Passion and patience are the two key ingredients that professional chef Alex Hill recommends for the recipe’s success for chefs nationwide. The Brooklyn native channels her Puerto Rican roots on both sides of the camera by curating distinct receipts that echo the elements of cultural favorites. “My mom and dad are both from Brooklyn, New York. There’s already a strong Caribbean culture there, so I always grew up around it,” Hill tells GU.
From an early age, Hill was influenced by her parents (especially her mother), the acknowledgment of the cultures she’s a part of, and the special attributes they both bring. “My mom is the best cook, and she let me run wild in the kitchen when I was 11 or 12,” she says. Hill, among many others who descend from the Caribbean, is strong on their family values and amplifying community among those they love. This reason, along with how her parents poured into her at an early age, is why Hill feels so passionate about providing recipes to her audience inspired by her parents. “My whole cooking career is a love letter to my parents,” she says.
These humble beginnings took her to the moment of truth that helped her decide on her career path of cooking full-time. Dishes such as Picadillo and arroz con pollo are what Hill reflects back on throughout her childhood experience as staples in her household. Her commitment began after taking a European cooking class for a classmate’s wedding, which ultimately sparked her decision.
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It started with her first step of saving money to support her dream and eventually quitting her job. Though there is an emphasis on education in both Caribbean and African American cultures, Hill still believed, even at an early age, that having a career as a chef was her eventual goal. To satisfy her parents’ nudges, she pursued a collegiate career at Hampton University, which laid the foundation of community and a sense of pride in being a woman of color. Despite pursuing a degree, this still wouldn’t stop Hill’s burning idea.
She started with a food blog 2017 titled “Just Add Hot Sauce,” which later led her to start a YouTube channel called “Hot Sauce at Home” in 2022. Before long, the platforms have evolved to what we see today, which houses all her recipe content. “When it comes to cooking, I have so much patience,” she tells GU.
Hill joins the company of fellow professional chefs Carla Hall and Lena Richard, who were noted as the first African American chefs to be broadcasted on television, according to Better Homes & Gardens. These women, among many others, have helped to provide representation for people of color in the mainstream cooking space. “I do feel like you have a natural ability to cook. The way you ease and flow through a kitchen is a God-given gift,” Hill says.
Though people of color have historically been impactful in recipe building and unique dishes, we have yet to see more of them represented on our screens. The background has been the traditional placement, alongside a counterpart of the White race, or even no recognition, with recipes being utilized without attribution of their original creator. Caribbean dishes, in particular, have had a negative history regarding this use case and have experienced what’s known as “food gentrification.”
Hill’s efforts to maintain her culture’s amplification on her platform help de-stigmatize recipes that are ingrained in Caribbean culture and that other racial groups have tried to replicate or rework for their own purposes. In some cases, credit will be given to a specific ethnic group for how they originated something, but this is not mentioned in many cases.
This can cause a recipe to come out differently than intended or incomplete from some perspectives. “The dish and your palette will tell you if something is done,” Hill says when speaking about her creative process in the kitchen. While some may follow a recipe book line by line, others will freestyle their own ingredients and steps to make the dish come to life.
Today, Hill can be found across her social media channels whipping up recipes for Caribbean favorites that fans are eager to try. “My overall mission with food is to encourage you to get in the kitchen and cook and build a community around food,” she says.
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About the Author: Sherdell Baker is a lifestyle and culture journalist who prides herself on diverse storytelling and shedding light on topics within the beauty, entertainment, and health space. In turn, this helps to contribute towards her passion of ensuring a more informed and innovative society from her work.