, so that's basically what happened to me. And then um, so after leaving iSchool, so before I leave iSchool, I started um to help my aunt, you know, in the kitchen cooking. She's a professional chef and also baker, not traditionally trained. Yeah, and then she saw that, you know, I have a knock for the whole culinary industry, and then she introduced me to the food network. Oh. I used to watch Anjali every Saturday morning to watch Sanjay Lee in her kitchen baking up. So, you know, Saturday was always baking with Sanjay Lee, and then in the afternoon I watched Brearfoot Contests and all of these people. So I realized cooking was just more than just being in the kitchen or what we think it is. You can actually care in this industry. And during high school, I was pretty good throughout. My grades fell a little in the you know, the ninth grade, you know, me get bad and start for like young and company and crew. And then I decided, like, no, this is not me. And I stepped things up, changed seven in the tenth grade, and then in 11th grade now, I got top performer in food and nutrition. After ceremony, then at graduation, I also got top performer again. So I realized I really love this thing, I'm really good at it. It's calling me, and I decided that I'm gonna sign up for the Runway Heart Hotel and Training Institute. Because while I was, you know, watching show like creative cooking, I would always see chefs on it. And then you do see, you know, that sometimes Runaway Heart Hotel. So I was truly inspired to go to Runaway Heart Hotel because I want to be like those chefs, and pretty much that's what I did. I applied you're like, we're not gonna get in. Of course, I did. After leaving i school, I leave with like you know seven, six subjects. So I work at Kingston Bookshop for a few months, went to Rune Bay Heart Hotel, then I started working in the hotel industry, and then the rest of the history, you know, that's just my journey. Yeah. Back to Kingston again, working as headship at age 21. And you know, that's how I got my little rise in the culinary world. Like entertainment report, you know, the observer, Gleaner. And then I made a name for myself then at the age of 21.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah. So um, for for our listeners who are not uh familiar with Jamaican media, so entertainment report is one of those popular entertainment shows that's shown um on Friday nights, I believe, at um in Jamaica, one of the television stations that highlight people in the entertainment.
SPEAKER_00:Like e-mails, like e-news, yeah.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, yeah, like an e-mail. And then the Jamaica Observer and Gina are the top, um, but not necessarily the top of the two more prominent newspapers on the island. So last year we cake our foundation established like an annual award for excellence at the Heart NTA in Winway Day. So we have a little bit of a lag name there. But tell me a little bit about how important of a role did that institution play in your culinary journey? What did it do for you?
SPEAKER_00:That's a great question. You know, I love um Art Trust so much, and I just I never you know like dreamt of going to like university. My ambition that might go to go to Heart because I'm very I'm a practical person and I know what it entails. And but I was going to iSchool, I went up there for a day of a tour, which we did, and I went up there and saw it, and I know exactly that's where I want to go. While I can be in RuneBee Heart, it's institutional that makes you like well-rounded. So we did like French, German, voice and speech, environment and tourism while we're doing everything. So it's not just it. Then we have to do math, English, so you leave well-rounded and ready for the industry. So for me, once you say that you're from Rooney B Heart Hotel, then you're definitely getting a job.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:It's so funny where I was doing a practical one time at Jamaica Pegasus, and I walked in the kitchen, and the guy was like, You're from Rooney B Heart Hotel. I said, How did you know that? He said, The way oh you attire yourself. You're a starf your taste, your jacket is clean, it's ironed. Because those are some soft skills that the institution also instills in us. Retro knife and fork, all of those stuff. Because most of the students they are from like, you know, the country, the rural park, you know, there's a certain background. So they also give you that so you can go and face the world and you can fit in anywhere you go. And that's what I got from Ron W Heart. I'm not just one of the heart, I think R trust itself.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:But we got Ron W Heart, you know.
SPEAKER_05:Of course. You know, like you feel like um, so that institution in itself prepared you for the wider world or to be working in in these luxury resorts which you have in the in these kitchens. Talk to me a little bit more about how do you manage in these high pressured environments of working in luxury kitchens. So luxury resorts speak to people of luxe and wealth and that kind of stuff. To me, when you know, when I think of that, tell me how how much pressure and how you handle that.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, um, it's a lot of pressure. So when I leave um Eden is Rune Bay Hart, I started working at Edenism Hotel, which at the time was swinging, it was running, very busy. Um, you know, top guests coming there, and it changes super fun. I've also had the opportunity with level two working at several hotels along the North Coast, like Bahia, Sansusi, Breeze, there's all of those hotels I've worked as well. Um, it's eye pressured. I've also worked in different departments. So I've worked in the range, on the range. I've worked in Japanese, I've worked in Italian, I've worked in soup and sauce, I've also worked in um pastry as well. So, what happened for me? I was well-rounded and I try to always be a sponge and learn as much as possible. And I now know that this is an eye-pressured um environment where it's gotta be on time, gotta taste good, gotta be ready. And so for me, it's all about the mindset and knowing what your job really entails.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:But it's no surprise for me.
