Taking palates around the world
FRANKLYN D Resort (FDR) , a family hotel located in Runaway Bay, St Ann, is one of many hotels affected by the pandemic, which has forced its closure, resulting in the sending home of scores of workers. However, a master stroke by FDR owner Frank Rance saw a new entity emerge, even as he awaits the resurrection of the tourism industry.
Rance recently launched Cuisines 2Go, a multi-cuisine takeout restaurant located on the property of L’Escargot in Runaway Bay, using personnel from the hotel and offering a unique culinary experience.
Cuisines 2
Go offers cuisine from
Jamaica and five other countries.
“Each day we serve a different cuisine, so you never get bored,” Rance told
Gleaner.
“On Wednesday, we begin by serving Jamaican cuisine; Thursday we serve
The
Tandoori chicken with naan.
A daily favourite is sushi.
Italian; Friday it’s French; Saturday, Indian; and Sunday, Chinese. On top of that, every day we serve sushi, which is Japanese. We also serve jerked chicken, jerked pork, veggie burger, jumbo hamburger and cassava rum pudding daily.”
Rance has basically removed one of the main ingredients in Jamaica’s tourism product, the cuisine, from the confines of the hotel property and is serving it to the world in a rustic, relaxed and spacious setting.
TERRIFIC
So far, the response from patrons has been terrific.
“Everybody that comes [here] love it. Once they drive in they’re like, ‘Wow, this is really nice.’ It’s really down-to-earth, it’s very welcoming and with a very relaxing atmosphere,” explained Trishawana Davidson, FDR’s executive assistant manager, who is involved in the day-to-day running of the restaurant.
“I’ve gotten great reviews on the food, they love it; they say it’s beyond their expectation. The quality is really nice, the portion is really good; they really love it.”
Rance added,”We have people who’ve been back three times in two weeks.”
“We had so many chefs and cooks on lay-off and rotation, so we created the idea to keep them employed,” Rance explained.
“Waiters, chefs, kitchen cleaners, we got them all employed during the COVID time when everybody is going through a rough time. So that inspired the idea of the cooking, to take everybody in Jamaica around five different countries all in one spot. You call one number every day and it’s food you can take home, something different every day.”
Rance sees the i dea of a multi-cuisine restaurant not just becoming a hit locally through Cuisines 2 Go, but potentially a hit internationally, to the extent that he believes he will be able to franchise the product.
“Not only will it take Jamaican food abroad, but it will also take Jamaican skills,” he pointed out.
Butter chicken