Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer
Left: 'Chicken George' cooks a fish dish at Bob's Café, located at the Bob Marley Museum on Hope Road. Right: Arlene McKay specialises in meat dishes at the Bob Marley Museum Restaurant. - PHOTOS BY RUDOLPH BROWN/CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
Dem belly full, but wi hungry
An a hungry man is an angry
man.
- Bob Marley
OKAY, SO Bob was not talking about culinary delights when he wrote that song for his Natty Dread album back in 1974, but the 'Dread' certainly knew a thing or two when it came on to food. Operators of Bob's Café at the Bob Marley Museum at Hope Road want to share that side of the reggae legend with locals and foreigners.
The eatery opened in August but according to Lennie Chen, one of its principals, there will be an official opening this month. Julius Chin Yee, Chen's partner in the venture, says things have been going well since they started serving three months ago.
"It's been good, excellent. A lot of tourists have been coming here," Chin Yee told The Gleaner this week. "They want to taste what Bob Marley loved to eat."
According to Vivian 'Chicken George' Howell, one of the main chefs at Bob's Café, Marley was a "foodie" of no mean order.
"Him used to love him steam fish and ital stew ... love him juice like Irish Moss," said the diminutive 'Chicken'. "When him inna the studio or him a rehearse, him call fi some peanut porridge or festival or some greens."
St. Mary-born 'Chicken George' says he first met Marley when they were living in Trench Town during the 1960s. He says he prepared meals for him before he attained superstardom in the mid-1970s, and became his official cook in 1978.
For authenticity, Chen and Chin Yee brought in 'Chicken George' to reproduce the meals Marley loved. But, the menu at Bob's Café is not all Rasta man vibration.
GREAT FOOD COSTS
"People love the fish. That's our highlight, but we have jerk chicken wings, tenderloin, lobster," he explained. "It's one of the arrangements we have with the Marley family ... that we can serve non-Rasta foods."
Eating at Bob's Café can cost a pretty penny. A serving of Ackee and Saltfish costs $700, Oxtail and Butter Beans fetches $900 and the Peppa Steak runs to $1,500. The fish, depending on its size and how it is prepared, can cost as much as $5,000.
Chin Yee, former manager of the reggae band Mystic Revealers, says eating good anywhere in the world is not cheap.
"When people think of Jamaican food, they think of eating from a styrofoam box," said Chin Yee. "The concept was to make this a whole different ball game with the highest level of presentation."
Chin Yee has been in the food business for several years, having been a partner in Passion Foods. Chen, son of boxing promoter Lucien Chen, was on Marley's last world tour in 1980.