SPEAKER_05:Okay, good. So if you're always ready. So therefore, when the time came for you to migrate, then I'm assuming that you are ready for that now. Because I told my listeners that you're now a Jamaican Canadian.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:Tell me what were some of the challenges though and surprises that you experienced, you know, when you moved to Canada as uh as a chef.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, so um, I came to Canada in 2013, December. I came here like just being random, like because after leaving the hotel industry, working at cafe in mantra, um, I was 23 at the time, and um I worked at different places, couldn't find myself. I didn't feel like I belong. I'm not you know feeling fulfilled. I just you know randomly applied, got a job here in Canada, and I came. I didn't know where I was going, what I was gonna do, but I was a stress in the process. And yeah, I was a stress in the process, and I came even on Friday. I think I was traveling on Friday, I missed my flight. I don't know if it was nerves or what. I came the Monday, stayed in Toronto, then I went all the way to Thomson, Manitoba, which most people nearing Toronto or Canada don't even know where's Thompson. Yeah, that's how far I went, and it was like one of the coldest winter in like 50 years, record breaking. Um, yeah. And for me, I'm a I'm a very adventurous person. Yeah, a warrior. I am brave. I am so for me, I came with a with an open mind. Yes, so nothing catch me by surprise. Like the cold, I know it's not like it's cold. So I bundled up, I came from Jamaica with some what do you call long johns and boots? Jamaica has some nice winter clothes. It's funny, but it's true. Winter boots and stuff out there, and stay prepared. And for me, I think that's what kept me also going through my career and journey. I'm always be prepared and like Sherylero said it best. If you stay ready, you don't need to get ready.
SPEAKER_05:Exactly.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I'm always ready. Whatever the challenge is, and I don't really see things as challenge, I see things as just an hurdle which we can always jump over.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_05:You know, like hearing your your your migration story to Canada, it reminds me of my like when I moved to the US, I moved with like$900, no place to live, no school fee, but I am gone. Like bye-bye. I am gone.
SPEAKER_00:It's time. That was the right time. That was the right time.
SPEAKER_05:Of course, of course, and I was I was moving like unstoppable. That's me. I'm definitely not gonna be stopped. So kudos to you for taking that risk yourself, you know?
SPEAKER_00:That's the best date. That's the best decision to date I've you know I've taken on myself.
SPEAKER_05:Of course, you've achieved so much since you've left home. Talk to us about cuisine by Noel. When did you launch all of that? And what's the philosophy behind you?
SPEAKER_00:So cuisine by Noel started actually in 2013. So while I was working at Cafe in Mantra in Jamaica, where I got my brain closed down, and I was wondering what am I gonna do now? So I was there brainstorming one night. I want to create my catering business. So I was thinking of the name and this, and no name could come up, and I'm like, you know, I'm gonna go cuisine by Noel. And I gave my style, my way, my interpretation. Cuisine by Noel. My cuisine. So and then I started slowly building the brand. And I was started doing a few catering in Jamaica, and then I migrated in December.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And I put it on the back burner a bit. So, and what I did while I was working, so when I came here to Canada, I was working a fast food restaurant called Chicken Chef. And but it's so funny, you know. We've got about the place a little. When I got the job offer to Canada, they told me it's a fast food. So I'm like, fast food? I'm leaving my edge check job. Go working on fast food, like then I think about it like fast food in Jamaica versus fast food in Canada. Different currency, different experience. Why not? You know what I'm saying? We gotta put pride aside and ego and all these stuff because that can hold us back. And I came, I put Christine by no one on the back burner. But what I was doing while I was working, I was slowly building my brand, working on my website, working on my logo, because just like Martin Luther, I have a dream. Yeah, yeah, and I was working on my brand at the same time while working and using my 9 to 5 to start slowly, if you will, my um entrepreneurship journey, which I'm plan, you know, to be on in the future, which is like now. And that's why I keep on slowly working, and I work as an edge chef up there in Thomson, Manitoba until I moved to Winnipeg and I went and did um hotel and restaurant management um with Puma. And then I started now because I had more time now while going to college. I was in Catering and private events on the weekend.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, yeah, so I noticed Chef Noel, like you do both sweet and savory. Yeah, talk to me a little bit more about your baking journey. I'm in the kitchen, but I'm more on the sweet end of like you're the sweet girl.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, okay.
