Morgan’s Harbour brings the Jamaican Patty experience to B.C.
Owner, Brian Chin was born in Kingston, Jamaica. He lived in Port Royal until the age of six amidst the sands, sunken treasures, and a simple life celebrated among the streets by the harbour and old Fort Charles. Young Brian enjoyed a patty as a treat when the family went into town: a fond childhood memory and, later, his inspiration. Soon, his parents decided to migrate the family to British Columbia, Canada, for better education opportunities.
Brian’s uncle Edward Chang started a Jamaican Patty business called Hibiscus Foods in Port Coquitlam in 1994, and his Jamaican patties were local hits at stores and schools. Uncle Ed retired in 2012, ownership stayed in the family and passed to the Chins. In 2019, after a few years of ownership of Hibiscus Foods, Brian created Morgan’s Harbour brand of patties.
Brian’s ownership brought a new wave of innovations. Three years were spent perfecting the craft with a focus on improving ingredients, cutting out preservatives, and creating a fantastic Vegan patty recipe. Working alongside Mr. Chang’s vision, Brian continues to create these delicious meals with a passion for discovering the secrets to making the finest Jamaican patties!
They are proud of their Jamaican heritage and even have it in their name; “Morgan’s Harbour,” where Brian grew up, is nestled in Port Royal, just south of Jamaica’s capital. They are dedicated to quality and believe that the taste of food should never be compromised for the sake of a shortcut.
Question: How are you supporting other local businesses?
Answer: We use local B.C. farms for our meat ingredients (Rossdown Farms, and MVM which supply us with 63 Acres Beef). We purchase most of our packaging supplies from Foodpak in Richmond (except boxes.) We use a local print shop in Port Coquitlam called ABC Printing for all our signage and labels. We use local distributors for all of our other ingredients (except some spices,) for example Yen Bros and SnowCap Enterprises. We also get our Jamaican peppers from a Jamaican grocery store in Surrey called Stanley Market. We bank with Vancity. Our business coach and our lawyer are both based in Port Coquitlam. Our Accountant and Tax office are Heddon Chong and Associates in Burnaby, and use Cooperators and Westland insurance companies. We use local contractors/electricians for services or repairs. We have partnered with local Farmers Market vendors in cross-promotions and support during the pandemic, and have included other local artisan vendors in giveaways. We also support our local Farmers Markets as a vendor, throughout the Lower Mainland – from Squamish to Whiterock.
Question: What social and environmental practices are you proud of?
Answer: We strive to offer our team a place to grow and develop, personally and creatively – and work towards incorporating their strengths and interests into their roles. Although we are still learning within this process, we are proud to have it as one of our values. We do the normal things like recycling and separation of Organic waste. Apart from that, we have created new products from components like dough scraps to reduce food waste and reuse boxes or containers wherever possible. When creating the vegan recipe, we had an inkling that palm shortening would be the best substitute for traditional ingredients, however, we chose not to use it until we found a sustainably sourced palm shortening instead, which is RSPO certified.
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