HE is renowned for a mouth-watering, one-pot 'creng creng' dish, the
comical lyrics he pens and his ability to catch even the biggest fish.But 43-year-old resident of the seaside community of Manchioneal,
Portland, Donald Roofe, is yet to decide which of these three talents
will influence his future career choice.
Pressed to settle on one, this
jovial Portlander, who goes by the name of 'Doctor Fish' thinks hard
before deciding that a successful musical career would provide him with
the funds to establish himself in all three areas.
"If me set up me cookshop me woulda do all different type ah cooking and
it would be a restaurant with a difference, because is all natural
stuff me woulda cook and then me would still have enough money fi buy me
engine cause right now me no own a boat fi meself," he told the Jamaica
Observer North East.
His domino game forgotten for the moment, Roofe settled under a tree on
the beach to tell the tale of how his love for music, cooking and
fishing were developed. The name 'doctor fish' came about, he said,
because he followed in the footsteps of his father who was once the best
fisherman in the parish.
"You know doctor fish is a leading fish in the sea and one of the
strongest, and that is how the name come about because me ah fish from
me a little boy," he said with a chuckle.
But Roofe said that for the purpose of his musical career, he opted to
change that name to 'Lateral' because of the negative connotation which
is now associated with the word fish. Still, it was the name 'doctor
fish' which helped him rise to prominence outside of his seaside
community, as the comical lyrics he created about the "raw doctor fish"
won him first place in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission
(JCDC) competition a few years ago. Roofe said he received a trophy,
$50,000 cash and a promise of a recording contract. The latter, however,
has not materialised.
As for his creative songwriting skills, Roofe said this was developed
during the many hours he sat waiting patiently for a fish to appear."The inspiration for music is inborn, and so when I go to sea and
waiting fi di fish me just start sing and when me come from sea me just
put pen to paper and write dem down," he said, as he 'deejayed' a few
lines from his collection.
But while he waits for his musical career to take off, Roofe said, he
still has to make a living from the sea and so he still goes out daily.
"Even while me deh here ah go ah sea ah day time fi meck a living me
still want work pon me music because me want fi put me talent out to the
world," he said, adding that he has since penned more than 200 songs
and has recorded three.
When he is not deejaying or fishing, Roofe can be found in his kitchen
cooking up a feast of unique dishes for him and his friends, a talent
which recently got him a slot on the television show Nyammings.He readily credits his cooking skills to his late mother Gwendolyn "Miss
Tiny" Murray, who he said always reminded her sons that they would be
given raw food to eat if they didn't learn to cook for themselves.
"She used to do the original cooking and not the quick-cook type ah
things them," he said, as he recalled how his mother would only cook
with the oil she made from coconut.
Roofe recalled his mother using a special home-made mill to grate the coconut from which the oil would later be extracted.
Only one such mill remains in the community today, and this is owned by
restaurant operator Florizel Karr of Karr's Seafood Outlet on the Beach."People who mek oil use to go to other people's yard to use their mills," Roofe recalled.
However, with the decline of coconut in the parish, Roofe said a lot of
persons were forced to give up the trade as they are no longer able to
source quality fruits.
According to Roofe, 'creng creng' style cooking — which is the method of
smoking the meat over a wood fire — is catching on again with the
younger generation
"Creng creng is catching on because most people don't want to fry them fish and fry out the nutrients," he said.The 43-year-old said his mother first taught him how to do 'creng creng' fish because they had no refrigerator at home.
"We never had fridge back in the days and so she used to dry the fish
and hang it up in the kitchen, and that was how the creng creng method
came about," he said.Explaining how he prepares creng creng fish, Roofe said the fish is
locked into a wire basket and then hung over a wood fire to allow for
the smoke and the slow heat to give it a special flavour.
The fish is
also cured with pimento leaves and pepper elder; a plant which Roofe
said has been found to aid in the cure of colds and flu.
Over time Roofe said he has added even more ingredients to the one pot
creng creng dish his mother used to prepare as the meal now consists of
fish, coconut milk, pumpkin, coco, yam, banana, plantain, Irish potato,
carrot, escallion, thyme, and pepper and the noodle flavouring
"Me just love fi cook.
A matter ah fact, me cook everyday, not for a
restaurant, but for me, friends and the kids around," he said.
So well loved is his cooking that fellow fishermen always ensure that he has fish to cook even when he does not go to sea.
The majority of the daily meals Roofe prepares consist of fish and natural products such as coconut milk.
"Fish build up your body and it is said that your food shall be your
medicine and your medicine will be your food and that is why I like to
cook," he said, of his talent.
The best fish for creng creng, Roofe said, are barracudas and doctor
fish which, he claims, is a good dietary item food for persons suffering
from nervous conditions.
"It is a good fish man, because ah see a girl who did come here from
Haiti say they don't eat it over there because is only people involved
in voodoo who prescribe it for you," he said.
