Growing up, Jenna Walker spent her days at her grandmother’s home watching her cook traditional Jamaican food. Now a 36-year-old businesswoman, she has opened a Jamaican patty store in Altrincham that is a tribute to her late relative. “It’s the sort of stuff that I learned from my mum and my grandma.
” She told the MEN. “It’s a homage to my grandmother. I was close to my nana and every day after school I would be at my nana's watching her cook.
“It’s nice to keep her alive through the food. That’s what makes me really happy about the food because it’s about heritage.” READ MORE: I went to this Nigerian restaurant and was blown away and disappointed Before opening the store, Jenna, from Altrincham, was an interior designer with years of experience before the lockdown saw a slow down in business.
Always an avid baker, she began to pivot into the food industry and started a successful Instagram page that saw her sell through local bakeries. Jenna is on Moss Lane in Altrincham (Image: Manchester Evening News) Fast-forward to 2024, she is now the proud owner of a classy little store on Moss Lane named after her. Jenna’s interior design background shines strong through the décor of the store which also sells homewares.
An off-white colour scheme with woody, earthy tones instils a sense of calm when you walk in. The tables and counters have a marble finish and luxury homeware that has been sourced from black owned businesses is also on sale at the store. But the unique selling point of the store comes in the Jamaican patties that are made the same day at 4.
30am by the industrious Jenna. Jenna bakes all the patties first thing in the morning (Image: Manchester Evening News) The options available are beef, cheesy beef, chicken curry, lamb, and curried lentils, spicy vegetables and quorn for the vegans and veggies. Prices range from £5.
50 to £6 a piece and the meat patties are halal. A proud Jamaican woman, Jenna decided to centre the patty as the unique selling point of her store due to its story that mirrors Jamaica’s ethnically diverse heritage. The patty’s inception is borne from colonialism, slavery, industry, and the inventiveness of the African, Asian, and Latin people that came to call the island home.
It was brought to the Caribbean Isles as a Cornish pasty in the 17 th century. Cornish ships and sailors had travelled through the triangle route of West Africa, England, and the Caribbean, transporting slaves, spices, and sugar. The taste of the patty evolved once the people of the island got their hands on it, using readily available ingredients like scotch bonnet to give it the spice it is now famous for.
The store also doubles up as a homeware shop with products sourced from black-owned businesses (Image: Manchester Evening News) I took a trip to Jenna’s recently to try all the patties on offer and I can’t help but recommend the chicken patty for its expertly seasoned stuffing, soft but crunchy pastry and perfect amount of chilli that doesn’t overpower you but still excites. As well as the patties, Jenna sells authentic baked goods like banana bread, hard dough bread (plaited and regular), rum cake and bulla cake which are all sourced from local black owned businesses and bakeries. They also stock Marley Coffee, the ethical, fair trade and sustainable coffee company founded by Bob Marley’s son Roha.
Jenna switched careers from interior design to bakery (Image: Manchester Evening News) “We sell out every single day," said Jenna, who opened the store at the end of September. “Not just the patties, I’ve had people who love the hard dough bread, the bun and the herbal teas have done really well. “I needed to put a spotlight on other premium quality Caribbean producers.
I wanted to launch a business, but I wanted to bring other people with me. “That was really important to me because a lot of people don’t know how premium Caribbean products are and who the people are behind these products.”.
