Canadian YouTuber Lilly Singh sat down with actress Kerri Washington on her show “The Street You Grew Up On” to talk about her life and career. During the conversation the two bonded over their Jamaican community and heritage and the legend Jamaican delicacy, Coco Bread and Patty.
Lilly said, “Our School was divided into two major groups, half of my school was Tamil and half of my school was Jamaican,” Singh told Washington responded, “oh my people.”
Singh said everyday at school she would have a Jamaican patty.
Washington revealed that she often has patty parties as she would ship them from the east coast of America to where they are both filming in Los Angeles.
“Sometimes I have them shipped from the East Coast so I’ll let you know. You can come over to the crib, you can have some patties and Cocoa Bread. The whole situation. We’ll have to hook that up,” Washington casually told Singh.
At this point the Canadian actress took a moment to respond as she was visibly emotional upon hearing the offer to eat Jamaican patties at Washington’s LA home. She eventually responded, “yes!”
“This is the closest in this interview that I’ve come to crying,” the 33 year old Singh said. “I actually just got goosebumps.”
“You guys may think I’m joking but I’m getting so emotional,” she continued. “They’re so good.”
Washington, shared the clip of the two talking about the patties with the caption:
“Jamaican Patties are life 👏🏾 SO much so that @lilly literally cries over them 😂 I got you girl, I’ll get some shipped to you!”
Singh commented under the post saying, “I cried rewatching this 😂😂😂”
Lilly Singh, began making YouTube videos in 2010 and by 2016, she was included in Forbes list of world’s highest paid YouTubers ranking third and earning a reported $7.5 million.
The following year she was ranked tenth on the Forbes list of the world’s highest-paid YouTube stars, earning a reported $10.5 million; as of February 2022 she has 14.7 million subscribers and over three billion video views. Forbes named her one of the 40 most powerful people in comedy in 2019. She has received an MTV Fandom Award, four Streamy Awards, two Teen Choice Awards, and a People’s Choice Award.
Earlier this year dancehall chart topper Sean Paul added Jamaican culture and food to the promotion of his latest album Scorcha. The Pepper Pot DJ launched a Scotch Bonnet pepper brand named “Scorcha”.
Sean told World Music Views at the time that, “It started as a promo item we did just for the media, but now we thinking about selling it on Sean’s site allseanpaul.com.”
He also joined forces with the UK based Port Royal Jamaican Patties to launch his own “Scorcha” brand of the Jamaican favorite.
Port Royal Patties is owned by the Jamaican brothers Edward and Aaron Johnston. “My manager Steve knows them from school days so it was an easy link to make,” the Dutty Cup artist told World Music Views.
“So the promotional partnership is about linking Jamaican brands with the “Scorcha” you know a mean, Port Royal Patties is a big Jamaican brand in London, about the Jamaican people and ting so we just link up and thing,” he continued.
In March Drake made an offer to buy Randy’s, a popular Jamaican patties and restaurant in Toronto. Randy’s Patties had announced that they’ll be closing as of today Feb. 26. That news didn’t sit well with God’s Plan rapper , so he expressed openly on Instagram his interest in buying the Jamaican Patty spot because it’s one of his food favorites.
Complex Canada, reported after Tyrone Edwards made the announcement of the closing, Canadians dropped comments expressing their deep disappointment online. Drake, always keeping his ears to the streets enquired about the iconic Jamaican establishment.
“I’ll buy Randy’s right now,” he said via his Instagram account.
Sean Paul has taken his interest a little further with a promotional video for his Port Royal -“Scorcha ” Patties collab. The Gimmie Di Light singer did a comedic improv with British comedian Bash The Entertainer and he was in his element as a straight faced actor, but says he has no plans to go to Hollywood anytime soon.
“Nah me nuh wah do no movie, movie nuh real (laughs), dem haffi pay me 2 billion dollar fi do movie. I like being on stage. That’s how I feel right then right there. I like being in the studio, that’s how i feel right then right there, I don’t have any plans to do movies so to speak.”
Sean also revealed to World Music Views that he went to “chef school” but we shouldn’t expect him to enter start his own restaurant either anytime soon “Not my thing, I went to chef school or hotel management in Jamaica and I like cooking every now and then, but its not something I want to do for a living.”
The global superstar says, his go to meal while on the road in a hot cup of soup. “A warm ramen soup” he says. “Jamaican food is very important in the culture, when we are aboard too long we definitely want the Jamaican food and so we go places like Port Royal Patties or many different spots around the world that server Jamaican food when we homesick.”
“Honestly, when we first go pon tour we eat Jamaican food everyday at home so we kinda want to taste the different ting them, but definitely Jamaican food.”
“My favorite Jamaican food is curry chicken and i don’t eat it with white rice, I like it with the rice and peas, just my likkle ting that you seet.”
Jamaica’s Food And The Gastronomy Market
In 2018 Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, says that the Ministry is taking strategic steps to ensure that Jamaica capitalize on its potential and benefits in a more significant way from gastronomy tourism.
He informed that the Gastronomy Network, which is spearheading the process, “has been working assiduously to craft innovative plans”.
“Their main strategies include creating a gastronomy mapping platform with easily accessible information on the island’s best food offerings; collaborating with tourism partners to boost the number of quality food festivals, providing capacity-building support for established gastronomy/food tour operators, and working with tour operators to develop enticing food tours across the length and breadth of the island,” he said at the time.
He noted that with a “mouth-watering cuisine that is second to none”, Jamaica stands to benefit significantly from an industry that the World Food Travel Association has estimated to be worth over $150 billion annually.
Watch the full episode of Street You Grew Up On with Lilly and Washington below:
