CONCH FRITTER GIRL- PHOTO © LYNDAH WELLS
Plantain, sour sop pulp, mango chunks — whatever food you can think of that you can get fresh in The Bahamas, you can probably purchase from the frozen food section of the grocery store, but it's all packaged in a foreign country and shipped to The Bahamas for your consumption. But it took a young lady with vision to step up and bring a food that's uniquely Bahamian to the frozen section of local grocers.
It was by chance that I happened across a sign stuck to a freezer door in the Cable Beach City Market advertising frozen conch fritter batter for sale and I immediately got upset.
The only thought that went through my head was here we go again, a uniquely Bahamian product made and packaged by some foreign nationality with the vision and foresight to see the market for it. But, I was in for a shock to read that the frozen conch fritter batter, sold under the Teekie's Nest label was made and packaged in The Bahamas — by a Bahamian no less — and that put a smile on my face.
Glen Francis, the proprietress of Teekie's Nest, a label that pays tribute to Francis' grandmother (whose nickname was Teekie) and who taught her how to make the conch fritter batter that she now retails, says Teekie's Nest was birthed out of necessity — the lack of available jobs in today's ever-changing economy, and her epiphany as she heard the cry for good ole' fashioned conch fritters — crunchy on the outside and "conchy" on the inside.
"You go out and you can't get that t old-fashioned conch fritter that you're used to you know . . . 'conchy' and you can taste all the herbs in it. It just wasn't out there. You just get this 'bready' stuff all the time, and a few pieces of conch.
She tweaked grandmother Teekie's recipe with a few secret ingredients and the result she says was an instant hit with family and friends, and with the neighborhood people when she would fry up a few batches and sell from her mother's shop. But "dropping" fritters to retail for a few dollars became too much, and Francis then saw the bigger picture which she says was to share her conch fritters with a wider variety of people. She decided to package the batter to be sold in stores. Balducino Fine Food in the Cotton Tree Traders Plaza, East Bay Street, five City Market locations — Harbour Bay, Rosetta Street, Cable Beach, Seagrapes Shopping Center and Lyford Cay, and Robin Hood on the Tonique Williams-Darling Highway now carry her conch fritter batter, which are sold in half gallon and gallon sizes.
"Every Bahamian knows you can put a conch fritter batter in the freezer and go for it a year later and nothing's wrong with it. And it's very easy to defrost. You take it out of the freezer for a couple of minutes to defrost, take out what you want and refreeze the balance," she says.
Francis' batter is sold without baking powder, which has to be added after the batter has defrosted. Her directions doesn't exactly say how much baking powder to add per cup on her label, but she says you will know if you've added too much when the mixture starts to foam — a stage she says you don't want the mixture to get to because it will splatter and spread out into the pan if you add too much baking powder. If you do by chance happen to add too much baking powder, she says it's a problem that can be easily rectified by adding a little all-purpose flour to tone the batter mixture back down.
Drop by the spoonful into hot oil and cook for approximately two minutes per side she says for some of the most delicious conch fritters you will ever have.
Teekie's Nest has been on the market for a mere four months, but Francis is now a proud entrepreneur.
"I'd been working for 26 years for everyone else and running their business — first in banking and then as a manager at a major grocery store for many years, and thought I'd start something for myself. I liked to cook and entertain, and people always came to my house and complimented me on my food."
Francis left the grocery business in June 2008, took a break and started Teekie's Nest in August 2009. Teekie's Nest conch fritter batter has been available in stores since October 2009, professionally labeled and packaged because Francis is all too aware that presentation is everything, and she wanted her product to not only taste good, but to look good as well.
Francis says what makes Teekie's Nest conch fritter batter delicious is the fact that it has chunks of conch and herbs that you can see.
For now, Francis has a home-based business. She renovated a large storage shed on her property, installed cabinets, a work station, a stove and refrigerators and freezers and it's from there that she churns out her delicious conch fritter batter — the most requested Bahamian appetizer out there. She is currently looking to introduce a seafood batter (shrimp, lobster and conch) to the market.
As Francis looks to grow Teekie's Nest, she also churns out delicious guava duff in six flavors — pineapple, coconut, mango, rum raisin, guava and strawberry which she had for the Christmas holidays and again for Valentine's Day. Along with her conch fritter batter and duffs, Francis also sells coconut cake and benny cakes in various gas stations.
"My goal is that I want Teekie's Nest to sell just Bahamian treats, and I'm looking into exporting because I want the world to have a taste of the Bahamian stuff made by a Bahamian," says the proud Francis, who says her biggest champions are her fiancée Greg Sherman and her daughter Deshenell Swann.
CONCH FRITTERS
Recipe: Glen Francis of Teekie's Nest
3 whole conchs, tenderized or chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 tsps thyme, fresh or dried
1 tomato, chopped, optional
2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 egg
2 cups water, or as needed
Goat pepper to taste
Oil to deep fry
Conch Fritter Sauce
Mayonnaise
Mustard
Ketchup
Hot sauce
Flavored rum, optional
Tenderize and chop conch. Mix all herbs together with conch, then add flour, salt and pepper and season to taste. Add water and egg and mix to a thick consistency, until batter can drop off a spoon.
Heat oil in a deep pan. When hot, turn flame to a medium heat and then "drop" conch fritter batter from a spoon into the hot oil. Allow fritter to brown, turning at least once, cooking at two minutes per side. Serve with conch fritter sauce
Conch Fritter Sauce: For conch fritter sauce mix together mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup and hot sauce until all lumps and are out and serve with fritters.