SPEAKER_05:Tell me about your sweet journey.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. So you see, um, life has a way of always coming back some way to you, and I'm sure you can testify to it. I'm positive you can testify to this. That sometimes we start doing some stuff not realizing what we're doing until it might come back. So when I started in my kitchen, right, I used to enjoy baking. So I used to do cake mix and go to the mall, and I used to buy the fun fetty cake mix, the yellow one, the white one, bake it. Then I used to, you know, do my stuff. The Jamaican rum cake is actually one of my favorite cakes to bake. And there's a lady in my community called Miss Opie. Every Christmas, she's like, No, they're not baking. I'm like, no, I don't have no money, I don't have any ingredients. She said, Come and she would take me to her house and give me flour, give me this, give me fruits that she had soap, and I would go home and I would bake. Then when I was doing my training on the weekend now, I used to sell rock bun. We like, you know, even with the old people in the community, most of them die from diabetes, not because of me, but I used to sell a rock bun and they would support because you know a young guy trying, they want encourage. And while I was going on to be hard, I told myself that I want to become a pastry chef because everyone is so scared of pastry. Everyone wants to bake because you know, in cooking, we can always fix things. Something is burnt, we can say it's black and summer. Something is salty, we can say salt it's odd. If something, there's no mistake on that range. But in baking, it's not salt. And if something crumbs like crumbs, crumbs or something. So when I got my first hedonism, I wanted to be in pastry, but it was no space. So I was thrown on the range. But when I would always go in the pastry room and I have time and I would look and I would, you know, ask questions and observe. Then I just always on the range, became ed chef, no time for pastry. But I would still make my little rum cake, stuff like that. In the before the pandemic, I'm like, you know, I want to get back into pastry. I think I want to get back into pastry a little. And I was thinking as a chef, every chef should have at least some basic desserts that they can do. So when I moved to Toronto in 2019, I was doing freelance work. And every time I go somewhere to work, they would show me in the pastry shop. It so happened that they put me at this establishment. The pastry chef went on vacation. Who was in charge? No, the pastry chef left. Who was in charge now needs to go on vacation? I was shown to lead the pastry department, and that's where my love came back. Pandemic hit, I was home and I started working on some recipe: red velvet cake, vanilla, and chocolate. Someone said, No, what can you bake me a cake for um somebody's birthday and whatever? I did it and I posted and saw I didn't even have utensils, I didn't have no piping bag, no nothing, no spatula, no nothing. And I just did a cake, bake it. I used a bag and made the piping thing around it, and you know, for the red velvet crumbs and stuff. Someone else ordered a next cake, someone else ordered a next cake, I started buying tools and spatula buying comb. And I just started just learning on the journey as journey goes by until I got a warning for bacon, this, and start doing cakes, the cake of Miss Lou, cake of Jamaica 60. Been selling. I even some months I make more money off cakes than food.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00:And you know, the always instead of surprising us, you know. So yeah, yeah, yeah. And sometimes I just try to go with the flow of life. I'm not trying to be all at myself, and what for you will always be for you, as always as well, you know.
SPEAKER_05:Absolutely. I love that. Like, what's for you will always be for you. And you know, as you as you started talking about that full circle moment in terms of like who you wanted to be as you started school, and you wanted to be in cakes, and you had this love for cake. For me, cake is everything. Um, yeah, cake is life, cake is my therapy, and I wanted to know from you like, what do you think of you know, the kitchen itself as an outlet and its therapeutic value?
SPEAKER_00:Kitchen itself, uh, it allows us to be very creative. We tap into that creativeness, we it allows us to be free. That particular heart, right? Where there's not much rules really, away from you know some cultural stuff or culinary boundaries. We we sometimes create ourselves, but it allows us to be free, it allows us to express ourselves and expressing ourselves, free us, which is now a therapy for us. We get to because it's freedom of expression. Yeah. It's so funny because when it was 2023, the Jamaica Gleena did an article on me, um, chef finding sweet something, and they did an article. I didn't realize what cake was doing for me during the pandemic. Yeah, I never because in the moment you're just baking and doing this, even some restaurants were ordering like cakes for me, and I was doing cake, I was so busy. I was and I didn't realize that it was actually what kept me sane, that's what kept me going because everything shut down. Yes, and cake now I'm thinking of ideas because I don't know if you which you I'm sure you realize in the pandemic, cake was trending. Yes, I was baking, there were new styles coming out, new sprinkles, new discs, new colouring. Cake was so cake's trying to become an old different ball game. And going, and even now it's just like I see myself one of a bakery now. Yeah, yeah, calm speech, relaxing, it can be free. Sometimes I have no idea what I'm gonna do. Then the audience also sees the growth. You're like, Noel, I love this cake. Noel, I see the growth, not in a disrespectful way. Then some persons are amazed that you're a chef. How can you be able to bake and decorate? Yeah, and then some people can bake but they can't decorate, some people can decorate but they can't bake, and I'm able to be able to cook, bake, and decorate.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, man, you you you're skilled, you're well-rounded because me, I can only cook for my family. I'm not I'm definitely not the savory kind of when it comes to eat. And then I do agree that during the pandemic, it was it was good, it was busy, but it was it was fun. That year, yeah. I'm gonna say, you know, that year was a good year. You you were definitely locked inside. So I know that this industry is crazy in terms of how it keeps you busy and the burnout rate, turnover rate. Yeah, talking about what you do to prioritize your self-care. And I'm asking this because I have a lot of young bakers who are listeners to the podcast. So talk to us about a little bit about your wellness, you know, mental wellness in this um demanding space of yours and how you prioritize your own self-oh, that's a great, great, great, great question.
SPEAKER_00:Because um, for us, it's all we have to prioritize self first. Because if we're not good, if we're not okay, we can't produce and we cannot be productive. And in 2021, so before the pandemic, I wanted to, I was searching for a space where I can do catering and private events. And a spot came up, and during the pandemic, of course, there's no catering. So I was doing like online stuff, Uber Eats, DoorDash Skip. I started doing this catering thing called Hunger Ub. I was doing this thing called Zip Lunch, I was baking cakes, I was working with Jamaica Touristwood, I was working in Appleton, I was going because I was trying to try and catch every dollar, try and catch everything, trying to trying to try into trying to media reach out. I'm doing so many pods. I got tired of Zoom. So we were all zoomed out, and I've been juggling. So sometime before I even opened the store, I'm upstairs talking to a school, maybe, like talking, you know, and zooming, I'm running back down. And then in 2022, I started to slow down stuff. I stopped writing for the Toronto Cabin newspaper. I started to drop stuff. And in 2023 was when I really stepped back from a whole lot of stuff because I realized where it was going. Some people also believe that, oh, you're young, you must hurt no because you're young and actually. But what's gonna happen is that you're gonna burn down yourself, you're gonna lose that juice, that drive to be negative. Then here comes all these mental situations start to happen to you now, and then you fall off the radar. You're not posting no more on your social media, you just want to stay in bed, and you're not realizing because you're so burnt out. And for me, I've learned to say no. Yeah, right now, hey Noel, I'm starting to call in on a cake for Friday. Can you? And I'm like, sure. I'll run to the store now, get what I need, I'll come back and be. So I learned to set boundaries.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, boundaries.
SPEAKER_00:Three days' notice, this, that, that, create your rules, and then people abide by it and remember self first. So in 2023, I to slow down, take a deep breath, and I have to pick and choose also the jobs that I also want to do as well. So learn the power of know, create boundaries, and remember you're always first.
SPEAKER_05:You are always first. I recognize also that um Chef Noel is always first too, because one, he's well rounded, but he's not a one-trick pony. So we're gonna talk about the podcast.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah, oh yeah.
SPEAKER_05:What's cool with Chef Noel? Yeah, what made you start that?
SPEAKER_00:So I'm a chatterbox first. Let me say that. So in primary school, my teacher, I would say, boy, this guy should do comedy, this guy should do this or a career in media.
SPEAKER_04:So I'm in primary school, you're Marvel Primary.
SPEAKER_00:Then um, you know, I was always a part of drama class, this. Then I was in 2020, in 2016, I was actually doing a radio show, this online radio call, um, live with Noel. I did it for five years, but then as my brand started to grow, I wanted I wanted to do a podcast. I was like, I want to do a podcast, but I didn't want to do something outside of cooking. And I wanted to tie in with my brand.
