Hollis Barclay’s ‘From Coal Pot to Corporate CEO’ cookbook showcases elevated Guyanese cuisine

Hollis Barclay is an award-winning serial entrepreneur, first-time author, and culinary-arts coach. Her cookbook, “From Coal Pot to Corporate CEO – a cooking memoir: Diamond Jubilee Edition,” was the topic of discussion at a book launch and tasting reception on June 25.

The Guyanese national laid out a table of succulent fare to tantalize the tastebuds of a party of 10 at Medgar Evers College’s first floor café on Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn.

Chef Barclay, who started her business-savvy journey with a Bedford Stuyvesant-based Day Spa before experiencing the sweet success of Bleu Fin Seafood Restaurant and Grill, also in the borough, spoke of Guyanese dishes she grew up enjoying in her mother’s kitchen.

The soft launch of the title that honored Guyana’s 60th Independence Anniversary, Barclay said, showcases Guyanese cuisine that can be elevated to a standard to grace any international dinner table. 

“[Elevated] Guyanese cuisine belongs at any dinner table,” she said, while dishing out a four-course meal to demonstrate that adding special ingredients, and creativity to the cultural norm of cooking, Guyanese fare fit into any high-end dining enjoyed globally.”

The first course included a welcome drink of Sorrel — a Caribbean-grown flower blended with Ginger, enjoyed as a Spritzer.  

Cassava Crisp with Smoked Herring Mousse honored Guyana’s Indigenous heritage, and Pepper Pot Croquette, topped with a Tamarind Glaze, represented a modern take on Guyana’s National Dish and received rave reviews from the food connoisseurs. 

The tasting concluded with slices of Black Cake, smothered with El Dorado Rum Cream, one of Guyana’s global brands, giving guests a culinary experience that incorporated Caribbean storytelling, heritage conversations, and curated tasting.

Chef Barclay, a Caribbean hospitality entrepreneur, culinary storyteller, and the creator of Caribbean CEO Kitchen, a platform dedicated to elevating Caribbean cuisine through luxury dining, cultural preservation, and narrative-driven food experiences, said the Coal pot, used by nationals in the past, was an effective cooking tool. 

“It was a boardroom,” Barclay said. “Women who ran those kitchens were the first CEO’s Guyana ever had. They just weren’t given the title.”

Explaining her new cookbook, Barclay said it “traces the arc from the coal pot kitchens of Guyana’s working communities to the executive boardrooms, its children now occupy, at home and across a global diaspora.” 

“It features recipes drawn from all six of Guyana’s ethnic traditions, each accompanied by heritage liner notes connecting the dish to its historical and communal origins,” she added.