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STREET EATZ

Tego HQ, the local grub hub

Published:Thursday | July 22, 2021 | 12:08 AMShantay East/Gleaner Writer
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Tyrone Taylor, popularly known as ‘Tego’, operates Tego HQ on Craigton Road in St Andrew.
Kenyon Hemans
Tyrone Taylor, popularly known as ‘Tego’, operates Tego HQ on Craigton Road in St Andrew.
Taylor starts as early as 5 a.m. to make sure his customers have a variety of options. When we visited, his rice and peas was close to being completed.
Kenyon Hemans
Taylor starts as early as 5 a.m. to make sure his customers have a variety of options. When we visited, his rice and peas was close to being completed.
Tego gives his curried chicken a stir.
Kenyon Hemans
Tego gives his curried chicken a stir.
The stewed pork at Tego HQ is described as second to none.
Kenyon Hemans
The stewed pork at Tego HQ is described as second to none.
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One stop at Tego HQ told us it was the perfect chill spot for friends and family. The eatery is an ideal getaway from the hubbub of life in the city, with a lovely view overlooking the winding roads of Craigton. Between the fragrant smells of mouthwatering local dishes seasoning the air and vibrant red paint, this mini-cookshop was hard to miss. On our visit, it was an all too familiar aroma of hearty pumpkin soup, bubbling on an outside stove that greeted us along with the owner, Tyrone Taylor, popularly known as ‘Tego’.

Taylor told Food that cooking delectable meals was always a joy for him, as evidenced by his 15 years of operating the business. “Me a cook from a young age, always cooking something, a suh me get fi love cooking,” he said, noting that it was his love for preparing food that led him to start Tego HQ.

CUSTOMERS LOVE PORK

Stewed pork, served with rice and peas and fresh raw vegetables is a customer favourite at the location. One regular customer dining at the restaurant told Food that there is no other chef in this area who cooks pork as well as Tego. “The pork is seasoned perfectly to the bone,” he said, adding that the rich flavour of the meat keeps your taste buds wanting more. Other tasty options include chicken soup, fried chicken, cow foot, turkey neck, curried goat, and fried fish, served with turn cornmeal, rice and peas, or boiled dumplings, yam, and green bananas. Taylor is looking to expand the menu, adding more seafood options. “I am planning to add lobster and roast fish to the menu,” the cook said.

Tego HQ caters to the breakfast, lunch, and dinner crowd, and closes at 10:30 p.m. with the extension of the curfew and easing of COVID-19 restrictions. With the ability to accommodate more customers, he said business is booming, so much so that he is looking to expand the delivery services available, so as to maintain the business’ growth. “Me a try get it bigger. We do delivery, so I want to get more bikes to do some more deliveries and get the thing on a wider scale,” Taylor said.

Tego HQ is located on Craigton Road in St Andrew.

shantay.east@gleanerjm.com