Pub company and brewer, Greene King has teamed up with a local Burton-on-Trent chef, Monica Holton to create Jamaican menu items which are now being enjoyed across the UK.
The Head Chef at Dattie’s Soul Food runs a popular takeaway business in the heart of the midlands, serving authentic Jamaican cuisine to locals.
Following an introduction to the business via Unity, Greene King’s employee led inclusion group, Monica was invited to host a cook-along to celebrate Black History Month in 2021, where she demonstrated her unique take on home cooked Jamaican classics.
Given the growing trend for Caribbean cuisine, the Food Development team at Greene King invited Monica to work with them to create two new exclusive dishes: Jerk Chicken & Ribs, and a classic Jamaican Chicken Curry, which have since made their debuts nationwide in Hungry Horse and Flaming Grill pubs respectively.
Monica said, “My journey to becoming a chef started with my parents, watching my Mum set the table as a child in anticipation of a feast is such an important memory for me.
“Our goal at Dattie’s Soul Food is to share the wonders of Jamaican heritage and culture with the world, so we were delighted when Jason from Greene King invited me to cook with the team.
“It was fantastic to hear about the incredible work Unity is doing to celebrate diversity in all forms across the business. Encouraging people from different backgrounds and cultures to integrate fully at every level of Greene King has led to this fantastic collaboration, allowing us to launch two new incredible dishes”
Jason Marshall, business analyst and Unity lead, said, “It’s really exciting that what started as Unity raising awareness of Black History month with a cook-along celebrating Jamaican heritage and cuisine, has now led to a great collaboration between Monica and Greene King.
'Our food development team were really impressed with Monica’s dishes and could see the opportunity to add authentic Jamaican dishes to our menus.”
Unity, along with Greene King’s three other employee led inclusion groups, play an important role in Greene King’s journey to everyday inclusion, helping to build and sustain a more diverse environment where all people are embraced and valued, so they are empowered to reach their full potential and thrive.
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Most recently, supported by Unity, team members have been involved with Greene King’s Reverse Mentoring programme, where all members of the executive board were paired with team members from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds to fully understand the challenges they face on a day-to-day basis.