PAN expands with first Copperwood Pork championship
Published:Thursday | July 3, 2025 | 12:09 AM
When the grills fire up for the PAN Finals on August 31 at Jamaica College, judges and food lovers alike won’t just be searching for Jamaica’s best pan chicken – they’ll also be on the hunt for the first-ever Copperwood Pork PAN Champion.
“It’s no secret that Jamaicans love good pan pork, even though sometimes they hide and eat it. But pork is a really big part of our agricultural ecosystem,” said Nicole Hall, commercial marketing manager at CB Foods, during the event’s launch, held at La Vida Venue in St Andrew on Tuesday. “And when we talk about building a sustainable industry, we can’t only think about chicken. The industry is made up of so many different proteins, and pork is one of them. So this year, we’re officially bringing pan pork into the competition to see who has the baddest pork on the pan!”
According to Copperwood Brand Manager Erin Hall, the introduction of pork to the PAN competition marks a major milestone for the company and will give past PAN finalists the opportunity to put their expanded offerings on display. “For the first time, Copperwood PAN Pork will take the spotlight, where six lucky past PAN Chicken finalists will have a chance to go for the title. Each will be interviewed and selected not only for their skills, but also for their commitment to sustainably integrating Copperwood Pork into their daily menus, whether they cater, run a restaurant, or operate a cookshop. It’s a long-awaited dream for the brand to be a part of the PAN competition,” said Hall.
After a smoky, flavour-packed showdown, filled with daring seasonings and mouthwatering creativity, the very first Copperwood Pork PAN Champion will be crowned live on stage, adding an exciting new chapter to PAN’s legacy.
“Copperwood has been championing the initiative to say, know your pork and understand where pork is coming from, dispelling the misconception and the bad rap that pork has. So we really wanted to give pork an opportunity to come centre stage,” Hall said.
The introduction of PAN Pork will be powered by Copperwood Pork – one of the brands distributed by CB Foods Ltd and an affiliate of the parent company CB Group. This expands the PAN experience beyond just CB Chicken to showcase the versatility and potential of Jamaican pork on a pan.
“Our idea is to eventually have 32 PAN pork finalists, the same way we have 32 PAN chicken finalists. But we have to take our time and grow and get there and really see how the crowd and PAN participants receive this new introduction into PAN,” Hall concluded.
As in previous years, the CB PAN Chicken finalists will be selected based on their performance during two workshops held throughout the month. Finalists from Jamaica’s 14 parishes, along with wildcard selections, will be chosen to make up the final 32 competitors who will face off at the grand finale.