f Paria - Ins and Outs of Trinidad & Tobago 2013

Les Femmes
du Chalet
Trinidad
experience
Where every day is
Sunday
by Sandra Baksh
The noise of industry permeates
downtown Port of Spain—blaring car
horns, rumbling engines and wailing
sirens. Throngs of people chatter on
mobile phones while they scurry along
even in the sweltering daytime heat.
But under the layers of dissonance
and odours associated with this city,
there is something distinct and enticing
happening just across on Wrightson
Road.
On the waterfront, between the Water
Taxi Terminal and the International
Financial Centre, the aroma of food
emanates from the cream-coloured
building, called Les Femmes du Chalet,
with its conspicuously tall curved roofs.
The knocking of pots, pans and plates
seem to be daily music coming from
the kitchens of this eatery called The
Breakfast Shed. Female cooks donning
red aprons printed with the word,
Maggi ® (their seasoning sponsor),
diligently attend to their business of the
day—preparing and serving breakfast
and lunch to famished customers.
“Yes, darlin’ what yuh having today”
is a normal greeting at the booth or
“kitchen” of any femme…usually a
heavyset, buxom, middle-aged woman
with a pleasant disposition. The salty
sea breeze whips through the open
eating area as patrons take their seats
at long wooden benches and tables,
plates or containers of food in hand,
eager to devour their meals in this
relaxing, scenic area of the bustling
city.
Here, it’s okay to share the same
bench with a group of people when
the place is crowded, especially at
lunchtime. Although the Shed originally
catered for the working class, nowadays,
tourists, professionals and even
politicians make frequent visits. This is
a safe and surreal place where income,
class, ethnicity and appearance do not
matter—only the taste of the food and
the company you’re with.
The Creole homemade touch is what
makes the food so deliciously unique…
what Trinis call “sweet hand.” Wellseasoned
dishes burst with rich and
robust flavour. There are maybe twenty
different types of dishes available at
any one time depending on whose
“kitchen” (Charmaine’s, Gina’s, Hazel’s
etc.) you go to. Soups like Cow Heel, Ox
Tail and Fish Broth are available from
10:30 a.m. From about the same time,
the main lunch menu might include:
rice variations, pigeon peas, red beans,
various stews of chicken, lamb, beef
or pork, callaloo, ground provisions,
coo coo, salads, oil down, noodles and
macaroni pie. There is even one stall
that sells Jamaican patties and while
there is a wide choice of beverages,
one stall specialises in only health and
fruit drinks.
For early commuters and workers,
breakfast is available from 5:30 a.m.
and includes: roasted or fried bake,
porridge, buljol, smoked herring, fried
fish, sausages, plantains, pak choi,
pumpkin, bigan (eggplant) and bodi
(pole beans). The breakfast and lunch
menus cater for all tastes, vegetarians
or meat addicts.
The fascinating origin of this famous
place started with Audrey Jeffers,
who was always a charitable woman.
In 1921, she formed the Coterie
of Workers and in 1926, created a
“breakfast shed” in Newtown aimed
at feeding impoverished school
children. By 1928, a main breakfast
centre operated from Edward Street.
The “shed” was eventually called the
Working Men’s Dining Shed, which
provided cheap, freshly prepared food
daily for dockworkers in a communal
area.
The Port of Spain City Council
handled operations and remained in
control until 1997 when the Femmes
du Chalet Cooperative Society took
over. It was relocated again in early
2006, after a previous location nearby
on Wrightson Road, and included as
part of the Waterfront Project.
Les Femmes du Chalet (The
Breakfast Shed) is here to stay and
stands proudly in the heart of Port of
Spain; an integral part of our culture
and heritage. This is the best place
for Creole cuisine that is authentic,
diverse, good value for money. Here…
every day is Sunday!
Solomon Baksh
The Ins & Outs of Trinidad and Tobago
91