Growth & Jobs | St Elizabeth chef fires up CB PAN Chicken stage

FOR MOBOLJI Bryan, pan chicken vendor and chef, food is more than a meal, it is an expression of love and artistry.

“Food is my life, not just a hustle. It’s my love language,” declared the 27-year-old entrepreneur from Frenchman, Slipe, in southwest St Elizabeth.

His passion and flair for food were on full display at the 2025 CB PAN Chicken Championships held at Jamaica College recently. A total of 32 pan chicken vendors and six Copperwood pan pork vendors competed for the top titles, drawing hundreds of patrons to the event, which was staged under the theme ‘Roots, Rock & Ready Chicken’.

Bryan’s chest tightened with anticipation as Khadine ‘Ms Kitty’ Hylton Wilkinson, the event emcee, began spelling out his name in scrambled letters on stage during the announcement of the winners. He placed second in both the pan chicken and sauce competitions.

“The joy I felt deep down was priceless,” he recalled.

Bryan won $750,000 from CB Foods, one year’s supply of CB chicken, six months’ supply of bread from National Baking Company, $75,000 from JN Money, among other prizes. First and third place winners were April Taylor of Kingston and Adrian Walker of Hanover.

For Bryan, the recognition marked the reward for years of hard work and the will to succeed. He related that he started selling pan chicken in 2017 when he opened a small cookshop in his community.

“At first, my pan chicken wasn’t the best tasting chicken, but I was determined to learn more about culinary art,” he said.

To improve his craft, he enrolled at the HEART/NSTA Trust Black River campus and completed training in commercial food preparation levels two and three. Over time, he sharpened his skills alongside experienced chefs, learning to “adapt and evolve”.

Encouraged by friends, family, and loyal clients, Bryan entered this year’s competition to test his jerk chicken against the best.

SELF BELIEF

“I’ve always thought they were being a bit extra with their compliments whenever I prepare jerk, but for me, I always believe I can do better.”

In Bryan’s opinion, his success at the championships has validated his culinary skills. He anticipates that the recognition will open doors to new opportunities.

“For one, it will motivate me even more to know that my goals of owning my own restaurant is possible and receive more clients due to the exposure. I’m now living the PAN dream. In the next few years, I would like to see myself as a world-renown chef,” he added.

Bryan reflected on how he almost missed the opportunity to compete. The preliminary round required him to attend a workshop in St James in late July, but unexpected transportation challenges almost kept him away.

“My car started acting up a week before the workshop, so I had to bring it to the mechanic. After doing so, the mechanic said it wouldn’t be completed in time for me to drive it to MoBay so what I did was ask someone to take me. On the day of the workshop, when I called the person, he said he could no longer take me.”

He reached out to another person for transportation but that proved unsuccessful. He turned to his usual car rental contact, but after several unanswered calls that left him anxious about missing the workshop, he finally got through only to be told he would have to rent the vehicle for two days. Despite the extra cost, he proceeded with the rental to ensure he made it.

Bryan expressed appreciation for the invaluable money management presentation by JN Money during the workshop, which he believes will help to boost the success of his business.

“The advice from JN Money at the workshop has greatly benefited me by teaching me how to better manage my earnings and plan for growth. It gave me tools that I can use to strengthen my business in securing a better future,” he said, adding that he will now endeavour to save at least 20 per cent of his income.

JN Money has been a sponsor of the competition for the past eight years.

Sheryll Martin, a resident of Portmore, St Catherine, and a customer of Bryan, said that despite the distance, she uses his catering services for her events.

“The experience of his food is just magical. He is really born for this. He is above par,” she declared.

Martin shared that she first met Bryan after getting a recommendation from someone to used his services for a funeral repast.

“Everyone who attended the funeral enjoyed the food immensely,” she related.

She pointed out that she attended the PAN Chicken Championship to support Bryan.

“I had to be there to encourage him to continue doing the excellent work,” she said.