Sylvia Hunt's legacy lives on with reprint of famous cookbook

Sylvia Hunt with a display of jams, jellies and sauces

As one of Sylvia Hunt’s eight children, Diana Sambrano learned from an early age how to cook.
She and her siblings spent a lot of time helping their famous mother experiment with local fruits and vegetables to concoct delicious meals and snacks, many of which were showcased on her At Home With Sylvia Hunt show on TTT as well as her three cookbooks.
Diana and her family have revived some of those recipes for a new generation through Sylvia Hunt’s Cooking: Proud Legacy of our People. The book is a reprint of Sylvia’s first cookbook of the same title published in 1985 and became a vital part of every kitchen in T&T.
This version, however, includes additional recipes from the family’s faves such as macaroni pie and poultry stuffing. Recipes were tested and tweaked for the revised edition.
It was Sylvia’s wish to have her work continue and Diana asked her son Christopher Sambrano to help fulfill that dream.
“I am so happy because I was asking him to try and print it before I pass on. I am proud of him that he is doing it,” she told Loop News during a visit to Trinidad this week.

Diana lives in Barbados with her son. The book was published there through Miller Publishing.
Writing in the foreword of the 160-page book, Trinidadian writer Patrice Grell-Yursik said the book contains the blueprint for the essential Sunday lunch, from macaroni pie to callaloo to the supreme standard for Trini stewed chicken and pigeon peas.
“You’ll find instructions on how to make desserts from the past, like bellyful, haddock, and covity pocham. There are recipes for wild meat agouti casserole anyone?  You will discover step-by-step tips for making jams, preserves, pickles and relishes from the shells and peels of local fruits and vegetables, a testimony to the frugality of the era,” Grell-Yursik wrote.
The book, said Christopher, is a celebration of our culinary history.
“She was really passionate about our indigenous recipes,” he said. “For her, it was about documenting our original recipes which was a big fusion of the European influence, African Influence, and even the Arawak and Caribs and their influence. She did a lot of research and went up and down Trinidad and Tobago documenting these recipes and sharing them with her audiences.”

In the introduction to the new cookbook, a reprint from Sylvia’s first cookbook, she recounts the history of many of our indigenous foods and states the need to preserve this information.
“Tribute must therefore be made to those persons, many of whom are no longer with us, who have tried to preserve what little is known of the foods of our ancestors and to those who have made a study of them. We are now attempting to build on the past and to create new dishes with what we have, and we are helped by the advances made in science, industry, and commerce,” she wrote.
Christopher said for his grandmother, there was also an emphasis on sharing recipes that were relatable and affordable to would allow families to feed themselves on a budget.
Who was Sylvia Hunt?
Regularly referred to as our local Julia Child, Sylvia Hunt was a pioneer in the food space.
Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT) began operating in 1962 and was the lone television station till 1991. The station became a bastion for local social and cultural shows among them Sylvia’s cooking show which debuted in 1968 and ran until the 80s.
Sylvia developed her love for cooking from her parents, Miriam and George Dryce, and her aunt Lydia Gittens.
Diana said her mother had the support of her family who also helped to take care of the children due to her busy life.

Diana Sambrano and her son Christopher Sambrano

In addition to being a cook, Hunt served as an alderman on the Port of Spain city council for two consecutive terms. She also ran a store in downtown Port of Spain called My-Y-Fine Novelty Products which she established in 1947.
The store sold dresses, and hats, and doubled as an eatery.
Diana recalled working in the store, hemming dresses, covering buttons and buckles, and making handbags among other tasks.
She said her mother was insistent that all of her children learn to cook and do handiwork even if they had a profession and she taught them home management skills like making up a bed and how to eat with a knife and fork.

Sylvia Hunt making Shaddock candy

It was Diana who typed up her mother’s recipes for her column in the Guardian newspaper. Diana worked at the St Vincent Street newspaper for 40 years and also taught sewing at John Donaldson Technical Institute.
Hunt kept busy taking care of her family after her husband fell on hard times but she loved teaching and passing on her knowledge. In addition to her children, she also took in girls from the St Dominic’s Orphanage and taught them many skills including cooking and sewing.
She also ran her own private school, the Sylvia Hunt School of Home Economics in St Augustine.
“She worked hard,” Diana said, recalling that even after all her children were married, her mother would still cook for them.
Sylvia Hunt passed away in 1987. In 1986, she was awarded the Hummingbird Medal, Silver, in recognition of her achievements. (Source: The Loop, May 5, 2023)
Sylvia Hunt’s Cooking: Proud Legacy of our People officially launches on May 10. The limited edition book is available at Metropolitan Book Store, The Book Emporium, Paper Based Bookstore and Sylviahuntcooking.com with other leading sellers to follow. .