A GREENGATES man has turned to his roots to start a popular new food takeaway business serving Caribbean food - and has plenty of admirers.

When Malcolm Lewis was left facing an empty calendar and no work last year when the Covid-19 pandemic cancelled the entre events industry, he turned to an idea he’s had on the backburner for a number of years.

After an unsuccessful stint as delivery driver, Mr Lewis, from Greengates devised Jus Jerk, a Caribbean food delivery service inspired by recipes and meals from his childhood that he has eaten his entire life.

He has teamed up with the New Inn in Calverley, using it as his delivery hub, shipping hot, fresh healthy dishes to Idle, Greengates, Eccleshill, Calverley and other nearby areas for people to enjoy at the weekend.

Mr Lewis said he saw a gap in the market in this area to provide a new, unique type of cuisine many people in the area may not have tried before, and began the business at the end of 2020.

He said: “My background is marketing and sales, and I had a couple of events businesses before Covid, but the pandemic kyboshed them.

“I did some work driving vans but that wasn’t for me, but I did think delivery was something, and I’ve had a longstanding idea for a food business delivering Caribbean food to people who will not normally have had it.

“I’ve tried to give this idea to friends in the past but they didn’t take it.

“I’m historically involved in Leeds’ West Indian Carnival and I was upset we couldn’t put it on, so I started cooking food while doing a live music show streamed online, and a friend said it looked good, so I thought, right I will do this.

“It’s food I would cook normally, it’s good, clean wholesome food that’s tasty and everyone seems to like it. People go to the Carnival and try this food and they like it.

“My grandmother raised me but she wasn’t a great cook, but the great thing about my community is you were around your aunties and uncles so you always ate good food.”

In order to help prepare the dishes and provide a hub for the business that isn’t Mr Lewis’s home, he has teamed up with the New Inn in Calverley, run by Dan Littlewood

Mr Lewis added: “I’ve linked up with the New Inn serving the food out of there.

“In Calverley there is one Chinese takeaway serving the whole village, there is a need for it and people have seen it, tried it and like it.”

At the moment the venture is being driven by passion until events resume, and Mr Lewis said his future vision is to pass the business on, while continuing to oversee operations.

To view the menu and to place an order, visit the Jus Jerk Leeds page on Facebook.