Something would have to be dreadfully wrong if, with the season of Christmas fast approaching, the word ‘Pepperpot’ were not to merit a generous mention of media attention. Andrea Bryan-Garner appears determined that this time around it would be no different. When the Stabroek Business met with her earlier this week, she was preoccupied with putting the pieces together for this weekend’s (Saturday and Sunday) Annual Pepperpot Festival which will be staged at 229 Lance Gibbs Street, Queenstown. Over time, Andrea has come to see the event as a seasonal ‘Bell Crier’, a loud ‘shout out’ to Guyanese that Christmas is upon us.
Few things evoke the spirit of Christmas in Guyana more than a ‘whiff’ of Pepperpot. This year, she says, she expects that the event is likely to attract more than fifty (50) Pepperpot makers, all of whom will by hoping that the returns for participation in the event will reap rewards that might include ‘contracts’, not just for seasonal dinner tables, but for restaurants and Christmas parties. Beyond Pepperpot, the event provides opportunities for the ‘marketing’ of other Christmas ‘goodies,’ cakes, drinks and the various other ‘sundries’ that go with the season. Over the weekend, however, it is Pepperpot that will be the Belle of the Ball.
The variety of the offerings of Guyana’s favourite seasonal dish will include the conventional ‘mixed meats’ – Cow Face, Cow Heel, Salt Beef et. Al., Wild Meat Pepperpot and what is termed ‘One Meat’ Pepperpot – lamb, pork or beef. Fish, chicken, and a variety of vegetables, including Katahar and Squash, will be thrown in for good measure. She makes the point, as well, that in case prospective attendees are already wondering what else is ‘going with’ the Pepperpot, Andrea would wish it be known that one of the event’s prominent sponsors, Banks DIH Ltd., will be ‘throwing in’ their Golden Harvest bread to ‘go with’ the Pepperpots that will be on offer over the weekend.
Outside of Pepperpot, Andrea has infused her wider entrepreneurial instincts into the event. Accordingly, culinary offerings will embrace other familiar seasonal ‘goodies’… Black Cake, Sponge Cake and Sorrel and Mauby (drinks, The Craft, clothing and décor ‘offerings’ will allow for patrons seeking to acquire tasteful Christmas presents). There were other key messages that she wanted to send to those who might wish to attend the event. These include the fact that many of the vendors whose ‘offerings’ will be ‘on the market’ over the weekend are women operating modest businesses and hoping that this weekend will bring meaningful seasonal windfalls.
Beyond those, there will be ‘Thrift Shops’ offering items at significantly ‘knocked down’ prices, charity shops and ‘Giveaway’ stalls. In this regard, she makes the point that it is a matter of patronizing those who show up with their ‘offerings.’ During her engagement with the Stabroek Business, Andrea recalled that the inaugural Pepperpot event had been staged purely as a competition and that its metamorphosis had derived from the extent of the support that that event had secured. Feedback garnered from the event had pointed to a broad enthusiasm for an expanded event with a commercial overtone.
In ‘another life,’ Andrea, a self-confessed ‘foodie’ is a media consultant. The idea of a Pepperpot Festival, she told the Stabroek Business, had derived from ‘a dream’, the focus of which was a gathering of people in the National Park, parading pots and pans. It was from this ‘experience’, Andrea says, that her Pepperpot competition arose. Two colleagues partnered with her in the initial venture. The first Pepperpot Festival and Market Day attracted seventy (70) Vendors to its Thirst Park venue. Whereas the event had previously included on-site cooking, the ‘wait’ to eat (some types of Pepperpot are cooked over a considerable period of time) created a compelling reason for the setting aside of the Cooking Competition.
The culinary popularity of Pepperpot has pushed Andrea to ‘re-model’ the event to place less emphasis on competition and much greater focus on eating and enjoying this great Guyanese dish. This year, she says, attendees at the event will have no tantalizing wait before they are finally able to ‘dig into’ Guyana’s very favourite seasonal dish.
