Making a living: Joycelyn DaSilva gives a taste of Moruca’s barbeque

On one’s first visit to Moruca, finding a meal to suit one’s taste may be a consideration, but for many, the food prepared by Joycelyn DaSilva provides a reassurance that one can overcome the munchies.

DaSilva has been serving up her meals for almost three decades, having started in the 1990s at the waterfront at Kumaka in Santa Rosa, Moruca. But it is her barbequed chicken which has been a mainstay on her menu. “I sometimes make a healthy profit when we have activities here in Moruca,” she said.
Known for her welcoming smile, she told Guyana Times recently that she cooks daily and according to her, the job requires immense self-discipline. “I have to be up by 5:30 in the mornings to prepare my food…If I miss that time, I would have to make up after the lunch hour. I cook early so that I can catch the lunch hour,” she said, adding that her pots of food would finish before the end of the working day.
She said on the busier days such as Mondays, two pots of food would “sell out.”
DaSilva spoke of her barbequed chicken, and according to her, while she tried varying her menu in the past, she has stuck with the popular dish since it is always appealing to the public.
She said she started out selling snacks, and then she introduced roti and curry to her menu. She said she continued selling the snacks alongside the roti and curry and one day she decided to try the fried rice. “It started out selling fast,” she said.
She gave credit to a member of the Guyana Defence Force whom she noted taught her how to barebeque chicken. “One day while buying food here, he said that I should try the barbeque chicken and then he explained and showed me how to smoke the chicken,” she said. Since then, she has been selling the nationally revered barbequed with fried rice. She said her husband, Stravos Stanley, who is Santa Rosa’s current village Toshao, provides pivotal support to her food business. “Sometimes he would be up with me early I the morning as I prepare to cook and he even sells in front here although these days he has Village Council work to do,” she added.
DaSilva said she started out the business by renting the chicken pen which was operated by the Village Council at Santa Rosa. She said that the rent rose a bit too high so she decided to purchase chicken from Charity on the Essequibo Coast. She said as time meandered, she decided to support her own by purchasing chicken from farmers at Moruca. “Whenever people bring their chicken, I would buy it because I know how it benefits them,” she said.
While there are others selling tasty dishes at the waterfront area at Moruca, persons who visit the Region One village always speak highly of DaSilva’s barbeque. “They always come back to get a taste of my barbeque,” she said with a smile.