Yvette began working for FHM when the guesthouse first opened in the fall of 2012. She was the assistant to the head cook, Losina. When Losina moved to the States, Yvette took over as the head cook. When we have big groups, she often brings along her sister Myrlande to help out.
In 2006, Yvette decided to attend a cooking school in Port au Prince. She always loved to cook and wanted to improve her skills. The program lasted one year and while there she also took cosmetology classes to learn how to do manicures, pedicures, and hair styling. After finishing in 2007, it wasn’t until 2010 that she found a decent job at a salon in Delmas. She worked there for about a year and was also employed as a domestic worker for some of her friends from time to time. In 2011 she started working in Leogane as a cook for St. Croix Hospital. Our guesthouse manager at the time, Missy, was looking for good workers to help give our guests a full and excellent experience and hired Yvette to join our team.
Yvette’s meals never disappoint, and her beautiful smile and positive attitude give a warm welcome to all our guests! She loves her job and you can tell she puts that love and energy into everything she does. Her job is one of her main priorities, and doing it well is important to her. She lives in Port au Prince and travels to Leogane whenever we have guests. From her house she’ll take a taxi to the bus station, then squeeze onto a bus to Leogane, followed by a motorcycle taxi ride to arrive at the guesthouse. She has a 14 year old son named Ralph and enjoys spending time with him and encouraging him in his schooling on her days off. When she’s working away in the kitchen, you’ll often find her listening to English lessons or singing along to some gospel tunes. She’s also working on putting together a small cookbook of her recipes to sell to any interested guests. We’ve already had many requests! 🙂
As I said, we are blessed to have Yvette on our team! She is the fourth cook I’ve had since living in Haiti and while I love them all, Yvette’s versatility wins the prize for best cook in my book! Her lasagna is outstanding, the meat she prepares is so tender, and she even makes an incredible made-from-scratch pizza! (Not to mention the fresh corossol juice she makes for me to enjoy!) And most importantly, she brings us all together at the table in the midst of our busy and exciting adventures here in Haiti!
