BROTHERS Alan and Andre Trotman, born eight years apart, were always very close.
Some might even say that their love for the arts – Alan for graphics and Andre, culinary arts – created an adamantine bond. So it was no wonder that around 2011/2012, when Andre decided to explore his goal of becoming a self-employed baker by establishing The Mixing Bowl, the first person he turned to for advice was his brother.
A few years earlier, in 2008, it was Alan who was there to lend an ear when Andre failed to gain a place at the Barbados Community College’s Hospitality Institute to pursue his first love.
After some discussion, the former Lodge School student instead pursued an associate degree in his second choice – visual arts.
“Art is my hobby [but] food is my preferred career. So visual arts was interesting. A lot of people don’t get that both culinary and visual arts are arts and they have a lot of things in common – textures, colours, balance; you have to learn in both fields. That in turn helped me with the culinary arts – in terms of contrasting colours, contrasting textures, those
types of things.
“In my opinion both go together very well. I understood that a little bit before, but I learnt even more as I went through.”
After his graduation, Andre took a year off to contemplate whether or not to apply to PomMarine again. Having researched the courses on offer, and after talking with his brother, he decided to apply for the one-year general
catering course.
Taking the course turned out to be a good experience and it inspired him to continue baking and experimenting.
So even while studying, a week never passed without the young man baking cakes, pastries or even creating his very own food extracts.
Thanks to his uncle Samuel Harrison, one of the family’s unofficial taste testers, Andre was able to get his products out to the public – beginning with his uncle’s work colleagues. And they apparently liked what they tasted because the orders kept coming.
Andre was so enthralled by the response that he knew he had no choice but to follow his dream upon completing the course.
As with any major decision, the Trotman family sat to formulate a catchy and memorable name and The Mixing Bowl was born.
It was officially registered as a business in 2013.
As time went on, it expanded to catering for small parties. Plus, Andre’s palate matured and he started to experiment with varied ingredients.
He began to transform proven recipes to make them authentically Bajan and unique to The Mixing Bowl. His treats ranged from rosemary and ginger-roasted peanut tart to pork flap pizza, smoked herring tarts, conkie cakes, ice cream and the very popular salt fish and smoked herring, field peas and lentil burgers.
Determined to improve, Andre would often give away product to regular customers in return for constructive criticism.
Most of his ingredients used in his recipes are grown in his large backyard garden.
“For me it is about the quality of food and experience. I like to know where my food is coming from. I try to get the best quality ingredients I find or grow. I find people go into supermarkets and they don’t read labels, they just pick up and put in. I read labels because I want to know what is going into the food,” he said.
“Our focus is having a small but functional company that has as limited an impact on the environment as possible, and to teach people the importance of seasonality so they can have a better appreciation for the food they eat.”
Last April, The Mixing Bowl hit a snag when Alan died at the age of 32.
Reminiscing about his brother, Andre talked about his kind, jovial and outgoing personality and how much of an asset he was to the business.
“My brother helped so much. He was my business partner, he designed the business cards; we brainstormed the name and what name would work best. We basically had the same mindset . . . . We think on a deeper level to other people [and] we try not to stereotype things. It wasn’t difficult working with him. Our culinary styles vary and are still somewhat similar in the sense that he loved cooking rich, hearty food with bold flavours. Though I like using bold flavours, I prefer lighter products that don’t make me feel weighed down, but we would meet in the middle and combine our perspectives to obtain the best of both worlds.
“Since he was my older brother, obviously, there would be the usual arguments and occasional disagreements, but he was loveable, made me laugh and taught me a few things in the tech, art and culinary fields,” Andre said.
It will be hard to move the business forward without Alan, but by maintaining a positive outlook on life, surrounding himself with positive, inspirational and uplifting people and working hard, Andre believes he can take it further and in so doing, make his brother proud. (SDB Media)