SPEAKER_03:Yes.
SPEAKER_00:I wanted to really create a space that chefs can have a voice, industry can have a voice, entrepreneur can have a voice. And as you know, there are lots of podcasts out there. So why, why there are some of the podcasts out there? Why? But there's not many podcasts for people like you and I.
SPEAKER_04:Yes.
SPEAKER_00:These people don't know us, they don't reach us, we're not in their league, we're not joining their crowd, which they think. So we have to create our own table.
SPEAKER_05:Yes.
SPEAKER_00:And I decided I'm gonna start it, I'm gonna create my footprint on the internet where I have 10 listeners, five listeners, so much, because it's already on the internet. People will find it in the next 10, 20 years to come. Yeah, and I wanted to also inspire people as well through food. So I said, I'm gonna check now, come and find out what's cooking, what's happening. And in the pandemic, I was able to have a conversation about food to help you sleep. Because they were a person who couldn't sleep during the pandemic, food um for you know, diet, this, that, how to lose, you know. So, and I enjoy doing it. I also learned from the people who are on the podcast. I'm able to share with a global audience as well, and it gives us a voice and it gives us a platform, and I enjoy doing it.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, let me let me sound like Oprah. You know, you just gave me an uh-huh um just now. I've been listening, I've excelled at a lot of things. Yeah, and my podcast platform is like really yeah, right. I have like maybe like 200 average listeners every time.
SPEAKER_04:Oh, yeah.
SPEAKER_05:So, you know, you gave me that just now. You just said, you know, it's there, it's gonna always be there. Ten or as many listeners. So, and and you know, I I'm I'm too grateful because yeah, there is a recent drop that has like over a thousand listeners now. So I'm like, oh, you know what? I'm being grateful for the small, small moments and the growth that's taking place. So you just gave me a uh huh. Thank you.
SPEAKER_00:When I so when I used to do when I recorded, so when I started recording my podcasts, it would come out on a Sunday. So when I used to do my walk in in the pandemic, I would listen to the podcast before it's out. Like I'm the one who recorded it. And sometimes it's so funny, it's nice, I'm learning, like I didn't um do it. There was um then I changed a day when I put it on. I used to do it every Sunday evening. So this girl called me, like, send me a message, Noel. I'm running this morning and there's no podcast. And I'm like, really? So you don't know who is listening, who is depending on. So for me, I realized okay, now you gotta be consistent with it. Yeah, consistent. Also beach listen podcast. So I also see the numbers from the top, it's growing because people are listening. So I don't care about the 10,000 and the 20,000. It's the footprint is there, who wanna listen, listen, the information is there, people. People find it. I see some article posted I was among top 50 food podcasts on the internet. Then I saw like a few weeks ago, it was like number three or something in Nigeria.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Food category.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Come on. One person is listening.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, exactly. It's dope. It's dope. Really. And it's it's amazing when people who you don't think listening actually listening. Because I I found out a couple months ago that we were part of the University of Technology Curriculum. So they're their students, yeah. They use the podcast as a resource. And I'm like, okay, that's very important.
SPEAKER_00:You never know where you know the lines are going on. You know, for me, I wanted to do it for a long time, right? And I was on a different podcast, and I was telling him, hey, you know, because he's a very tech savvy guy. I'm not really that tech tech tech in the whole podcast world. And he said, Noel, because part of me is a little perfectionist, not really, but I want whatever I'm doing to be done at its best.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:That can also be good, that can also be bad. Because it delay you. And he said to me, Noel, don't wait for perfection, just start. And trust me, I did exactly that. I got my mic, I got my headphone, I do all the research, I got my software, I get my people on Zoom, I do this. Some audio could have been better, some whatever. But guess what? For me, it shows me the beauty in my journey, it shows me the growth when I look back. So all I'm saying is I'm waiting for perfection and just start. Do it.
SPEAKER_05:Exactly. Exactly. You hear what the chef said? He said um to just do it. And for me, I'm all I'm you know what I see so much. Like I'm here and I'm like, this is like the male version of me. Yeah. Like anything I think I just do. You know, I'm just doing it because there's no limit, man. No, absolutely no limit. The only limit is what you find yourself.
