Mélange Travel & Lifestyle Magazine October 2017 | Page 527
Chef Refer Leonce, with Cap Maison, St. Lucia
Hornan Refer Leonce was born in 1985 in the small community of La Perle, Saltibus in the south of St. Lucia. After graduating from secondary school, he moved to the north of the island in search of employment. In 2003 at the age of 18, he secured his first job as a porter in the kitchen of the small hotel, Glen Castle. “I believe its fair to say that this is where my culinary journey began,” he said. While working as a porter cleaning ports and pans, Refer was always curious as to what the chefs and cooks were doing, so in between his duties, he would assist with peeling onions or cutting potatoes. Gradually, his transition began. Before long, he was no longer washing pots and pans but he was now preparing and sending out food to customers. His passion for cooking grew, making him hungry for more knowledge. Since the Glen Castle hotel was small with limited resources, he decided to venture out to seek employment at a bigger resort. In 2005 he was successful in gaining employment at the Sandals Grand St. Lucia, a much larger resort, where he worked for five years and learned a lot during that time. With his continuous hunger for knowledge and growth in the field of cooking, he reluctantly said goodbye to Sandals Grand St. Lucia and moved on. In October 2010, Refer joined Chef Craig Jones at The Cap Maison Resort and Spa as a Chef De Cuisine. Since joining the Cap Maison Team, his knowledge and culinary skills has being boosted. In 2014, he became part of St. Lucia’s National Culinary Team participating in the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association ‘s Taste of the Caribbean Competition held in Miami. He proudly brought back to St. Lucia, a silver medal.