Chef Kesi Toolum grew up in Trinidad where the dessert table was never an afterthought — toolum rolled by hand and wrapped in wax paper, kurma fried golden and piled high, coconut drops made in batches large enough for the whole street. These were not holiday-only sweets. They were the everyday, expected presence of a household that took feeding people seriously.

Her work is rooted in Trinidad’s layered food heritage — African, Indian, Chinese, and Creole influences woven together into a dessert tradition that is genuinely its own. Coconut runs through everything. Molasses adds depth. Cassava appears in both sweet and savory forms depending on who is making it and for what occasion. Kesi understands that Trinidadian sweets are not simple — they carry the complexity of a cuisine built from many cultures finding common ground at the same table.

In Universo da Doçura, Chef Kesi represents a pastry tradition that is generous, layered, and deeply communal. Her desserts are made to be shared, eaten without fuss, and always offered with more than enough for whoever shows up.