When the pandemic silenced live performances and darkened venues, Los Angeles-based deejay Daniel Crooks needed a hobby to occupy his time. The Ardenne High School alumnus (he attended sixth form at St George’s College) decided to take up gardening and baking. Like many pandemic bakers, Crooks discovered that he had a knack for it and decided to test the limits of his newfound prowess.

Speak to Jamaicans living in Los Angeles, and you’ll hear the collective moan about the lack of Jamaican food in the city, especially if they are transplants from New York City, Miami, or Toronto. Jamaican restaurants exist in Los Angeles, but they are hidden gems. And if you live in North Hollywood or Santa Monica, it will take a lot to get you to head to Inglewood or Leimert Park in search of a Jamaican meal. With time on his hands and a hankering for patties, Crooks embarked on a mission to find a great Jamaican patty.

“I began sampling patties across the city,” Crooks said, but what he consumed left him yearning for the flaky crust and moreish fillings of his favourite — Tastee patties — back in Jamaica.

What he sampled in LA missed the mark ; something would be off. Either the crust or the range of fillings. “Most of what’s available is spicy beef, mild beef, and chicken,” he said.

As necessity is the mother of invention, Crooks decided to make his own patties. After baking a successful batch, he posted images on Instagram (@pattydaddyla), and the messages came flowing in. People wanted to know if he was selling them, and he thought, “Why not?” Thus Patty Daddy LA was born.

Crooks extensively researched the history of Jamaican patties, Tastee Limited, pastry crusts, and French patisserie. Good thing he did food and nutrition as a CXC elective; he approached this project with the fervour of a school-based assessment (SBA). He asked himself, “What would a professional pastry chef make as their version of the perfect patty?” And the light bulb went on. The word: Lamination.

Advanced Bread and Pastry: A Professional Approach defines lamination as “the process of creating multiple, separate layers of dough and fat when making pastry”. The goal is to create wafer-thin alternating layers of fat and dough by rolling out the dough and folding over the fat many times. He’s still perfecting the ratio of fat to dough, and as each batch is hand-made, Crooks is perfecting consistency. Temperature affects lamination and the heat from a baker’s hands can affect the flakiness of the finished product. Fun fact: One of Crooks’ first customers commended him on starting a baking business during a heatwave. And as he makes vegan patties, Crooks had found the best way of using coconut oil as the fat. Not easy, but he’s making it work.

Patty Daddy LA makes a variety of patties, including callaloo, ackee, beef, chicken, and vegan beef using the uber-popular Impossible Meat. Yes, he also makes cocoa bread. As he’s still a growing small business, he’s able to do custom orders. To date, his most interesting orders have been a batch of pizza patties made with mozzarella, tomato sauce, and beef pepperoni and lamb patties, which according to Crooks, “tastes sort of like shepherd’s pie”.

When he spoke with Thursday Food, Crooks was readying to ship an out-of-state order — a dozen ackee patties headed to Austin, Texas. The business growth has much to do with the product’s taste and how Crooks markets his patties on social media. The alluring photos come from him studying social media and photography and relying on tips on food styling from his younger brother, who also has a food business.

When asked about his aspirations, Crooks shared, “Currently, the goal is to open an official shop.” Being a musician will always remain in his blood, but he’s eyeing becoming a master patty maker (a pattyssier?), putting patties in the hands of as many people as possible.

Like a proud father, he nurtures his budding business, recipes, and products and beams with pride when he produces tasty batch after tasty batch.