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ABOUT CHEF SHRIMPY AND THE JERK
CAFE
 Chef Shrimpy
was born in one of the most remote areas of Jamaica called the Johns Hall
District in 1973. Johns Hall is so rural that there is no running water or
electricity there at all. This is where Shrimpy spent the first three years of
his life.
In 1976, when Chef
Shrimpy was only 3 years old, his family moved to a more more urban area called
the West Retreat District.
For the
first time, Shrimpy now had running water and electricity running in front of
the gate of his family's home. Although electricity and water was now
available, his family was so poor they were not able to be connected for many
more years. However, these new conveniences were amazing to Shrimpy and it
opened his eyes to the realization that there was a whole greater world out
there that he had never experienced.
Chef Shrimpy became abruptly aware of the dire circumstances that his
family was bravely facing every day. It hit him one evening when he was just 11
years old. He was in the kitchen watching his mother trying make dinner for the
eleven member family when he discovered that there was not enough food for
everyone to eat that evening. Stunned by the realization of their desperate
situation, he promised his mother that one day he will go to the United States
of America, make a good living and make sure she has everything she needs for a
good life.
After graduating from middle school, Shrimpy moved on to
secondary school where his education in the art of catering began. After high
school he landed his first full time job as a dishwasher at the highly rated
five star
Trident Hotel in Port Antonio, Jamaica. It may have been a
modest start Shrimpy but within two years his unique talents landed him a
promotion all the way to the top to become the Head Chef at the Trident Resort
Hotel.
Shrimpy enjoyed working at the Trident and other places in
Jamaica but he still had his dream and the promise he made his mother in his
head. The next step in realizing his dream was when he went to work for
Carnival Cruise
Lines as a chef in the galley of what were then two of the most
famous cruise ships in the world; the Celebration and Jubilee. He worked on
these cruise ships for the next three years.
In 1997 he was offered the
chance to come to the United States and work on Cape Cod at the luxurious
Wequassett Resort
and Golf Club in Harwich, MA. He immediately knew he wanted to
always live and work on Cape Cod so over the years Shrimpy continued to work at
various restaurants on Cape Cod and in 2005 Chef Shrimpy officially became a
United States Citizen.
He was enjoying his life as a young man on
Cape Cod, but he was still dreaming of owning his own restaurant on Cape
Cod and wanted to keep that promise he made to his mother so many years
earlier.
In 2008, the dream came true when he opened The Jerk
Cafe in South Yarmouth on Cape Cod. The Jerk Cafe has since
become a popular local restaurant as his customers keep spreading the word and
bringing more and more their friends to the Jerk Cafe to sample Chef Shrimpy's
amazing Jerk cooking.
The
Story of Chef Shrimpy's Famous Jamaican Jerk Sauce
 In 1994, Chef Shrimpy was
working at a resort called Navy Island which is a small island off the coast of
Port Antonio in Portland Parish, Jamaica. Navy Island was once owned by actor
Errol Flynn. It was there that an unexpected life changing event took place.
At 4:30 one evening, a gentleman
walked into the kitchen at Navy Island Resort and approached the table at which
Chef Shrimpy was working. The man greeted him kindly, and asked Shrimpy if he
knew how to make Jamaican Jerk Sauce. Shrimpy said "No Mon, I don't."
The gentleman then looked him right
in the eye and said, "Today, I will show you how to make Jamaican Jerk
Sauce if you promise to never give away the secret recipe." Chef Shrimpy
accepted the offer. Over time Shrimpy continued to make the Jamaican Jerk
Sauce as taught to him by this mysterious gentleman. But eventually he
started to experiment, modify and improve that original recipe until it was
uniquely his own special Chef Shrimpy's now Famous Jamaican Jerk Sauce.
The Jerk Cafe, 1319-A
Route 28, South Yarmouth, Cape Cod, MA 02664
Phone:
508-394-1944 |
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