Chicken Back Tuesdays

André Gordon, Gleaner Writer

Barbecued, French fried, curried, sweet and sour, brown stewed and jerked, are some of the most appetising ways to prepare the best meals served in Jamaica's finest restaurants. Talk of secret sauces, long wait in lines and one may conjure up thoughts of Portland Jerk Festival. But not this latest craze. It's all free and it's only in Santa Cruz, St Elizabeth. It's 'Chicken Back Tuesdays'.

Already famous for Middle Quarters' shrimp and escoveitched fish at Border, St Elizabeth is fast becoming the new mecca for delectable delights. These chicken-back events have taken over the parish for the last two years, with events being staged almost every night of the week. Originally started by Santa Cruz bar operator Darna Crooks in response to the recession, chicken-back events have been replacing the once popular round-robin drinking events, which still remain in rural parishes. "Things got slow and we thought about what we could do special on a slow night," Crooks told The Gleaner. She continued, "I told everybody we would try chicken back in all styles and play music. At first many people did not believe it would work but it has really taken off."

While loved by many Jamaicans, chicken back is seen as the food of the poor, usually bought when one cannot afford other parts of the chicken. With the proliferation of these events, new life has been given to the chicken-back trade, as its shortage has hit the market due to the new upshot in demand in St Elizabeth. Checks with the Chinese merchants in Santa Cruz, who do the bulk of the chicken back business in the town, confirmed that demand for the popular item has gone sky high since the slew of chicken-back events have taken over the entertainment scene in the parish.

Asked whether she was bothered that her idea had been copied, Crooks pointed out that once you have proven that something works, other people will want to try it. She believes she has a handle on the competition as her secret barbecue sauce makes her chicken back unique. Darna's chicken back is usually served with roast breadfruit or rice. Patrons at her bar can enjoy a plate at no extra cost, but persons who just come for the chicken back must pay directly for that.

Chicken back ambassador

Crooks has become the ambassador of chicken back by daring to be different at a time when you either rise or fall, based on the decisions you make. The 34-year- old Westmoreland native moved to St Elizabeth 15 years ago to open a bar and grocery shop in Burnt Ground, a community close to Santa Cruz. But Chicken Back Tuesdays has grown over the last two years and Crooks has gone a step further to add live entertainment on the last Tuesday of each month.

So if you're ever in Santa Cruz on a Tuesday, you know where to be.