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Charlotte Amalie
Friday, March 29, 2024
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On Island: Tanisha Bailey-Roka

Tanisha Bailey-Roka, 'the Crucian Contessa.'Attorney Tanisha Bailey-Roka, Public Services Commission general counsel, said she has a rewarding job although it is tough and demanding.

“It’s a blood, sweat and tears job,” she said. “But you can’t be your job. Cooking is my release.” She said she often works nights, weekends and holidays. To forget about work for a while she takes to her kitchen and cooks waves of food or she writes about food on her blog site, the cruciancontessa.com.

“I really love food,” Bailey-Roka said with a wide smile and big eyes that sparkle when she talks. “It’s my passion. I’ve always been fascinated with food and the creative process preparing it.”

She even fell in love with her husband, Peter Roka, after feasting on delicious meals he prepared for her.

“It was love at first bite.” she said. “I was so impressed I married him.”

Bailey-Roka said she did not do much cooking as a youngster and she was more apt to be watching cooking shows on TV. She started cooking in college because she missed Crucian food. She came from a family of good cooks, she said, so she didn’t have to cook.

“My mom, Thecla Bailey, is a wicked cook,” she said. “She worked six days a week and made dinner for us everyday. McDonalds was a treat for us because my mom didn’t see any value in fast food . She believed her food was better for us and making it yourself is best.”

When Bailey-Roka cooks and bakes, she always uses premium ingredients and relies on local ingredients as much as possible.

Tanisha Bailey-Roka's 'Aunt Katie Cake," from her food blog, 'the Crucian Contessa.'  (Photo © the Crucian Contessa.)“I’m so proud of what the local farmers produce,” she said. “The lamb from Sejah Farm and beef from Annaly Farm are fantastic. And the local fruit is fabulous. I’m very optimistic about food production and the food scene on St. Croix. Food will show us the way.”

Bailey-Roka said she enjoys feeding people and puts on a big spread for Thanksgiving, Christmas second day, and birthdays.

“People literally roll out of my house after round one, two, three and four,” she said, chuckling.

The one dish she loves to serve guests most often is her creamy scalloped potatoes with bacon.

“It’s simple but good,” she said.

Her favorite meal to eat is a chicken stew with ground almonds, brown rice and plantains. And her favorite restaurant on St. Croix is Maria’s Cantina.

Last year she tapped into her creativity, writing about and taking pictures of food for her blog. She is self taught in photography and has taken some beautiful pictures of her creations and local fruit and vegetables.

Opening a restaurant and writing a cookbook are on her list of things to do.

A friend told her if she ever opens a restaurant she should call it the Crucian Contessa and the name has stuck with her. Her favorite celebrity chef is Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa.

Contessa Mango Salsa, from the Crucian Contessa. (Photo © the Crucian Contessa.)Bailey-Roka has also created the viwritersnook.wordpress.com, a forum for word artists to share poetry and prose.

Bailey-Roka was born and raised in Frederiksted. She is a 1992 graduate of St. Joseph’s Catholic High School. She has a bachelor’s degree from American University in Washington, D.C., where she majored in literature, women’s studies and justice. She earned her law degree in 2003 from the University of Maryland. She began her career as a law clerk for Justice Maria Cabret of the Supreme Court of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

“I just always knew I wanted to practice law,” Bailey-Roka said. “I love the idea of helping people and being creative in approaches to problems. In the end, law is all about reading, writing and speaking. And I’m a word lover at heart.”

She said she made the right decision coming back to St. Croix to work because she loves the people of the Virgin Islands and the local food.

“Food is fascinating to me, whether it originates around the corner or around the world,” Bailey-Roka said.

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