Hello Steemers.
Thanks for the account approval and friendly welcome.
My name is Derek Went. I have lived full-time on the beautiful island of Barbados since 1984, working here as an artist, as a textile and fashion designer, a gallery owner, a food stylist and consultant, a chef and TV host, among other things which I can tell you more about as we become acquainted.
You can come to Facebook to see me and some of my art and things that interest or attract me. They are quite diverse. Over time I will be sharing my lifestyle processes with you in the hope that I might inspire relevant change in some of the choices you make for yourself.
I am also a healer with training in several disciplines including Pranic Healing and Shiatsu and I create my own aromatherapy massage oils with ingredients like Nutmeg and Cinnamon Essential Oils.
I am an active artist with a large body of digital paintings.
https://www.facebook.com/derek.a.went
I currently own a company called Went Caribbean Inc. that offers a variety of value added products inspired by our regional culinary and lifestyle traditions. We now offer a range of "7 Aromatic Caribbean Fusion Blends of Herbs and Spices" under the brand name “WentWorx” in the local market here on Barbados.
They reflect the culinary/cultural influences of all the nations who came to our island shores looking for opportunity...and yes, herbs and spices.
"Bajan Green", the seventh and most recent addition to the line up is a blend based on the fusion of British and African cooking (a broad herbal base with a hint of chili and clove) and was launched for the 50th Anniversary of our national independence. It works on just about everything. Our tag lines are "The Worx work!" and "It Worx for me!"
The 6 other blends provide all the complex combinations of ingredients to arrive at a particular flavour profile that is immediately identifiable as belonging to a specific culture that has been tweaked by engaging life in the Caribbean.
The idea to create them arose out of a growing demand for healthy local seasonings that were easy to use and effective. When I worked as a chef, people enjoyed the taste of my cooking so I came up with some formulas that were based on the way I use herbs and spices. From the time I was a small child I was never chased out of the kitchen, so my knowledge of our culinary traditions are first-hand.
The blends, like all the value added products I develop, contain no added chemical substances, stabilizers or fillers, including MSG, salt and sugar. They are "The Healthy Spice Blend"
On arrival in the islands these colonists found (and decimated) the Taino indigenous tribes using their delicious BBQ techniques (Barbacoa-the grill made of green sticks which was placed over hot coals and smoke) and sensible hammocks (they appropriated the design for use on ships), and over time the Portuguese, Spanish, English, African, French, Dutch, Indian, Chinese and a mixed Middle Eastern community poured into the region bringing their culinary traditions with them.
The extraordinary extent of the community interface…all the nations in the world living together in a chain of islands… has created something quite unique: Caribbean Crēole Food.
If you are not familiar with the way in which the proportions of distinct herbs and spices are combined to arrive at the "right taste", it is virtually impossible to recreate the right balance of flavours. Even some Caribbean cooks can find it challenging.
"COO COO REVISITED"
With regard to food, all left their particular mark on the way spices and herbs are now blended in the dynamic, living interface of the Caribbean cultural melting pot that amalgamated all of these diverse culinary traditions. Life in the islands is very colourful and everyone celebrates everyone's holidays and embraces the diversity of the foods we prepare.
I will certainly be sharing insight into what it is like to live in the islands.
Now I live on a farm called Edgecliff in the hills of Barbados and am planting and making use of a wide variety of heirloom foods with ideas arising out of my culturally rich Caribbean experiences which I then sell as diverse, value added products at The Holder’s Organic Farmer’s Market every Sunday under the banner of Went Home.
You can find my work-page for marketing and blogging about things that interest me in the health and wellness arena at https://www.facebook.com/Went-Home-157508424398222
I promote it as a place to come for holistic nourishment as I believe we should be feeding much more than our bellies. Went Home is a platform for research and development and for direct market testing of the products I design.
My favourite product name is "Went Nutz"...healthy snacks, of course. We endorse the idea that "Laughter is the best medicine".
" Blue Break Time Suburban Idyll"
In the midst of all various things I do and services I offer to help provide healthy alternatives and raise awareness about the connections between the food you choose to eat and the state of wellness you experience as a direct result of those informed choices, I also make photographs and a great deal of Art that incorporates photography in the images.
"A Game of Chance and Forfeit"
I have been exploring using digital information as if it were a classical art medium. The closest analogy of how I view it would be to compare the process, which is very painterly, to highly detailed mosaics in which the pixel is a single point of colour in the image.
Most of my digital work is very large and I am inspired by very many themes, as you will come to see.
My art is also very eclectic as a result of my long-standing experience of the Caribbean, and is, as everything I love doing, inspired by life in the islands.
The fact that I have been fortunate to travel a great deal and live in other countries has only made me love my home even more.
I am truly looking forward to engaging with the Steemit community and sharing my life with some great new friends. Until then. Be well.
Derek