SPEAKER_00:Within yourself, yeah. So I'm saying I think the cleaner did a write-up on it. This is a write-up on the podcast. And you know, I'm very proud of my journey, whether it be case, whether it be podcasts. And for me, I want people to really are students. I mean, big out to my UTEX students, they're always talking about Chef Noel, and you know, even Chef goes, um, goes up there and they're like, Oh, Chef Noel, Chef Noel. And I want them to see that you can be anything you want to be. And even if you choose to go in the kitchen or you want to choose baking, you can still have a podcast, you can still have a book, you can still write articles. There's so many endless possibilities. That's what I want to show them. Yeah, there's no limit.
SPEAKER_05:Imagine a book because I also know that you wrote a book.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, cuisine by Noel. It's called Cuisine by Noel, the title, yeah.
SPEAKER_05:Yes, cuisine by no um Noel. What do you hope the readers learn about you and your cooking album?
SPEAKER_00:So the cook, so the book has 100 recipes, um, it's layered with stories. And what I did with the book was it's uh it's kind of a mini autobiography as well, throughout the book that shared my journey from when I was inspired by my mom and aunt in the kitchen and blah blah. And it goes right back, and when I was a baby, yeah. So throughout the book, now it takes you from being inspired, going to Runubi Art Hotel, this, that, being at Mantra, my jobs, being on television, all of this stuff. So I want to show people um, the readers, the journey. And when you open a book, the first thing said, I can make it, you can make it too.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And that is a play on the stories as well as the recipes. Recipes are pretty simple, they're easy, and they're straightforward. And if I can make it, you can make it. Because I'm a stress. And then for the stories, my aim was for the high school students, the college students, anyone who aspired to easy and just be a chef. I want that book to really um inspire somebody, you know, a young guy from Marvell who didn't go to traditional ice school, who went through all this, you know, leave Jamaica, came to Canada with no family, no friend, no nothing, and you know, just follow my heartbeat. Yeah.
SPEAKER_05:Of course, have to. And it's you know, we we we recently launched an app, the cake therapy app, with like a similar uh modus app and I think with um just recipes in the palm of your hand, you know, and I love that catchphrase of yours. Like, if you if I can make it, then you can make it too. Yeah, yeah. So the palm of the hand, right?
SPEAKER_00:People see the finished product of your cake, they see the finished product of us. You know, you have a podcast, you have this, you have an award that you win, and all these stuff, and they want to be like you. Oh, I want to be like you, but you can't just get there, it's a journey. And other people don't show the journey, they think, oh, this is it. Then people get stressed, they get angry because you're not being that, but it's a journey, and everything is a process and it takes time.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, yeah. In in in our research, we found out that you actually do have a second couple coming, yes, and I do a serious, right? So you think we're open air business.
SPEAKER_00:I know, right? I love a good researcher. I love a good researcher, yeah.
SPEAKER_05:So tell me a little bit more about what to expect from these two projects that you have come.
SPEAKER_00:So my second book is actually like delayed, but I want to say delayed because I'm also a little crazy. I'm an energy person. I don't just do stuff because I want to have a second book or I want to have this, I want to have that. I must be, whatever I'm doing, I must be feeling it.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:And I don't want to put out a book just because I want to do a second book. So I'm actually taking my time with it. And I also think one of my problem is I'm enjoying this book too much. So the book only has 30 recipes. 30 recipes, and the idea came to me from I think like 2019. It's so I was gonna turn 30 in 2020. So I was thinking about something called Dirty 30, I'm talking about 30 and whatever. And my I'm gonna say, you know, that can be the next name for my book. And then when the pandemic happened, now I saw persons who are cooking a lot at home and stuff like that. And I thought to myself, I'm gonna do my book Dirty 30, where we bring back love in the kitchen. So instead of date night where we're going out or taking somebody to a fancy restaurant, let's cook at home. So this book is gonna have I think it's five chapters, each chapter has six recipes, starting with breakfast in bed to dessert. So people aren't doing breakfast in bed no more. Unless you're at the hospital, unless you're at the hospital.
SPEAKER_05:People do breakfast in bed.
SPEAKER_00:Thanks for the info. So I'm like, well, well, maybe I'm talking about me then. I'm talking about me.
