Making the cut - With the Box

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Adrian Luckie outside his new arch

WE SAT DOWN WITH ADRIAN LUCKIE, THE CHEF BEHIND MAMA JERKS AND THE GUARDIAN OF HIS GREAT GRANDMAMAS SECRET RECIPE, TO TALK ABOUT HOW THE BUSINESS CAME ABOUT.

What made you set up Mama Jerks?

Mamas Jerk was setup in March 2009 to try create a legacy to my great Grandmotherssecret Jerk BBQ Sauce recipe Mama Charlotte being in the food industry for over 20 yearsas a chef my love of food and great home style cooking was passed down through thegenerations of my great grandmother, grandmother and mother. This led me to venture onmy own to start a Caribbean street food business with a difference, by simplifying a jerkproduct in the form of Jerk chicken wraps. Starting at the legendary Vibe Bar on Brick Lane,with lots of hard work gave us the platform to be where we are today trying to grow a smallempire of Mamas Jerks.

Cooking up a storm

WE LIKE TO TRY DIFFERENTIATING OURSELVES FROM OTHER WEST INDIAN TAKEAWAYS & RESTAURANTS

What makes Mama Jerks different to your average takeaway?

We like to try differentiating ourselves from other West Indian takeaways restaurants withthe food we produce – service we provide and style branding of our operations. We are notafraid to try fusing classic dishes like lamb shank mash with for example Jerk Lamb Shank withSweet potato Mash and Jerk Gravy – creating Gluten free vegan and vegetarian dishes, we willtry to mainly focus on healthy clean eating with the Deptford.

Why Deptford?

As a young teenager I was raised in Greenwich, Lewisham and Brockley and used to draggedkicking and screaming down to Deptford High Street market every Saturday to get specialityCaribbean food products by my Mum, seeing the fantastic regeneration of the area and seeingour arch for the first time, gave me a feeling of coming back home. Its a great site and greatlocation and we want to fully ingrain Mamas Jerk into the local community by offering ourstyle of food, look and service.

Adrian Luckie outside his new arch