Tastee, the Jamaican fast food chain best known for its world famous patties, celebrated 50 years of existence and operations on Friday, June 17.

The husband and wife team and founders of Tastee, Valerie and Vincent Chang, their relatives as well as employees from all Tastee franchises islandwide gathered at the Stella Maris Church in St Andrew to mark the golden occasion with a special celebratory service.

Sharing the moment with the Changs were Minister of Finance Audley Shaw and Opposition spokesman on national security Peter Bunting, among others.

The golden jubilee service was conducted by Father Howard Thompson, who reminded members of the Tastee family that “those who labour without God, labour in vain”. Father Thompson encouraged employees of the establishment to “continue to be a light in this country and to provide the people of Jamaica with the best customer service”.

Members of the Nexxus Choir enriched the service with their voices in song, and Ryan Foster, Tastee’s group chief executive officer (CEO), delivered a special 50th anniversary message on behalf of the company.

In his message Foster lauded the founding couple for their “hard work and professionalism”, as well as the close bond they have created between the executive and their employees.

Fifty years ago Vincent Chang took off on an uncharted journey and launched his first Tastee restaurant in Union Square, Cross Roads. Since then the company has grown into a rock-solid enterprise, with its hallmark and crux being a food staple, the patty, which is consumed by tens of thousands of Jamaicans at home and abroad on a daily basis.

At its 1966 start, Chang baked up to a 1,000 patties a day for all the customers who swarmed his little snack shop in Union Square. Today, the family-owned business, Tastee, whose name was created from Chang’s own clever Creole twist on the English word “Tasty”, is churning out over 150,000 of the familiar golden-flake patties a day.

As a company, Tastee has also done its fair share in giving back to the country through continuous donations, scholarships and sponsorships amassing to over $10 million, an initiative which Foster promised to continue “…and do even better, if patties are made tax free under the ‘Prosperity Regime’,” much to the amusement of Minister Shaw.