EIGHT pan chicken vendors representing the parishes of St Ann, St Mary, Portland, and St Thomas will head to Half-Way-Tree Transport Centre on Sunday next (October 30) to vie for the coveted title of PAN Champion at the grand final of PAN 2016. The competition is sponsored by CB Chicken.

On their way to the final are Winston McLean and Trevor Smith from Portland; Donovan Ross and Devon Parkins from St Thomas; Nicole Smith and Silbert Edwards from St Mary; while Cassius Gayle and Terry Ann Davidson will make their way from St Ann.

More than a battle of innovation and determination, PAN 2016 is also a platform which propels the men and women behind the pans as entrepreneurs. These eight men and women will have to bring their best as they compete in a pool of 28 finalists from the rest of the island.

Taking the second spot for St Ann was Terry Ann Davidsonwho said that she entered the competition so she could improve her pan chicken skills.

“I want to start my own business and this is a process that I can undertake to sharpen my craft. I have been doing this for two years now,” Davidson explained.

Davidson, who was also the winner of the Miracle Tomato Ketchup Tallawah Sauce competition for Region 2, says she has been learning a lot from her mother who participated in PAN in 2014 and 2015.

“My mother Selina Davidson entered the competition twice and I learnt a lot from her. I like the experience and I hope to become the grand champion,” she said.

She also shared a bit of her game plan going into the grand final.

“A good sauce and better-tasting chicken, that’s what I am taking to the final,” she shared.

Fifty-year-old Cassius Gayle, who finished first in St Ann, said he decided to seize the opportunity and enter PAN. Though this is his second attempt, he feels more confident now.

“This competition has helped me to be more appreciative of the pan chicken culture. I like the corporate support that PAN has received and the opportunities that pan chicken vendors like me can benefit from,” Gayle, who has been a pan chicken vendor for the past five years, said.

Winner from St Mary, Nicole Smith, has been a pan chicken vendor for the past four years. The 24-year-old, who aspires to one day have her own fixed location for business, said that she entered PAN 2016 because of her mother Claudia Mitchell, who participated in 2009 and went on to become grand champion that year.

“My mother encouraged me to enter because we both have been doing pan chicken for a while now. I am always helping her when she is preparing chicken, and even throughout the competition she guided me and gave me a lot of advice,” said Smith.

The young woman has been a staple at a number of functions in and around her parish.

“I’ve been jerking chicken on a small scale on weekends and mostly at church functions. But I really want to do this as a profession, so I am working towards that,” she informed.

Silbert Edwards, second-place winner for St Mary, hails from Rose Hill. With a long history of 30 years in the business, this 48-year-old has hopes of walking away with this year’s title.

“I have been doing this for a very long time, and was encouraged by a friend to enter PAN. It has been really good since I came second at the Portland Regional.

“My business has been doing better and people recognise me more,” he said.

Edwards operates his pan chicken business on the streets of Highgate on the weekend. A first-timer to PAN, he hopes his secret formula will be a winning one.

“I don’t use powder seasoning. It’s all natural seasoning for me things like pimento, garlic, ginger, and pimento leaves. That’s the secret in my recipe,” Edwards said.

Winston McLean and Trevor Smith finished in first and second place respectively in the parish of Portland. Both men are equally grateful for and proud of the opportunity to represent their parish at the grand final and interestingly, both men are from Boston, the home of jerk.

“I wanted to enter the competition four years ago because I kept hearing about it from other persons who entered. I have always supported CB because CB chicken is juicy and I jerk in Boston,” said McLean.

With a charming smile, McLean shared that the secret to his formula is in the seasoning.

“It’s all about the seasoning. That’s what makes my chicken stand out. But I am leaving it up to the judges to determine if I will become the winner at the grand final,” he said.

McLean, who has been in the pan chicken business for 14 years, noted that since his win at the regional level, his business has seen an increase in patronage.

“Nobody thought I would’ve won and when they called my name, it was a really good feeling. It was a joy for me and now I am more recognised in the community and people are buying more of my chicken,” the father of a 15-year-old son revealed.

For Smith, he has entered PAN before and he knows what to do and what is required.

“Is six time now I am entering and it is the first I have ever placed,” he admitted.

Smith, who works at Glasses Jerk Centre at Boston Beach, has been doing pan chicken since the 1980s.

“Is a whole heap a years me a do this. What makes my chicken stand out is the sauce that I use. That is the secret weapon for me,” he joked. The 64-year-old says he is going into the final with an open mind.

Hillside, Seaforth, St Thomas resident Devon Parkins entered the competition for one reason — to showcase his craft.

“I really need the experience and I see this as a great opportunity to show what I can do,” he said.

Parkins, who placed first in his parish at the regional level, said it was the first time he was participating in the competition.

“It’s about six years now that I have been jerking chicken. I have a shop at Reggae Falls and since I came first for the parish, my business has gotten better; it has improved drastically. I am getting a lot more customers and doing some more events in the parish,” he explained.

Donovan Ross, who is also from Hillside, shared his story: “I entered because I like the kind of exposure that the competition gives. It is five years now that I have been selling jerk chicken, but I mostly do it on weekends at functions and different events. I would like to have my own shop where I can sell chicken on a regular basis.”

He said that since he came second, his confidence level has increased.

“It has boosted me more and made me more confident. I get a lot of exposure out of it,” he said.

PAN 2016 is formerly known as the CB Pan Chicken Championship.

Gates open at 12 noon and admission is free.