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STREET EATZ

Food station makes a tasty return to I Love Soca

Published:Thursday | July 22, 2021 | 12:09 AMKrysta Anderson/Staff Reporter
Desrick Hamilton paying close attention to the jerked chicken he would serve up for eager patrons.
Desrick Hamilton paying close attention to the jerked chicken he would serve up for eager patrons.
Husband-and-wife duo Desrick Hamilton (left) and Tameka Forbes-Hamilton are seen getting the festivals ready for foodies to savour.
Husband-and-wife duo Desrick Hamilton (left) and Tameka Forbes-Hamilton are seen getting the festivals ready for foodies to savour.
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After-party street food played a huge role in the local entertainment scene pre-COVID. If there wasn’t a soup man present at an event, chances are you could find a jerk man close by, standing in a sea of smoke, bellowing at passers-by to put in their request for a choice of leg and thigh or breast and wing quarter.

At the first staging of I Love Soca since December 2019, Tameka Forbes-Hamilton and her husband, Desrick, were excited to be satisfying appetites again. With foil paper in hand, patrons indulged in the popular pan chicken with servings of festival or bread. The Hamiltons, who were grateful for the support, explained that working from home since the pandemic hit in 2020 has been rough. Before then, they were accustomed to catering at street parties with a spread of jerk chicken, jerk pork, escoveitched fish, fried chicken, alongside festival, rice and peas, pasta, garden vegetable and bread. They were overjoyed to receive the call that I Love Soca would be held this year, and they would return as resident vendors.

“I am so alive. I was down for over a year, but I am alive now! When we got the call, we were ready; we eva ready! And people are supporting us and buying the food,” Forbes-Hamilton gushed.

BAD DAWG STAND

Another treasured stop at the food station is the famous Bad Dawg stand. The signature frankfurter in a soft yet toasty bun is served full-house style with all the toppings to choose from: mayonnaise, cheese, relish, ketchup, onion, tomato and pepper. As a staple for the event, Ricardo Fitz and Ainsely Pottinger were all too happy to be rejoining the family after the hiatus. With hotdogs moving steadily, the pair was preparing for the usual post-party demand as the night wore on and the partygoers became hungrier.

How could we leave out the roving vendor? He may not have had an actual station, but he was working the crowd with the party essentials of nuts and sweet offerings. Patrick Henry, also known as ‘Q’, was ecstatic to be back on the party scene, with the opportunity to earn an income once again. Girls were busy buying ‘lollies’, and general partygoers were happy to make purchases from the brightly lit ‘salesman’ floating their way.

krysta.anderson@gleanerjm.com