CHAIRMAN AND Chief Executive Officer of Juici Patties, Jukie Chin, has established one of the largest home-grown food empires in the island.
From learning to bake patties at a
little establishment in Kingston, Wing Shin Restaurant, where he worked for one year after graduating from Glenmuir High School in 1978, this 42-year-old son of Clarendon now has 42 Juici patty outlets across the island, and a factory in Canada, which distributes patties to the major supermarkets.
The company is also one of the
first local fast food chains to offer a franchise.
For his achievements as an entrepreneur extraordinaire over the last 25 years, Mr. Chin has been awarded the Order of Distinction (Officer Class), which was presented to him on Heroes Day (Monday, October 20), by Governor-General, His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Howard Cooke at Kings House.
Mr. Chin says that his success to date has been due to "work, work and more work, treating all customers well and providing what they need in a comfortable environment in the most efficient way."
He recalled the days of baking and selling his own beef patties from his parents' grocery store at Rocky Point, Clarendon, in 1979.
"A lot of thought and energy has been invested in this business," he says, citing the company's expansion from producing just beef patties years ago, to the wide range of products now on offer, including chicken, lobster, vegetable, cheese and mega cheese patties, and his latest innovation, stewed chicken patty.
Alongside the range of Juici patties are other traditional Jamaican fare, such as callaloo and vegetable loaves, jerked chicken and breakfast dishes of ackee and saltfish, callaloo, liver and stewed chicken. Also offered are peanut, hominy and plantain porridges and soups such as red peas, chicken and conch. The seemingly endless menu also includes pastries such as bullas, cakes, muffins, bread and
potato pudding.
"There is no doubt that I'm truly Jamaican, and catering to the Jamaican palate is a pleasure. I think that's why many people support the business, because they're getting value for money and real Jamaican favourites," said Mr. Chin. Innovation has been at the forefront of the company's operations over the years, and Mr. Chin has ensured that its systems have been upgraded, including its production equipment. The latest initiative has been the construction of a new, state-of-the-art 85,000 square-foot manufacturing plant at its Clarendon Park headquarters in central Jamaica.
The plant, which was built to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) standards, houses its own modern slaughtering facility.
With the opening of an outlet in Falmouth, Trelawny, in 2001, the Chairman points out that Juice Patties became the only fast food chain in Jamaica to be operating in all 14 parishes.
The venture in Canada has been made possible through the acquisition of a small patty-making factory in Scarborough, Ontario, Mr. Chin says.
A large employer of labour, this huge enterprise has 850 persons on staff, and a fleet of 25 refrigerated trucks.
Mr. Chin is a sports enthusiast who reaches out to the community to offer young people opportunities for self-development. This is evident in his sponsorship of two major competitions the Juici Patties South Central Confederation Under-13 and Under-15 Youth Football Competition, and the Juice Patties/Insport Under-12 and Under-15 Netball Competition.
TALENTS
Both competitions have enjoyed this sponsorship for about 10 years, and emerging from them have been national talents such as national netballer Elaine Davis and topflight footballers, Winston Griffiths and Omar Daley.
Mr. Chin's caring nature has also been evident in the Soup Kitchen Feeding Programme, which his
company, along with the Maggi Soup brand, initiated over a year ago, to assist in the feeding of occupants of golden age homes and the island's infirmaries, on a weekly basis. Each of the institutions has benefited at least three times since the start of the programme, with over 2,000 needy persons receiving meals.
Commenting on his national award, the chairman says he "feels very honoured that my efforts have been recognised and even though I didn't set out to, or dream that I would get an award, I humbly accept."
"However, I would like to recognise the support of those persons who have been with me and they include my family, my employees and my customers," he adds.
Mr. Chin indicated that more stores are to come on stream, "but I don't
think it is wise to reveal all my plans just yet."
A devout family man, the chairman is married to Edith and they have two children. In his spare time, Mr. Chin goes to the gym and plays table tennis.
