Fast Food Culture

Fast food is an oxymoron in Jamaica. It may be food (although I guess people who care about nutrition levels would dispute that)… but it is most certainly never fast. It takes the grumpy looking women behind the counter at least ten minutes to complete your order before they stuff it is a plastic bag and throw it at you,by which time you are beginning to think "I may as well have gone to that nice restuarant..." and wonder whether there is any point to this so-called 'Fast Food'. Jamaicans love it nonetheless; the most popular is Juici Patties, serving ‘Jamaican’ cuisine and indigenous to the island. Then there are the big American chains: Burger King and the particularly popular Kentucky Fried Chicken. All have queues running around the restaurant during lunch time – and due to the speed of service, it is unsuprising.

Every place is the same: plastic tables and chairs, surly looking female servers, and dubious sounding fruit drinks on the menu (in a country famous for its tropical fruits, why is all of the fruit juice I've come across composed of mere flavourings?). Juici Patties seems to be the most popular; it serves a distinctly Jamaican brand of Cornish Pasties, full of meat and cheese and exceedingly tasty. Then there is the equally popular KFC, which has no doubt made successful inroads due to its use of chicken. Jamaican’s LOVE chicken; it is served for nearly every meal, most often with the ubiquitous and quickly tiring rice and beans. However, one thing you won’t see in Jamaica is the golden arch: McDonald’s is present in 119 countries, but Jamaica ain’t one of ‘em. Reasons for this are debatable; the franchise arrived in 1995 and stuck around for a decade, but didn’t make enough of an impact on locals. Reasons are debatable: KFC has done well due to its use of chicken, but then Burger King - similar in food style to the Big M - has also done well. Theory goes that the McDonald’s meals just weren’t big enough. Jamaican’s like big portions; they like to stretch back after a meal and pat their belly in satisfaction, sometimes with a contented burp. McDonalds and their Happy Meals failed to fulfil that expectation.