CLAREMONT, ST ANN — In his final year at Tacky High in St Mary, a shy Amoy Anthony Whithorn had no clear career goals so he took a woodwork class because it seemed the popular choice.

But he would secretly hang around the school’s home economics department and watch in awe at some of the dishes being created while thinking about switching his course of study.

“It never happened, and I just let it go,” Whithorn told the Jamaica Observer.

Though he graduated from high school with no professional culinary skills, his secret love for the kitchen led him to an apprentice chef position at Sheila’s Homemade Pastries in Ocho Rios, St Ann, which is known for its delicious pastries and birthday cakes.

“The influence that I got there pushed me towards the path of becoming a pastry chef,” explained Whithorn.

At Shelia’s he learned how to bake and decorate cakes. He then had a stint as a baker at Golden Loaf Bakery in Ocho Rios. There he learned to make bread, bulla and several other pastries. After work the young baker, determined to hone his skills, would practise making the items at home, adding his own secret ingredients and learning from his mistakes.

“I would go home and make bread or items using coconuts and try new styles, and my family would criticise it. From their criticism or thumbs up it helped me to become confident at my job,” Whithorn said.

The baker’s popularity grew as customers praised the taste and presentation of his products, and Whithorn’s improved skills made it possible for him to live his dream of travelling beyond Jamaica’s borders. He was hired to work on one of Royal Caribbean’s cruise liners, Oasis of the Sea.

Then in 2019 Whithorn and his wife Tavia took the bold step of baking custom ordered cakes, bulla, buns, breads in small batches in their kitchen at home.

“The response was amazing and the demand was high,” Whithorn recalled.

During the COVID-19 pandemic he moved into a more central location in Claremont, St Ann which, became the home for the family’s Amaze Bakery.

According to Whithorn, the goal was to become a household name with a reputation built on their mouth-watering variety of baked items which include coconut drops, muffins, bulla, bread, bun, pudding, pizzas and custom-made cakes.

“We have clients from overseas who make their orders for the coconut items and bread before coming to Jamaica,” Whithorn said proudly.

The humble St Mary native is thankful for the support he gets from the community and his customers in Ocho Rios. Although Hurricane Melissa has put a hold on plans to place products in popular supermarkets, Whithorn is confident that as Jamaica rebounds Amaze Bakery will become bigger and better.

Owner and operator of Amaze Bakery Amoy Whithorn gives a proud smile at the entrance of his establishment. Ingrid Henry

Some of the products available from Amaze Bakery. Ingrid Henry