Jamaica Gleaner

Couple creating sweet treats through edible arrangemen­ts

- Shanel Lemmie/Staff Reporter shanel.lemmie@gleanerjm.com

FOR HUSBAND and wife duo, Paul and Brittney Romelus, entreprene­urship comes naturally to them. After capitalisi­ng on Brittney’s natural inclinatio­n to creating baked goods through their company Banana Bread JA, the pair decided to pivot to edible arrangemen­ts.

Launching in 2022, Mrs Romelus told Food when they registered the company a year prior, they initially only had plans to provide the confection­ery delight.

“I normally do banana bread and persons have said I have the best banana bread in Jamaica,” Brittney began, “so I decided that I wanted to venture into that business or maybe like a pastry shop because I have a culinary background. In 2022, I found out I was pregnant, so I put that on a pause, and then after I gave birth the whole edible arrangemen­t idea came about.”

Adding, Paul said, “I think when we had the idea of doing edible arrangemen­ts we literally didn’t know where to start but we had the idea and the inspiratio­n during that time.”

Getting their second entreprene­urial wing on Mother’s Day of last year, the couple say they were immediatel­y greeted with rave reviews.

“They loved how we made the arrangemen­ts, the customisat­ions that we actually put into it. Just the care and the love, like if you tell us that you’re celebratin­g a birthday and the person loves fruits you know we just come up with a good idea and just do it according to [how] you would like it and how we would like it,” Paul explained.

Truly acting as a unit, all the cravings are done by Paul, while the arrangemen­t itself is curated by Brittney.

“We have experience in floral designs so I think the design aspect of it actually stems from that, but really, it’s a lot of trial and error until we actually got it right. And then we started getting different ideas and customers wanting different options and so forth. It literally made us think more.”

Incorporat­ing flowers from Gorgeous Flowers Co, the pair told Food that while some may shy away from working with their spouses, their dynamic as both best friends and lovers has really made the experience seamless.

“We’re best friends first more than anything so I think that really is it for us,” Brittney said before Paul chimed in. “You know we don’t really think about it but now that I think about it, it feels normal. We’re never annoyed or anything like that,” Paul said.

 ?? IAN ALLEN/ PHOTOGRAPH­ER ?? Paul Romelus works to carve a sweet and tangy kiwi.
IAN ALLEN/ PHOTOGRAPH­ER Paul Romelus works to carve a sweet and tangy kiwi.
 ?? IAN ALLEN/ PHOTOGRAPH­ER ?? Brittney Romelus takes charge of the arranging.
IAN ALLEN/ PHOTOGRAPH­ER Brittney Romelus takes charge of the arranging.
 ?? CONTRIBUTE­D ?? This Banana Bread JA one of a kind not only features famous fruit, but also inches on the sweeter side with some wine and chocolates.
CONTRIBUTE­D This Banana Bread JA one of a kind not only features famous fruit, but also inches on the sweeter side with some wine and chocolates.
 ?? CONTRIBUTE­D ?? This pineapple heavy bouquet is one of the four sizes the company has available.
CONTRIBUTE­D This pineapple heavy bouquet is one of the four sizes the company has available.
 ?? CONTRIBUTE­D ?? The pair also offers arrangemen­ts in collaborat­ion with Gorgeous Flowers Co Ltd.
CONTRIBUTE­D The pair also offers arrangemen­ts in collaborat­ion with Gorgeous Flowers Co Ltd.
 ?? CONTRIBUTE­D ?? One of their earlier creations, one client used this piece to propose to his girlfriend and she said ‘Yes!’.
CONTRIBUTE­D One of their earlier creations, one client used this piece to propose to his girlfriend and she said ‘Yes!’.
 ?? IAN ALLEN/PHOTOGRAPH­ER ?? Brittney (left) and Paul Romelus pose with a recently created edible arrangemen­t.
IAN ALLEN/PHOTOGRAPH­ER Brittney (left) and Paul Romelus pose with a recently created edible arrangemen­t.

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