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Mandisa Boxhill is on a mission to establish the unique flavours of her native T&T to the upscale supper club in New York City where she serves as general manager.
54 Below, is located in the basement of the iconic Studio 54, a 1980s disco nightclub in Midtown Manhattan, owned by Broadway producers Richard Frankel, Tom Viertel and Steve Baruch, the team behind hit productions such as Hairspray, The Producers, and Smokey Joe’s Café.
Boxhill, who supervises and manages the restaurant’s food and beverage operations—a job that involves a lot of tasting—introduced callaloo to the supper club’s menu for the Tony Awards and it was well received. In addition, chadon beni adds a distinctive element to other dishes on the menu.
That T&T influence is also apparent in the cocktails offered at 54 Below.
“Old-fashioned chocolate with Angostura 7 Rum is a hit, and sorrel margarita is in waiting,” Boxhill said.
Ahead of the Christmas season, Boxhill also teamed up with the restaurant’s pastry chef, who is half Trini, on a festive black cake.
That is quite an accomplishment for a young woman who wasn’t even considering careers related to the food business when she first migrated to the United States just over two decades ago.
She admitted: “Food was never on my radar until I hit America, and from May of 2012.”
She and her brother were raised by their mother, Heather, a teacher and actress who was a member of the Strolling Players. Boxhill followed in her mother’s footsteps and did some acting and at Woodbrook Secondary, she excelled in Maths, Add-Maths, Spanish, French and for a time was a Maths tutor.
Boxhill did her A-levels in Maths, Business, English Literature at Arima Secondary, then went on to the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, where she majored in English Literature with a minor in Theatre Arts.
One of her university lecturers, Louis McMillan, encouraged her to audition for acting roles, which led to her stint as Micah Samuels in the 13-part T&T soap opera, The Reef.
After migrating to the US, Boxhill landed a summer job with Spirit Cruises on board a vessel that docked at the Chelsea Piers in Manhattan, New York. This experience helped hone her hospitality and management skills. She later enrolled at St John’s University, NY, where she studied Public Relations and Advertising.
“I manoeuvred along many curves and was ultimately accepted at 54 Below while they were still under construction. I came daily and when the doors eventually opened to the public, I knew it was a place where I wanted to be. It was and still is one of the best Broadway Cabaret spots, and has the best food and drink programme among many other bests,” she said.
Boxhill started as a back server and food runner—jobs she held while still at school—before being promoted to server and eventually becoming one of the restaurant’s best salespersons.
Her sales and interpersonal skills were apparent from her first week in that position when she sold six of the most expensive bottles of wine on 54 Below’s drinks menu.
She was promoted to service captain and by age 23 had impressed the restaurant’s owners who regularly came to her for advice and loved her ‘out-of-the-box’ ideas.
“I was very ambitious, with a curious creative mind and spirit and continuously asked to be trained in different positions, I went all out gaining experience and impressing everyone. In June of 2018, I became part-time manager operating with very high standards and integrity,” she recalled.
“Within one week, I became assistant general manager and in three weeks, became acting general manager.”
Now, as full-fledged general manager at 54 Below, Boxhill not only strives to do the very best but tries to exceed what she did the previous day. She also ensures staff are up to standard and happy she continues to work towards her goal of elevating T&T cuisine, not only in NY, but to the wider world.