Floella Benjamin, known to a certain age group as a presenter of TV's Play School, is capitalising on her later reputation as a champion of Caribbean cuisine by developing a food range.
Set for launch in March, the first products off the Caribbean Kitchen production line will be chilled ready meals. Variants are yet to be finalised but they are likely to be curried mutton with rice and peas, Calypso chicken and Junkaroo Prawns with tomato and onion, along with four varieties of vegetables, including sweet potato wedges, plantain, green bananas with onions and calaloo spinach. Escovitch fish and roti may also appear in the range.
All the recipes are based on traditional Caribbean meals but Benjamin is giving them a contemporary twist to appeal to mainstream consumers.
Packaging is still in development but will include an unusual fold-out sleeve containing information about Caribbean cuisine and about the individual islands.
Plans include a range of meals specifically targeted at children, as well as soups, fruit drinks and Caribbean fruit cake. Two of the big four major multiples have already "expressed strong interest", said Keith Taylor, Benjamin's PR manager. "Caribbean food is on the brink of a boom in this country. And Floella is just the woman to be at the forefront. We've done some research that found she is a very trusted name, particularly with young adults who grew up with her on TV and their parents, while children also respond well to her."
The former kids' show frontwoman has been running her own TV production company for 20 years. The programme portfolio includes lifestyle, documentaries and children's shows, as well as food & cookery series. She presented Caribbean Kitchen, a series that investigated the Caribbean food available in the UK and demonstrated recipes.
Set for launch in March, the first products off the Caribbean Kitchen production line will be chilled ready meals. Variants are yet to be finalised but they are likely to be curried mutton with rice and peas, Calypso chicken and Junkaroo Prawns with tomato and onion, along with four varieties of vegetables, including sweet potato wedges, plantain, green bananas with onions and calaloo spinach. Escovitch fish and roti may also appear in the range.
All the recipes are based on traditional Caribbean meals but Benjamin is giving them a contemporary twist to appeal to mainstream consumers.
Packaging is still in development but will include an unusual fold-out sleeve containing information about Caribbean cuisine and about the individual islands.
Plans include a range of meals specifically targeted at children, as well as soups, fruit drinks and Caribbean fruit cake. Two of the big four major multiples have already "expressed strong interest", said Keith Taylor, Benjamin's PR manager. "Caribbean food is on the brink of a boom in this country. And Floella is just the woman to be at the forefront. We've done some research that found she is a very trusted name, particularly with young adults who grew up with her on TV and their parents, while children also respond well to her."
The former kids' show frontwoman has been running her own TV production company for 20 years. The programme portfolio includes lifestyle, documentaries and children's shows, as well as food & cookery series. She presented Caribbean Kitchen, a series that investigated the Caribbean food available in the UK and demonstrated recipes.
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