Romano Thomas, a 17 year-old in the food management program at St. Croix Career and Technical Education Center, has already worked with some of the top caterers on St. Croix.
Thomas, a St. Croix Central High School senior, was in the eighth grade when he started helping his godmother, Sue Lakos, in her catering business. Thomas has worked at Teddy’s Party Rentals plating food and waiting on tables at weddings and all types of private functions. And he has worked with Top Class Catering, setting up tables and filling trays at Government House affairs.
Then there’s the catering work he does for school in Good To Chew Catering. The team of culinary students making their mark in the St. Croix food industry generally work the local food events and contests. The students annually serve the needy at Project Homeless Connect, and they serve a monthly gourmet luncheon at the St. George Village Botanical Garden.
“He’ll do great in the food service industry,” said chef Anton Doos, instructor in the food management department at CTEC.
Even though he has a lot of experience at catering, his passion is baking pastries and sweets.
The Source first met Thomas and his mom in 2013, at a UVI Extension class on making fruitcake. Thomas, who wants to be a pastry chef, said he wanted to learn to make fruit cake, since it is a Crucian Christmas tradition. He said it’s always good to learn and try something new. He mentioned he has binders full of recipes he has clipped from magazines or printed out he wants to try.
Thomas said he learned his way around the kitchen from his mother, Dawn-Marie Thomas. He added he enjoyed helping his family with the Christmas baking.
When he was in elementary school he watched and helped his mother in the kitchen at Purples restaurant in Princesse, everyday after school. He has been cooking and baking in the kitchen at the 4-H extension office at UVI since junior high.
He and his team – The Clover Cafe Club – took first place in World Food Day competition. The team took first place in the senior division of “4-H Youth Super Chef” competition.” He said the cooking club has given him a lot of opportunities and advantages.
Thomas has been participating in 4-H since elementary school. He has raised prize-winning rabbits, guinea pigs, and birds for fair projects.
“You learn responsibility from a young age taking care of animals,” Thomas said. He added in 4-H he has learned leadership skills and how to interact and get along with other people as a team. He was president of the Happy Hoppers Rabbit Club.
Thomas and his parents, Dawn-Marie and Rodney Thomas, have always supported the Agriculture and Food Fair.
“I was called a fair baby,” Thomas said. “I was born right before fair and they tell me I was wrapped up tight in a blanket to keep the dust from the fair grounds off of me.”
He and his immediate family were honored at Agrifest 2013 for all they do helping out around the livestock barn. He said he helps Lakos prepare and clean the the barn before, during, and after the fair.
Thomas took part in the national Skills USA in Kansas this summer and finished in the top third of the contenders. He had to decorate a cake, bake a braided loaf bread, bake a coffee ring, pineapple pie and pumpkin bread.
He is a line cook at Angry Nate’s on the Christiansted boardwalk, and he assists with the night school baking class at CTEC Monday through Thursday.
Lakos, a UVI extension agent, said Romano has had a love of cooking since he was small.
“I have no doubt that he will have a significant impact on the baking scene because he understands the concept that the most important ingredient in baking is the addition of the love of what you are doing,” Lakos said.
He hopes to attend Johnson and Wales University College of Culinary Arts in Miami. After college he wants to open a bakery in the states. He doesn’t know where, but he said it will be stateside because he feels it will be more lucrative anywhere other than St. Croix.
