Mother, daughter to face off at PAN 2024

Sharon Senior, a finalist in CB Foods’ PAN 2024 competition, operates True Jamaican Jerk Chicken in Montego Bay, located off Jimmy Cliff Boulevard on Old Fort Road near the Craft Market. She can be found there during the weekdays, and especially on Friday and Saturday nights, between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., serving jerked chicken and pork with hardo bread, as well as oxtail, curry chicken, rice and peas and festival to the party-going crowd.

Senior entered the local food scene by helping her husband. “I used to season the meat in the back and help with the cashing,” she remembers. Little by little, she began to learn from her husband and honed her craft.

When he sadly passed away three years ago, Senior was forced to take over the cooking responsibilities to keep the roadside eatery and her family afloat. “Cooking helps to keep his memory alive for me,” she says.

Her husband’s death also had a life-altering effect on Senior’s daughter, Tashwayne Senior.

Tashwayne always dreamed of becoming a midwife, but when she found herself at home taking care of her niece while her mother worked, she decided to try her hand at cooking. Bolstered by the food and nutrition class she took at school, she ventured into the kitchen.

“That’s when I discovered my love of cooking. Every Sunday morning I’d wake up and start cooking for my niece. My favourite things to make were rice and peas, mashed potatoes, fried chicken and curry turkey neck.” From there, Tashwayne began to assist her mother in her free time.

Although the elder Senior admits that the food business can be rough sometimes, the thing that keeps her motivated in her craft is customer feedback. “Even if I have a bad night, if one customer comes to me and says, ‘Sharon, the chicken sell-off’, I just feel good.” It is this fighting spirit that she takes with her to PAN 2024 on Sunday, where she is a finalist along with an unlikely competitor: her daughter, Tashwayne.

Senior admits she used to discourage Tashwayne, who is just 17 years old, from following in her footsteps, pushing her to find her own course in life instead – but she recognises now that Tashwayne has a passion for cooking.

“My daughter is my backbone. Honestly, she has been such a support to me in this competition,” says Sharon.

Tashwayne says that working with her mom conjures a mix of emotions. “Sometimes it’s hard, sometimes fun, and sometimes challenging, but overall, I like working with my mom.” She is also very supportive of her mother as a fellow PAN 2024 finalist.

DAUGHTER’S WISH

“If my mom wins, by the grace of God, I hope she will finally get the confidence to know that what she is doing is enough and she will be able to stop worrying about certain things,” says Twashwayne.

As for Tashwayne, should she emerge the winner of PAN 2024, she says she will use the money to further her education. “I hope I can study to be a midwife and a chef. I’d like to do both.”

Sharon and Tashwayne will go up against some hard competitors on Sunday, like Jason Pinnock who is considered the ‘wild card’ for PAN 2024.

Pinnock sells jerked chicken, rice and peas and other local cuisine in the parish of Hanover. He operates from a tent in the town and prides himself on making the best jerk sauce. Pinnock learnt to cook from his father, who used to operate his own eating establishment in Hanover.

“Cooking is my passion,” he says. “I love the smell of well-seasoned chicken on the grill.” His patrons would agree, as that tantalising smell reaches around every lane and by road and pulls them to the town centre, where they line up in droves for a taste.

Pinnock wasn’t looking for the PAN 2024 competition, but it turned out it was looking for him.

“A lady came up to me one day and asked if I wanted to enter,” remarks Pinnock of his good luck. Since then, he’s been afforded the opportunity to participate in workshops that speak to financial literacy, and other useful skills that can help him build his business.

“If I win, I’m going to invest in my business. Then hopefully, better things will come,” adds Pinnock.