Shelly-Ann Thompson, Freelance Reporter
Curried goat garnished with sliced tomato, onion rings and scotch bonnet pepper prepared by village chef, Dwayne 'Bunny' Baker of Botany Bay, St. Thomas. - IAN ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
"IF MI no cook mi feel like mi aggo mad," 'Bunny', village chef of Botany Bay, St. Thomas.
Bunny is his name. And cooking is his game. Though his pet name has nothing to do with his line of work, his neighbours call on him when they want a goat meat to be tasty.
Christened Dwayne Baker, almost every month finds him cooking for a member of his community in Botany Bay, a small hillside community that is about five miles west of Morant Bay, the parish capital. Bunny is known to cook a curried goat that is sweet to the bone. "It (curried goat) is peppery and just eat good," said a neighbour, Alecia Stewart. "They say something innna mi hand meck it taste good," the village chef told Food.
Bunny's cooking events range from dances, birthday parties, wedding receptions, domino tournaments at the community centre, family gatherings, 'dead yard', and at the pouring of concrete to lay the foundation at construction sites when many men are employed.
In early November he was the chef at one such event and later in the month he was the chef at a dance. For New Year's eve he has been asked to cook at a domino tournament.
"I'm a chef fi everywhere," said Bunny.
Sometimes these jobs are done for free, however he is often paid from $2,500 to cook one goat an additional $2,500 for a side dish such as white rice.
However, curried goat is not the only dish that this village chef can master. He is also known to be excellent in preparing mannish water, curry chicken, fish tea, fried dumplings and white rice. He told Food that some of his clients have one problem with his cooking. "They often sey I must go down a little on the pepper,"
Bunny, 21, started cooking in his mid-teens. Several times, the day before school resumes, he would round up his friends and have a cook-out at a beach or at a river. His vocational subject in high school at Seaforth was electrical engineering. Nevertheless, Bunny's cooking has led him to work at a restaurant in neighbouring community, White Horses and another in Morant Bay.
A FATHER'S TOUCH
His only cooking experience came from his father, Lloyd Baker who is also a cook. "I used to see my father cooking and I watched him and sometimes go with him to the events. Then one day somebody called him fi cook for them and he sent me and from that day, if mi no cook mi feel like mi aggo mad," said Bunny. His first significant village chef assignment was at a "dead yard", and he cooked mannish water, curried goat and white rice; he was then 17 years old.
His father, Mr. Baker noted that his son has learnt well, and the many requests he has received for him from persons testament to his abos. "His hand has something that make the food nice. His soups and curried goat come out very nice, I would recommend him to anybody."
Despite having only four years of cooking experience Bunny's aim is to get formal culinary training. "I would like to get more experienced and learn some of other things I don't know," he said.
If you would like to taste Bunny's special curried goat, just visit Botany Bay and ask for him.
Cooking secrets:
Maggi Soup It Up has a lot of different flavours, but I find that the chicken flavour brings out the flavour of curried goat and makes it taste really nice.
When ackee and saltfish is simmering put butter in it and allow it to melt into the gravy this makes it a more flavourful.
At "dead yard" when cooking white rice old folks say to put in a piece of charcoal to
prevent evil spirits from eating the rice.
