Venezuelan chef innovates the Chaguanas food scene.

They may look strange – black…green…red. Not your usual idea when it comes to hamburger buns. But Alegria Ramirez Ling’s customers love them! In fact, it’s what makes her food truck, The Guilty, an iconic part of the burgeoning Chaguanas food scene. Ramirez Ling, 25, uses natural colourings to enhance her doughs, including squid ink, for the classic black bun, beets for the red and spinach for the green. And the colours have caught the attention of her customers. She got the idea from another chef, and the first time she made it for her friends they were admittedly a little wary but supportive, giving her feedback on her recipes. They loved it and from there, the business – a food tuck called The Guilty – started, located along Rodney Road in Chaguanas, with the black burger the flagship menu item. After a few years at a precarious location with little space for parking, along a very busy street, the food truck recently moved – to the other side of the street, which is much more spacious and room for parking, offering customers a more convenient stop.
Ramirez Ling has been in Trinidad since 2017. She is originally from Guiria, in the state of Delta Amacuro in Venezuela. She was never a trained chef, but she did love experimenting and her dream was always to own her own business. Her idea was to sell hamburgers, but she had to find a way to differentiate them – hence the brightly coloured buns. “We sell the black (squid ink) burger, regular burgers, spinach burgers, vegetarian burgers, hot dogs, Venezuelan empanadas, among others,” she said. Customers love the variety, and she estimates the majority of the people who come to The Guilty are Trinidadians. The food truck is popular on social media, with over 6,000 followers on Instagram and over 7,000 followers of Facebook. “A lot of people know us and love culinary innovations and fast-food specials.”

Photos: ©UNHCR/Jeff K Mayers

Ramirez Ling is also an employer, especially to other refugees and migrants in the area. She has seven young Venezuelans working at The Guilty. Her workers are her team and her family, while her clients are her blessing, she said. She hopes that The Guilty will continue to win over the hearts and palates of the people of Chaguanas – and the rest of Trinidad and Tobago. “We want to keep moving forward, for our ideas and innovations to spread throughout the country. Chaguanas has been a city that has treated us very well and is the central point of this beautiful country,” she said.

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