Speaking with Feed the Malik About Our Bold Caribbean Flavors
Why it matters to us
As Black women, running our own business has been no easy feat. But it’s been one of our greatest joys and we wouldn’t trade it for the world. We recently had the chance to speak with Anela Malik of Feed the Malik about our experience running our food business in the DC metro area, and it was such a treat! The interview really reaffirmed the importance sharing our bold Caribbean flavors with our community, and hammered home why it’s so important that we, as Black women, share our story.
Home-made Beginnings
It may be hard to believe, but we got started about a year and a half ago in our home in Prince George’s County, MD. Literally, in our home as a food cottage business. Before officially filing papers to get our business started, we decided to test out the feasibility of the idea with a few select family and friends. For years we had been hearing pretty much the same thing over and over again: that our food was excellent and just really fresh. As Caribbean women, you can say that cooking is second nature to us, and really, it’s in our blood. We’re a mother and daughter duo who learned all that we know about cooking from our namesake, Ms. Camella. She was our mother and grandmother respectively. Like us, Ms. Camella had her own cottage food business in Trinidad and sold baked goods and sweets to local hometown – at stores and at the town market. Karen (the mom of our duo) used to help Ms. Camella prepare some of the treats for selling. It is some of these same treats that we’re bringing to our community in the DC metro area and beyond.
The Pivot to Online
Running a business has not been without its challenges. This is something that Malik is all too aware of when it comes to the state of Black owned food businesses in DC, MD, and VA. As the creator of the popular Black owned restaurant list for the DC metro area, she wanted to hear about our challenges during these unusual times. Since we’re still relatively new, this past year and a half has been all about learning the ropes of what it takes to run a business. On top of that, we made the decision to bootstrap (self-fund) our business, as it was the easiest form of capital that we had access too. In general, Black women tend to face a lack of access to capital. On top of these regular challenges, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: coronavirus. Starting off 2020, we had ambitious plans for how we were going to stir the pot this year. But we found ourselves having to pivot once it became clear that COVID-19 was not going away anytime soon. Our primary way of promoting ourselves had been through in-person events, but unfortunately, that would not be an option for the foreseeable future. While we have had an online store from our inception, the circumstances of this year really forced us to move 100% of our sales activity online. We had already been planning to put more of a focus on online sales, but we didn’t expect that we’d have to pivot like this! As we no longer have in-person visibility, now more than ever we’re relying on other methods to connect with our community and potential customers. Our primary modes of doing so are through Instagram, our email newsletter, and through our quick and easy recipes which are also available on YouTube. Really, during this time, we’ve found that maintaining on online presence has been key to overcoming our challenges and establishing stronger connections.
Camella’s Kitchen’s green seasoning. Photo by Anela Malik for Feed the Malik.
Supporting our Local Community
As Caribbean folk, we’re used to getting food directly from the source. This is the form in which food is at its freshest, and you get peak flavor. That’s why it’s so important that we work with local farms in the area to source our ingredients. Not only do we get quality ingredients, but we also get to support our local farmers. For instance, take our Island Herb Blend (Caribbean green seasoning). We’ve been lucky enough to source herbs from Three Part Harmony Farm in Washington, DC. Later on, this summer, we’ll be working with New Brooklyn Farms in Mt. Rainier, MD for a limited-edition item. Both farmers do amazing work in uplifting their communities, and we’re glad that as a business, we’re able to patronize them and further contribute to their work and help in sustaining our communities.
A Cosmopolitan Caribbean Mix
If you’re unfamiliar with Trinidadian food, it’s a cosmopolitan mix of food influenced by our indigenous roots, and history of slavery, indentured labor and colonization. It’s a mix of African, East Indian, and Chinese with influences of European and Amerindian. Some of our favorites are chicken pelau – a popular one pot rice dish, curry crab and dumpling – a Tobago favorite, and callaloo – our national dish. The star of Caribbean cuisine really is the fresh herbs that we use. That’s why green seasoning and pepper sauce are common ingredients that you would find in most Caribbean households in Trinidad and Tobago (and most Caribbean islands). It’s these two things that serve as the staple of all our cooking, and why we’re working to bring it to you.
Food for Thought
Listen to the full interview if you’d like to hear the nuances of conversation. As Anela said, it certainly gave her many laughs. In it, you’ll also hear some recommendations for other local Caribbean restaurants to try. Like what you heard? Drop a comment below, or on Feed the Malik to let us know what you think! Please note, at the time of the interview restaurants were not allowed to have dine-in options due to the coronavirus pandemic.
After the interview, Anela posed the following question: with limited overhead and no debts, are small businesses like our better able to pivot and survive a period of slowing sales? That honestly is something that we are still in the process of finding out. Being a home-based business, we don’t have to worry about the costs of rent that comes with a physical store, and therefore the quick pivot to selling mostly online was not a problem. For us, our challenge has been visibility, as we were not able to go to popup events due to stay at home orders and health concerns in general. Coronavirus has provided just as many opportunities as it has challenges. Since this interview, we’ve had the chance to gain more exposure through different avenues, and really that is what’s sustaining us. It remains to be seen if the current interest in Black business is a trend or if it will sustain overtime. Either way, during this time, we’ve learned the importance of being our own advocate and are actively embracing our mantra to #BeCamellaSaucy!
Photo by Anela Malik.
A Little Extra on the Side
In addition to doing the interview with us, Anela has tried two of our signature flavors: our Island Herb Blend and our Mango Pepper Sauce. She found these flavors to be “fresh, spicy, and delicious.” As she discovered, in addition to the wonderful blend of flavors, our Mango Pepper Sauce has a fiery kick to it. See below for some extras that she created after the interview:
10 Creative Ways to Use Mango Pepper Sauce (or any hot sauce)! – Caribbean food is spicy. Use this guide for creative ways to incorporate our pepper sauces into your everyday cuisine.
Herb Roasted Chicken Thighs Recipe – this was made with our Island Herb Blend and the pictures alone are tantalizing!
This interview originally appeared on Feed the Malik. Read more and listen to the original interview here. See below to listen to the podcast on Spotify.
