Gemma believes that great meals always start with simple ingredients. Better known as Tamara Douge, Gemma is the Caribbean food and lifestyle blogger behind Caribbean Green Living, the website where she shares her culinary creations and promotes healthy living while bringing awareness about the Caribbean Culture. Through her website, Gemma is connecting and educating people with helpful resources to improve their cooking and lifestyle, while increasing their confidence to a happy and sustainable happy life. Born in Haiti, Gemma started cooking at the age of 8 under the watchful eye of her aunty Jeanne because she refused to let her cook in peace. Gemma’s creativity and eagerness to learn about ingredients, spices etc.… proved to her parents that she would be the one entertaining and catering all family events.
After achieving her graduate degrees, Gemma felt her heart was empty. She found that working in the corporate world did not provide the happiness she craved. She started to devote her creativity to exploring different cuisines and foods, and recipe development Because of her free spirited and adventurous mind, culinary school was not on her goals’ list.
Gemma started blogging in December 2012 as a hobby to share her creations and culinary expertise. In early 2014, after one of her “motherly chats” with her mom, she realized that the canvas of Caribbean Green Living needed to be extended. By allowing family, friends, and strangers to help her with her venture, Gemma has created a successful website that has been enjoyed by thousands of people around the globe
Gemma often daydreams about new recipes and to all who knows her best, quiet mornings are the best time for her creativeness to flourish. After Gemma perfected the art of being a great helper in the kitchen, her first real cooking lesson with aunty Jeanne was to learn how to make rice and beans and meat with creole sauce. This was the beginning of her relationship with pots and pans.