Author: Michelle Holler
Name: Marcus Tunstall
Languages spoken: English, Jamaican Patwah
Store Name: Mr. Patty’s (Jamaican Style Patties)
Before the Bazaar – Since I was 8 years old, I have been in the kitchen and around food. For all the holidays we would visit my family in Savannah La mar Westmoreland Jamaica. As a child I would sit and watch them cook, until one day they had me help with the prep work. I began peeling, cleaning, and cutting. My knife skills started at a young age. I have a memory as a child of pulling up a stool so I could reach the table to help my family prep for meals.
My store in the Bazaar – I started my business in the West Side Bazaar because I wanted to take my culture and bring my family’s style of cooking to Buffalo: handmade authentic Jamaican food. I think the Bazaar is a great place to start up because of the location. Grant Street is a very diverse area. Currently I am selling handmade patties. All ingredients are local with Jamaican influence, MSG free, low sodium, and with lots of spices. The spices used in my cooking, are handmade and mixed to give each patty a unique flavor with my family secret recipes. The top selling patty is the beef patty because it is one people are comfortable trying, and it is used more often in Jamaican cuisine. I also sell chicken curried patties, fish patties, and veggie. In the very near future, hopefully by next week, I will expand my menu and begin selling a variety of other Jamaican specialties including jerk chicken, rice and peas, curried goat, Jamaican style cabbage, and fried plantains.
Future Plans: The hope is to at some point, move into a kitchen space in the Bazaar so I can expand my menu even further. From there my goal is to start my own food truck. With going mobile, I can bring my Caribbean food to other parts of New York State. I would love to bring Caribbean cuisine to areas around Ithaca, The Finger Lakes, Elmira, and Canandaigua. I want to put ethnic food out there, not burgers and fries. There is nothing wrong with burgers, but my taste cannot be duplicated, it is home cooking. Certain things may change but everything is authentic.
Mr Patty’s (Jamaican Style Patties) | West Side Bazaar | 25 Grant Street | Buffalo, New York