Grace Foods UK, the UK's no 1 supplier of Caribbean food and drink, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year by delivering a box of its legendary Jamaican-style Jerk BBQ Sauce and its Dunn's River Jamaican Jerk Seasoning, which have been given a special-edition gold makeover, to the Queen to help her add some Caribbean island ‘flava' to her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Grace Kennedy, the parent company to Grace Foods UK, began its food and drink journey back in 1922, just four years before Her Majesty was born, and over 100 years, the company has grown to become the world's leading supplier of Caribbean food and drink.
To celebrate its 100th anniversary, Grace Foods UK has launched special-edition gold bottles of its legendary Grace Jamaican-style Jerk BBQ Sauce and its Dunn's River Special Edition Jamaican Jerk Seasoning, which have been delivered to the Queen's residence along with some recipes on how to create Caribbean party food for big occasions, such as Platinum Jubilees.
Vandu Patel, Marketing Manager for Grace Foods UK, says: "We are so excited to be celebrating our 100th anniversary in the same year that the Queen celebrates her Platinum Jubilee, and we wanted to be able to give Her Majesty a special gift from us that will bring ‘flavas' of the Caribbean and the Commonwealth country of Jamaica to her celebrations.
"Caribbean food is really having a moment this year. A recent survey by Mintel* found that 46% of UK consumers picked Caribbean food as a food they wanted to sample, so the indications are that Caribbean food will be very popular this year. We hope by delivering our special-edition gold labels bottles of jerk sauces and seasonings to the royal household, the Queen will be able to enjoy some Caribbean food and Grace will get the royal seal of approval!
"We all love Her Majesty the Queen here at Grace and she has been the Queen of Jamaica since 1952. A lot may change for Jamaica in the near future as regards the links with the UK royal family but the people of Jamaica will always have a special fondness for the Queen and wish her well in this, her platinum year."
Jerk cooking dates back 300 years and is rooted in ingredients from Jamaica's fertile green landscape, and consists of an exotic blend of scallions, onions, scotch bonnet peppers, salt, thyme, allspice, black pepper and many other spices. The Jerk flavour is savoury, fragrant, and spicy.
Grace Foods UK, which is the parent company to Grace Kennedy, a $1bn corporation, based in Kingston, Jamaica and is one of the Caribbean's most dynamic businesses. GraceKennedy's global food operation, GK Foods, spans food processing, manufacturing and distribution across the Caribbean, USA, Canada, UK and Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Grace Kennedy was founded on 14 February 1922.
Grace Kennedy CEO Don Wehby was among the welcoming party that greeted Prince William and Kate when they visited Jamaica earlier this year.
