The hunger returns for chef as he launches online artisan food business
Chef and former Huddersfield restaurateur, Barrington Douglas, is back in the kitchen cooking up a new online business venture.
Douglas, 55, who ran Caribbean restaurant Discovery Bay in Huddersfield for 12 years, is bringing his patties, chutneys and secret-recipe sauces back with his Phat Patty Company.
The Huddersfield-born chef, who has appeared on TV with celebrity chefs including Gordon Ramsay and Gary Rhodes, achieved a lifelong dream when he opened his own restaurant. He later produced his own award-winning jerk pork pies and a hot pepper sauce.
After closing Discovery Bay in 2017 and needing to spend more time with his family following the death of his father, he left the food industry and went into sales.
But he now says: “My passion for food and cooking is back and is burning bright. I’ve had the break that we all need at some time in our life and I’m back in the kitchen.
“I started in a small way making patties at home on a weekend and selling them via social media and the response was amazing.
“I quickly found I couldn’t keep up with demand so now I’ve turned what was a weekend operation into a full-time online venture with plans to grow and expand.”
Douglas makes an artisan Jamaican curried patty, a twist on a Cornish pasty. The original recipe is based on his mother’s from back home in Jamaica but over the last 10 years he has refined and perfected it.
He is also bringing his royal hot pepper sauce back. It is medium-spiced and comes in 270ml bottles.
He has launched his business with a website where customers can order deliveries to their door.
As Phat Patty grows, Douglas said he wants to give a helping hand to more young people whose life chances may have been limited.
“I want to train kids and give them an opportunity,” he said. “Some of my previous trainees have become great chefs in their own right.”
In future, he plans to expand his range to include a jerk BBQ sauce, a tomato and pimento chutney and a Caribbean spice mix. All have previously achieved success in the Great Taste Awards.
