Barbara Ellington, Lifestyle Editor

French cuisine chef Latroy Morgan makes the sauce for his jackfruit pork. - Norman Grindley/Deputy Chief Photographer

He has had a few outstanding cricketers in his family, (including Ricardo Powell), and was headed for a career in the sport but, following an injury, Latroy Morgan traded in bat and ball for pots and pans. From Comma Pen, St Elizabeth, he is also from a family of great cooks including his uncle and grandmother, so the trade-off was not surprising.

The 23-year-old is now on his way to becoming an executive chef. Morgan uses the skills and knowledge gleaned from his grandmother's expertise in preparing Jamaican dishes, as a base for the international cuisine he now serves up to guests at Gran Bahia Principe hotel, Runaway Bay, St Ann. Morgan is the restaurant chef-in-training for executive status, specialising in French cuisine, at the hotel's gourmet restaurant.

But Morgan's achievement would not have been possible without the training he received from the Human Employment and Resource Training (HEART) academy in St Ann. Morgan uses every opportunity to extol the virtues of the institution,and has plans to show his gratitude for the excellent education he received in a tangible form. To kick things up a few notches, HEART has now collaborated with the prestigious Culinary Institute of America (CIA), to train local chefs to international standards.

Jackfruit pork with spic mango sauce.

Morgan has already completed four years of study and is now into the final leg. It's hard work, there are no holidays, hours are long and it requires dedication and determination but it's all worthwhile. when the guests say they are happy. The classes are conducted at the hotel, and lecturers periodically fly into the island to conduct classes.

"We do the theory and courses they offer and our exams are conducted here. I also hope to go to France for further studies," he noted.

The affable chef has been at Gran Bahia since it opened its doors over a year ago, but still remains passionate about the lessons learnt from home.

"I never expected to be so close to becoming an executive chef at such an early age. It would not have been possible without the foundation I received from my grandmother and the people at HEART," he said.

He got the job at Gran Bahia when the hotel's executive chef dined at the Runaway Bay academy, met him and was impressed. He was invited along with five foreigners to cook for the job and he got it.

Build your career

Latroy Morgan's jackfruit pork, served with spicy mango sauce and pesto herb potatoes.

"HEART is the open door for all aspects of the industry, from Level One apprenticeship to the executive chef level. You get the basics and a foundation to build your career, and it is one of the best places for career development in Jamaica," Morgan boasts.

The father of a baby girl told Food he did not see himself getting so far so quickly, but credits Carl Thomas, a food science instructor, and a HEART graduate, as a role model, who proved that at the academy you can start on the floor and reach the roof. He is also full of praise for the hotel's executive chef, Luis Manuel Malagon, from whom he is gaining valuable insights.

As he continues his quest to infuse Jamaican flavours, herbs, spices, fruits and vegetables with their French counterparts, Morgan told Food that the latter's cuisine incorporates wine, butter, cheese and cream to arrive at its distinct taste. So, for us, he prepared: shrimp and goat cheese wrap; pesto herb potatoes (mashed potatoes with pesto) as well as jackfruit pork served with spicy mango sauce. This is roast pork tenderloin, first beaten with a mallet, marinated in Jamaican flavours and stuffed with jackfruit and callaloo and steam roasted. It is garnished with fried green plantain strips.

The gourmet restaurant at Gran Bahia Principe hotel in St Ann where Latroy Morgan is in charge.