Flaky, fun and filling, nothing banishes hunger like a steaming hot patty; especially if you toss a coco bread and a cold box ‘drinks’ into the mix. Our patty is a pastry that contains various fillings and spices baked inside a flaky shell. Traditionally it is stuffed with ground beef but over the years vegetables and sea food have been added to appeal to everybody. Whatever the filling, all patty experts will agree that there is an art to eating a hot patty because there is no pain quite as memorable as being burned with hot patty meat! Yuh cyaah even bawl out, di way it hot! You can’t spit it out and you can’t swallow! This is not a meal to have if yuh hungry till yuh weak, because a hot patty cannot be rushed! You have to take a little bite and then open up the crust to allow the meat to ‘breeze’ out and cool down. Most of us can remember our traditional school lunch of bun and patty with cherry malt or being treated with a patty after Saturday market. Indeed patty is to Jamaica what burgers are to the States and no lunch time is complete without it. Just look at the long lines inside patty powerhouses Tastee, Mothers, Juici and even overseas with Golden Krust. took some time to talk to the patty bigwigs:
Tastee is said to be king of patties and the standard bearer of the patty industry as they have been at it for more than 40 years. Their recipe for longevity they say is hard work and ingenuity.
For Tastee, patty is among Jamaica’s greatest culinary inventions. Vincent Chang, owner and proprietor of Tastee, began experimenting with the dough that would eventually become the family business. Today they churn out over 100,000 of the familiar golden-crust patties a day, making Tastee a Jamaican institution and a name synonymous with quality.
The story often told is that decades ago while in the United States, Chang took the name ‘Tasty’ and gave it an island twist and ‘Tastee’ was born as it “had a nice sound to it”. He noticed that Jamaicans liked the patties so he experimented to make the crust flakier, improving on the meat filling and changing the shape and size. People started swarming his little snack shop and soon he dropped the other items and concentrated exclusively on patties and drinks, the working man’s lunch.
Today Tastee employs over 800 employees nationwide. Considered the industry leader, Tastee provides the highest quality products and services through a team of professional customer-focused employees.
Dubbed the ‘Great Jamaican Patty Company’, Mother’s Enterprise is also a key player in the patty business. Established 31 years ago, Mother’s is known for its classic beef patty, the power (soy) patty, chicken patty, fish patty and their famous, full house patty and patty cheese. They also boast the Devon House line of premium patties, which in addition to the regular fillers include shrimp and lobster patties.
Marketing Rep, Khadine Thompson says they are also certified under the ISO 9000:2001 Quality Standards System. “Hence all of our products are manufactured under strict guidelines to ensure consistent taste and quality of all ingredients.”
Now everyone knows that taxes are a necessary part of life and the recent wave of taxes have also impacted the patty industry. Mother’s opened up about how the General Consumption Tax (GCT) has affected their beef and power (Soy) patties production costs, thus increasing the retail price of these products to their consumers. “In addition, we have had multiple raw material and operational price increases which greatly affect the cost of our products. Consequently we have had to absorb a large portion of these increased costs in order to protect our customers from runaway price increases. Mother’s continues to provide the best value for its customers through the various patty combos and patty meals.”
Through it all they remain committed to filling bellies with great nutritional products. “Great people, great quality products and excellent customer service is what defines Mother’s and a great patty is what our thousands of customers expect daily. Our constant innovations, wide variety of products, providing the best value to all customers, and commitment to excellence are what define us as the ‘Great Jamaican Patty Company’.
The beloved staple is sold in some 19 restaurants island wide. Additionally they operate several Mother’s canteens in secondary and primary schools throughout the island. Their newest venture, the Devon House Bakery, sells their premium Devon House patties in addition to delicious pastries, making it a total of 27 Mother’s retail outlets. “We also distribute Mother’s Patties in over 200 locations Island wide.”
Flavour we know is also synonymous with another major patty producer as Juici Patties is now a household name and a huge player in the patty business. According to Juici’s Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator Jacqueline Scott-Perry, patty is just a way of life for the average Jamaican regardless of their age. “Patty is a part of our daily palate. People see it as a meal that is filling and affordable so the small man can eat hearty. Not only can he dine on beef and vegetable patties but we have made shrimp which is considered a delicacy in Jamaica, affordable as well. So they are very appreciative as what Juici has to offer.”
Juici now provides six different patties including soy and shrimp and two value added offering which are cheese patties and ‘megacheese’ (with lettuce and tomato) so there is something for everyone.
With a whopping fifty eight locations across Jamaica, they are undoubtedly the largest fast food chain operating locally and on any given day, enjoy a constant, steady stream of customers passing through their doors. “Customers love us. The competition may dominate in Kingston but we have spread our wings all across the island and have seen great results.”
Our skilled labourers are not the only things that migrated to North America, the UK and Canada…the patty also took a trek to foreign lands. Hard working Jamaicans seeking a better life for their families went overseas and brought with them their passion for patty, continuing the tradition. Patties can be sourced in restaurants in areas of the New York Metropolitan Area as well as Brixton and Birmingham and other cities which have a high concentration of West Indians.
Taste has never been an issue for Golden Krust Caribbean Bakery and Grill and their patty lovers however. For Director of Marketing and Public Relations Candice Richards, innovation and taste have been the name of the game that has sustained their popularity. They have even come up with the brilliant idea of the ‘krust patty’ that believe it or not, has no filling!
Richards says the idea actually came from dialogue with their customers. “It was our loyal customers who gave us the idea to manufacture our Krust product. They liked the taste of our crust so much that they demanded a product that had no filling, which could be eaten as a side item with escoveitched fish or jerk chicken or just by itself. Our ‘Krust’ consists of the patty pastry dough with other ingredients like sugar added to give it a slightly sweet and flaky taste. We have been making this product since 2004”.
A huge favourite in the Diaspora, Golden Krust has made a strong and positive name for themselves wherever they go. “Golden Krust has 120 stores located in nine US States – Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina and Philadelphia. Our customers span a wide cross section of ethnicities, but our core market is made up of Caribbean nationals or descendants of Caribbean nationals.”
To top it all off, they are constantly breaking new patty ground and recently unveiled what they termed ‘the next best Jamaica-inspired product’. “Our latest successes include the spinach patty – which caters to the health conscious consumer. We also carry the jerk chicken patty, soy patty and halal patties.”