Easter weekend is all about traditional cooking for Cecille Snaith-Simmons.Mrs Simmons, who penned ‘The Bermuda Cook Book’, will be making codfish cakes and hot cross buns for Good Friday.Her culinary skills were highlighted by her son Jahmahl Simmons in response to a Facebook message posted by The Royal Gazette, asking for the best codfish maker on the Island.Mr Simmons wrote: “I’ve got to nominate my mom, Cecille Simmons as the Codfish Cake Queen! Best in the Island!”Mrs Snaith-Simmons out and out refused to accept the title of Codfish Cake Queen, but admitted that people did love the way she made hers.Her interest in cooking began while studying nursing in Portsmouth, England.“My mother sent me the recipes and I was forced to learn how to cook. I think my cooking was out of necessity.”She returned to the Island and began working for the Health Department.Asked to write books on healthy eating for the department, Mrs Snaith-Simmons decided she’d learned enough from the experience to write her own. She released ‘The Bermuda Cook Book’ in 1982. The book is a collection of Bermuda’s best recipes, as decided by Mrs Snaith-Simmons.“It has been updated recently, because people kept asking me for things that aren’t there Bermuda recipes that I didn’t know about, probably because my family didn’t cook them,” she explained.Bermudians have been eating codfish cakes on Good Friday for years, Mrs Snaith-Simmons added.“I called my elderly uncle, Edric Pearman he is 92 with an exceptional memory and I asked if he remembered codfish cakes as a child.“He clearly remembers his grandmother making codfish cakes on Good Friday she served it with baked beans and white rice.”Local products are an important part of all her cooking, Mrs Snaith-Simmons, said.“I will use the local red potatoes and my thyme and parsley plants I get from Caraldy Douglas at the Farmers’ Market.“I always use Bermuda eggs and onions. When making codfish cakes it should be the correct balance between the fish and the potatoes.”She loves making them almost as much as she loves eating them.“I put hot sauce on mine. I do enjoy doing codfish cakes.”Codfish Cake Recipe1 lb of codfish, or one package34c of mashed Bermuda red skin potatoes1 egg, beaten½ tsp black pepper1 tsp Lawry’s Seasoning Salt¼ tsp dried thyme; 1 tbs if using fresh2 tbs chopped parsley1 Bermuda onion gratedCanola oilFlourSoak the fish overnight. Rinse in the morning. Cook it with the potatoes. Mix them together with the beaten egg. Add all the other ingredients. Once you’ve mixed everything together, form it into several balls, dusting them with flour. Warm the oil on medium heat, taking care that it’s not overly hot or the fish cakes will burn. They should become a nice golden colour.