SPEAKER_04:Speak yourself, yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Speak yourself. All right. So we need breakfast in bed again. So I put some tips in terms of what do you do before you to think about breakfast in bed tomorrow. So today you'll be changing the sheets, put on your best, um, you know, duvet or blanket, and you want to also do items that are not uh, you know, crumbly and stuff like that, and it's quick. You're not waking up in the morning to make any noise. You also want to surprise the person as well. You want to also make sure the person's day is clear because you don't want to walk in a room with breakfast in bed, and the person has to go. That's not true. So I'm doing some tips and then I'm doing some recipes that would fit that, and then there's some plain words, you know, like 50 shades of gray kind of vibe, yeah, for adults, and then um, yeah, but I want to and then for this book, I also want to encourage the males as well to really cook. So if you have so it's your birthday, and instead of your husband taking you out for this, he can surprise you with your say walk in, you're a scandal light, it's a quick cocktail that he can make, and you're so blown away, you're so impressed, like yeah, so that's what I want to bring out in this book.
SPEAKER_04:Okay, okay, okay, I do.
SPEAKER_05:I do, I get I get the story that you're trying to create. So, yeah, take your time. I have a second book coming out.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm enjoying the book as well. I'm enjoying the book myself.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, absolutely. And you have to enjoy it, you really have to enjoy it. So, my my my quick story, I do have a second book coming out as well. Yeah, we know, and it I think it it came about. I was writing a story about grief because my mom's going through dementia, and I was like, grief and loss, yeah, and the power of forgiveness. So I'm writing that book, yeah. But then I haven't forgiven, but yet I'm and and I'm also writing a story that hasn't really ended because my mom's still alive. Yeah, so I was like, no, let me do this in phases. So I just wrote a book called Lessons I Never Learned from My Father, as I'm trying to pass.
SPEAKER_00:There's lots of emotions also attached to that, so you have to take your time with it as well, which people don't understand. Even when you're writing a book, there's a lot of emotions that goes um goes through and you have to process things. So it's not just putting because what's happening to you now, you're actually putting yourself out there, you're being vulnerable. So you have to also soak it up first to give it you are already at a comfortable place um with it as well. So you're giving it to yourself.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. So I'm excited. I want you to hurry up and get to the place.
SPEAKER_00:My dad had um a dementia for a year, he made it an accident in 2020. One year later he got sick, and then he started, you know, mixing up stuff. This that luckily for me, when I came to Canada in 2013, I had basically like forgiven my dad because that was part of my thing, was like, um, in my head, I was like, oh, what I wouldn't want anything to happen to him, and I would and I need to forgive him. And I'm happy that I did that. So when I started going back to Jamaica, we could hang out, we could drink, we could this, and we could, you know, we could um be friends. I'm grateful. So when he died, there was no um grief like all of our regrets. Yeah, there was no regret, which I'm happy for. So and grief is a process, and sometimes it's even worse when you gotta like live with it.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.
SPEAKER_00:You know, it's yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_05:Kudos to you because my father died and I did not forgive him at all.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah, yeah. But I don't live with any regret, and it's poor influences, man, and it's always not for the person, but it's for you. So I believe in um forgiving and freeing yourself, and that's therapy.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, exactly. And this is exactly what my new book is doing, it's letting it all go.
SPEAKER_00:I like that. I love that.
SPEAKER_05:I love that we learned anyway.
SPEAKER_00:So, you know, yeah, yeah, like 50 books. Yeah, I have so many books I'm I'm working on, to be honest. I'm sure you can attest to this, wherein once you start to write, your brain just opens up and you just write, even in your sleep, you know. Because I'll be honest, I have so many books that I have lined up. That's the reason why my book now, Dirty 30 is taking its time, because I have to be careful. I don't want to repeat recipes that are in the first one, in the second one, then my third book, um, it's gonna be named off my podcast and also off my YouTube cooking show that I used to have, What's Cooking with Chef Noel? So what's cooking with Chef Noel will be like a follow-up of cooking by Noel, like where am I now? What's the answer to that? 70 recipes. I already started writing that as well. My I have so many other books like coming up. So I'm just working on that, and those are my goals and my dream, you know.
SPEAKER_05:So yeah, yeah, yeah. What's your legacy? What do you want it to look like? What's that? You want your legacy? Yeah, what's your legacy?
SPEAKER_00:Oh wow, it's so funny. We haven't actually seen my legacy already. Like yesterday, they um this teacher posted on Facebook, she gave an assignment for them to come up and do research on Jamaicans, and they come up with Miss Lou, Oliver Summer, this like that, and then Here Comes Chef Noel. The school in Atlanta was doing the same thing. Here comes Chef Noel. I see him doing all these posters with um Miss Lou and all you say in bolt, Here Comes Chef Noel on it. I'm not even living in Jamaica, and these schools are celebrating um Chef Noel. So now I realize that my legacy is will be my body of work. Continue representing Jamaica to the highest, continue to inspire, continue to motivate. And sometimes you're inspiring and motivating, not like you plan it.
