OBSERVER media takes a look at the changing food culture

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Over the weekend a staple in the twin-island’s food calendar invaded the Deanery Grounds — St John’s Cathedral Caribbean & International Food Fair – its 29th instalment.
Residents attending the annual event on Saturday, weighed in on a change in culinary options for the younger generation who prefer to purchase food on the go, as opposed to preparing traditional local dishes.

  1. Mrs Francis, Educator


“We were brought up to eat a lot of things that were fresh. We used to kill our fowls on the weekend and if somebody down the road killed a pig, everybody up the road had pork to eat. So the whole aspect of going out to eat is not sitting well with me but you have to get with the times.”

  1. Desiree, Tattoo Artist


“It’s a shame on the older generation because a lot of these traditional foods, they didn’t really pass it down to the younger generation. The cost of living, and people work a lot more — so they don’t have time to prepare this type of food, so that’s why Kentucky, pizza and shawarma are convenient. By the time we get to this age, we are all going to be physically compromised somehow; it’s an unhealthy lifestyle.”

  1. Nigel Joseph, Chef


“A lot of them are trying to run away from their culture or adopt something they are not. I’m a chef and I’d rather go to a local restaurant to eat. I can cook almost 12 different cultures which I’m happy to do but I mean for me local food is the way to go.”

  1. Pal Joseph, Designer Sales Rep.


“It’s really unfortunate that persons choose to go the fast food way because we have so much local food here and just about anywhere you pass you see local food cooking; not anything fast, fresh from the pot. Local food is a balanced meal, with your greens and ground provision, all good and healthy.”

  1. Eloise James, local juice maker


“We even try to imitate them with our speech, we losing our culture even with coal pot and thing. You don’t find the young people doing it so it’s dying slowly.”

  1. Currant Jarvis, Retiree


“The local food that we have, the fungee, saltfish and dumpling and dem kinda sudden dey, dem ah the ideal stuff. Some people will say ah foreign subben dem want, so they will come to taste the monkey stew and frog legs but dem things nuh bother me because when the day gone, me still haffu go back to fuh me local sudden.”

  1. Joselyn, Retired Civil Servant

 

“That’s what I raise up with and my favourite is rice and fish because that’s what I liked as a little girl to now that I am grown. I am still eating it, praise the Lord.”

  1. Curtis, Mechanic and Part-time Surveyor


“Fast food is junk, and most people are trying to adopt the American way by going fast and quick.  Instead of going home and cleaning a piece of chicken or kneading some flour to do dumplings or bakes and those kinds of stuff because no one wants to get their hands dirty.”

  1. Celia, Teacher and Chef


“Local food means comfort and culture, the getting together with your family to share the experience and remember the past days. The don’t like the fungee and pepperpot because it’s nasty, as they would say.”

  1. Dwayna, St John’s Cathedral Fundraising Committee Member


“On a Saturday, you find a lot of people on the road and it’s a lot of local food that people are buying. We still can’t get away from our own because this is our indigenous culture and food is a part of our culture.”

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