WHO: Yesenia Ramdass is chef-owner of HAAM (Healthy as a Motha), which focuses on plant-based Caribbean dishes inspired by her Dominican Trinidadian heritage.
ABOUT: Yesenia’s passion for food developed while growing up in Washington Heights, surrounded by her Dominican heritage. At age 17, she abandoned eating meat, one of the most common components of Caribbean cooking, and embraced a plant-based lifestyle. This marked the beginning of her culinary exploration.
In 2021, she launched HAAM as a cloud kitchen, serving plant-based dishes inspired by her Dominican background and her husband Randy’s Trinidadian heritage. After seeing increasing demand from her community, Yesenia decided to expand the cloud kitchen into a full service restaurant. In Fall of 2023, she opened her debut outpost, an eponymous restaurant in Williamsburg, New York City.
HAAM’s entirely plant-based menu blends rich culinary traditions with seasonal, locally-sourced produce, including peppers from her own home garden. Her signature sauce, Hot As A Motha, embodies the bold flavors and resourcefulness that define her cuisine.
WHAT: Prepare to be dazzled by Chef Yesenia Ramdass, whose plant-based Caribbean cuisine has been praised in The New Yorker and The New York Times, as she shares her passion for creating vibrant vegan dishes drawn from her Dominican and Trinidadian heritage.
WHEN: Thursday, March 13, 6 PM - 8 PM EST
WHERE: De Gustibus Cooking School
