Best place for peanut soup ... Footy's Ital Sip
Daviot Kelly, Staff Reporter
No matter who we asked, they all knew where to find 'the peanut soup man' of Haddo, Westmoreland.
Footy, as he prefers to be called, has been running his peanut soup shop for 25 years. Born in Haddo, it was after returning from the United States that he decided he wanted to try something different. Initially, his soup had cow skin, but he was curious to try it without meat. After a 'vision' of shelling peanuts, the idea came to him.
"I said to a bredren, if peanut can mek porridge, it mus' can mek soup," he recalled. His friend was fearful he would "poison off people," but the first day he used two pounds of peanut, and ran out of soup long before day's end.
"So mi jus' continue wid it 'cause mi can eat a food. A it sen' all mi pickney dem go a school," said Footy. There is no secret to Footy's recipe, as he uses various ground provisions including carrot, turnip, cho-cho and fresh okra along with coconut milk ("dat gi it di flavour"). What you won't find in his soup is salt. He starts as early as 5:30 a.m. and when school is in session, he needs two pots.
Footy's roadside shop is a popular hub, especially for the children as it is cheap (one cup for $100) and healthy. He named his establishment Footy's Ital Sip after the suggestion of reggae crooner Luciano who, he said, is a big fan. He pointed out that members of the successful Reno football teams of yesteryear were regular patrons. Secret to their success perhaps?
Best Places
Jamaicans love food and probably eat out more than they do at home.
The Food team is on a mission to find the best places in the island for some of your favourites. Do you know where to find the best jerk chicken, mannish water or your favourite cup of porridge? Tell us at lifestyle@gleanerjm.com, and we might just put it to the test.