KAVELLE ANGLIN-CHRISTIE, Staff Reporter
Left: Mavado in the kitchen preparing a meal. Right: Mavado shares his meal with his daughter, Daniella. - IAN ALLEN PHOTOS
IT'S UNBELIEVABLE, but this self-proclaimed 'gangsta for life' can really cook.
THE STAR visited Mavado, THE STAR's artiste of the month, recently in his Cassava Piece community, St. Andrew, and he cooked for us and his friends.
He decided that he wanted to cook baked beans and salt fish (though he prefers to call it 'seafood': "I don't want no fish that salt"), alongside a few ground provisions.
STAR: So you can cook?
Mavado: Of course, I'm a great cook. A me granny me grow wid ennuh.
The kitchen Mavado was using was not a typical one. It's not enclosed and is outside on the corner where he hangs out with his friends, 'the Cubans' and that's where they often cook.
As the members of the community passed the kitchen, the sight of Mavado peeling yams and stirring a pot over a coal stove shocked most of them.
"Ah wha dis? Singer, ah you dat? God a come. How come you a cook?" one man exclaimed.
Even Mavado's daughter, Daniella, was shocked at the sight of her father cooking.
"Ah who tell yuh fi cook daddy?" she asked.
"Ah me friend dem me a cook for," he said.
"Wha?"
"Ah me friend dem me a cook for..."
"Me still caan hear wha yuh a say ennuh daddy," said Daniella.
"Tro, yah man."
Mavado explained that he had not cooked in over a year and that was the reason for everyone's surprise.
He bustled around the stove for more than an hour, only pausing long enough for the food to be cooked properly. Finally, the moment of truth arrived - had we waited in vain? Would we survive this meal that was his first in a year?
It was a delightful mixture of beans with sauce, salt fish, dumplings, yams and bananas. So if all else fails, Mavado could always put the lyrics aside and become a chef, but we sincerely doubt that: He says his life is music.
Real chat
Yes, he did say 'gangsta fi life, we nuh tek talk', but he'll make an exception this time. Mavado, THE STAR's artiste of the month, says he wants to chat with his fans on Tuesday, June 27. So all you have to do is log on to www.go-jamaica.com/chat between 5-6 p.m. and call 1-888-THE-STAR (1-888-843-7827) between 6-7 p.m. Come on ladies and gents, he's making an exception to his rules and so should you!
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