SPEAKER_04:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:You have to live your life in a way. As I said earlier, you don't know who is watching. And I know part of me is a rebel and you know, means an atted, but I also want them to know say, look, you have to defend yourself, you have to stand up for yourself, believe in yourself, and protect yourself. So not because you have a brand, not because you have a business, you're gonna allow people to walk over you. And rebel still put on history, you know. We have Martin Luther came with all these greats, we have all these national heroes. They all fought for the country, they've, you know, them bust guns, them little young people. So, hey, so my leg, I want my legacy to be wherein people are able to see that this young chef run with Jamaican because he he changes a game, he he um goes into room where we never thought possible. Because we're all doing that, you know, we're all we're all game changers out here, we're all doing that, and I want to be one of them. So that's and then to be someone from Marvel, you know, doing that as a young, yeah, that's that's what my legacy should be. Then my books, of course, will um back up all of that. I saw a calling last night on this show, and they said, But you're so young and you have an autobiography. He said, But if you don't write your story, someone else will. Uh, don't limit yourself with age um as well. I never I've never done that. So think I'm like, you're just 30 something, and it seems like you're 40 something, and you have all these awards, your book, your days, television. Like, I never put limit on myself. I've been doing this when I'm 18 years old, you know. So the sky's just a limit, man.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, the sky is the limit. And don't put limits on yourself. Yeah. Tell our listeners before we wrap up where they can find your book, where they can find your podcast. Yes.
SPEAKER_04:And yeah.
SPEAKER_00:All right. So my book is on Amazon, Amazon.com, Amazon CA. Um, if you're in Jamaica, it's at Fantana Pharmacy. It's also at the airport, books on CD. Um, it's on my website, I am chef Noel. My brand new website, I'm gonna say I am chefnoel.com. And you can also find me on Instagram and Facebook and Twitter, I am chef Noel. And what's next? There's always something next, and there's always some surprises, some things I don't even plan. But I know for 2025, my book 3030, and that's my you know, and then I want to do my dinner series as well.
SPEAKER_02:Right.
SPEAKER_00:I started with a brunch this year, and I've been doing more traveling and work. So pretty much that's it, and just you know, keep in tune, you know, follow the culinary journey and see what's up. I'm always up to something. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_05:He's right though, he's always up to something, and I'm I'm honored that you said yes, come and chat it up with me a little bit.
SPEAKER_00:I'm honored by you too, because I came across you. Um, I think it was when um I think it did something in Jamaica on TVJ, Smile Jamaica. Yes, yes, and I saw where you got an award from Jamaica Observer, and I think I and I follow you on I think Instagram, and then you know, I love your branding, I love the way all you go about your stuff. And then when I saw podcast and the name of it, um the word turpy and bacon, I'm like, okay, somebody understands what cake really does, and you know, I just love what you're doing. Um, you know, dig deep into your journey. I have such, but I just love whatever you're doing out here. Keep going and keep pushing, keep being vulnerable, keep inspiring, and I'm honored as well to be sitting in your presence, you know, as well. Virtual.
SPEAKER_05:Yeah, the feeling is mutual. I hope that you guys listen to this young man because he's still very young. His entrepreneurial journey and how he inspires himself to be great, not just good, just to be great. I I want to thank Chef Noel for joining us, and I want to thank you guys for listening. Chef Noel is on Instagram, he's he has a podcast. What's cooking with Chef Noel? It's wherever you get your podcast. And I hope that you've received a slice of joy and healing from the Cake Therapy podcast. Thank you guys for listening. Thank you for coming, Chef.
SPEAKER_00:Thanks so much for having me.
SPEAKER_05:Today's mindful moment is that baking reminds us that even the simplest ingredients, when combined, create something extraordinary.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you for tuning in to the Cake Therapy Podcast. Your support means the world to us. Let us know what you thought about today's episode in the comment section. Remember to subscribe wherever you get your podcast. And if you found the conversation helpful, please share it with a friend. Also follow Sugarspoon Desserts on all social media platforms. We invite you to support Cake Therapy and the work we do with our foundation by clicking on the Buy Me a Coffee link in the description, or by visiting the Cake Therapy website and making a donation. All your support will go towards the Cake Therapy Foundation and the work we are doing to help women and girls. Thanks again for tuning in, and we'll catch you on the next episode.