NAME OF FEATURE | THE GLEANER | MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2022 10 jamaica at Paul H. Williams/Gleaner Writer ST ELIZABETH is knownas the‘breadbasket of Jamaica’. The second largest parish is a place that produces a variety of food on a grand scale. A lot of it is sold in Kingston’s Coronation Market, from where it is further distributed tocentral and eastern parishes. The southern section, especially, of this western parish, is teeming with onion, scallion, tomato, thyme, carrot, potato, pineapple, mellow, cucumber, cantaloupe, etc. Historically, it is also Jamaica’s ‘Bammy Capital’, and still produces a great majority of the country’s bammy. Put MiddleQuarters, knownas‘ShrimpCountry’into the culinarymix, and then there is Scott’s Cove, a place that is known for its palate-tantalising seafood. Less than one minute from the border with Westmoreland, the area itself is calledBorder. It used to be an idyllic little cove, with a blinding sunset, but has evolved into a fishing village of sort straddlingbothparishes. It is anestingplace for a varietyof birds includingherons, andhome to attention-seeking crocodiles. When TheGleaner visited recently therewere no‘crocs’in sight, nor were theremany patrons. Itwas a slowearlyweekday, but the regular fried fish, festival, bammy, soup, boiled corn, etc, were ready and waiting to be chowed down. They were as scrumptious as they were sumptuous. To get a feel of what was going on in this south-western part of the island, The Gleaner spoke with a husband-and-wife team, Derron and Nekeisha Perrin, as the other vendors were more concerned about the slow sales for the day. The popular eating spot has survived the ravages of COVID-19, and is looking towards the daywhen thepandemicwill takea fast boat back to China. The major and perpetual challenge is that “everybody sell the same thing”, and according to Nekeisha Good customer service then will make a difference. “It very important. The way you treat your customers make dem wanna come back,” she explained. But, it is also about the food itself, the way it tastes, and how it is presented. Each vendor’s food has a distinct taste, but fundamental to it is the spices, the onion, the pepper and the vinegar. It is also prepared in a “special way that is not disclose,”Nekeisha said. The festival that she andher husband sell, she said, is very different from the others. “There is nowhere in the world where you can get this type of festival. It can be taken home and don’t get tough,” Nekeisha declared. The dough for such a ‘always-soft’ festival was developed by Derron, whom she joined in the business sometime ago. Then, there is the relationship that sellers havewith their customers.“A see a lot of people come here without any money, and they still eat, there is a bond with people to make sure nobody leaves hungry,” Derron explained. It does not matter how small themoney is; there is something for it. Credit is evenextended to somepeoplewho will return to pay eventually. “It’s a relationship betweenus and customers,”he shared. He then dashed across the road with a platter of food to take to a customer, leaving his wife to field questions about Jamaica 60. Nekeisha Perrin said everything in Jamaica was “going forward” until COVID-19 struck. At age 60,“I think Jamaica is still a great place, and I don’t want to live anywhere else. I travel, but it is just to go and come back,” she explained. Crime and violence are not a factor at Scott’s Cove.“It’s reallygood”being there, and she“find no fault”. She is making sure that when August 6 comes along there is enough seafood, etc, in the breadbasket that St Elizabeth is. Nekeshia Perrin, a food vendor at Scott Cove, Border, St Elizabeth, prepares festivals to serve with steam fish as she talks about the challenges she faces in the business. PHOTOS BY NICHOLAS NUNES/ PHOTOGRAPHER Customers waiting their turn to purchase food at Scott Cove, the border between Westmoreland and St Elizabeth. Davion Thompson, a chef and fisherman in Scott Cove, Border, St Elizabeth, finishes a fishpot to end his day’s work. Scott’s Cove keeps in the basket SEAFOOD JAMAICA AT 60: S ELIZABETH
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