CLEAN TUH YUH BELLY

DELANO ‘Eva’ Hutchinson has raised the standard for jerk pans across the island. The seasoned jerk professional has endeavoured to be different in his field and made it his mandate to keep his pans as shine as when he first got them despite the build-up after cooking.

“Mi nuh know why mi just like fi see di tings clean….Anything u a do u have to just make up your mind to do it an just do it di proper way,” he told the Jamaica Observer when asked of his motivation to keep his pans shine.

“From mi a grow up as a youth me nuh like see black pot. Me like see when the pot dem shine an pretty. All my pot dem pretty man, cause if my pot dem never clean mi could a never clean dem big tings ya,” he stated.

Often smeared with the broth from the chicken, pans that have been in use for extended periods have grease build-up. But with Hutchinson’s pans, which have been in use for decades, an effort to remove the gunk and stain is always made out of his concern for his customers.

“You have to careful weh you a do enuh, a people stomach yuh a deal wid,” he said. “A scotch brite me use wid carbolic soap an’ sand paper. The sand paper now a fi rub off if it have any little rust or anything stubborn,” he explained.

He added that he grew up in a clean home and attributed this and his desire to always be hygienic to the appearance of his pans. He said he sometimes spends up to two hours to clean one pan and almost a day to clean all three thoroughly.

According to Hutchinson, the pans, which originally stored malt at the condensery, are no different from other pans across the island; in fact he believes that every pan can look like his as they are “ordinary pans”.

He has been selling in Bog Walk for the past 34 years and has been using a grill for over 20 of them — which he said still looks as new as the day he got it.

At his jerk stall, the veteran offers jerked chicken, fried fish, festival, soup and natural juices on the weekends, but in the week provides customers with his renowned chicken.

Affectionately called “Shine Pan” “Jerky”, “Spicy” and “World Best”, Hutchinson has worked his way into the hearts of customers through their stomachs.

When the Sunday Observer visited his workstation one afternoon, customers yearned for the chicken and stated displeasure when they heard he had nothing ready. One lady who passed twice with her mouth puffed up said: “Jerky, me sorry, yuh nuh have no meat now.”

“Mi get good support from the people over the years man. Mi always have a crowd a people round di pan. It nuh matter if me nuh see di people dem, as long as di chicken done an me chop, you wonder weh so much people a come from,” he said with a smile.

Outside of the clean pans the veteran told the Sunday Observer he doesn’t use powdered seasoning, only natural stuff. He said that this is partly because he doesn’t know what is used to create it, as well as the fact that the powdered seasonings are salty and contain MSG.

When asked what he would tell other jerk men, he encouraged them to “respect people belly” and serve clean, healthy meals.

“Well you see weh me try fi mek dem know say it’s all about hygiene. It’s not about shine pan cause from it clean, it clean, because a no everybody ago really clean it up like how me do it still, but it clean, a just proper hygiene,” he said. “Sometimes it come like dem come inna di street dem a watch di money but me nuh really watch di money; me watch my tings dem weh my food a come outta an den you know seh from you ting good you good wid di money, cause people nah lef you out,” he continued.

In a quest to raise the bar and be different, Hutchinson said he continuously tells himself he has to be known in history for his pans.