Banana leaf supplier saves the day for pastelle makers

IN Trinidad and Tobago, pastelle is synonymous with Christmas. The delicious traditional delicacy is made across the country by homemakers and culinary entrepreneurs seeking to make some extra money for the season.

However, aside from the meat and corn meal and other ingredients needed to make pastelle there is one key ingredient that is usually very difficult to procure in bulk.

That ingredient is banana leaves.

For the past two years, Toni Perotte, a 29-year-old mother has supplied a range of people with clean, quality leaves. Her business has grown to be able to employ 10 people, supply two groceries and several other pastelle makers.

Now, with her niche business expanding Perotte is looking to take her business to the next level.

Perotte told Business Day she started in October 2021, at the height of the pandemic.

“We weren't working,” she said. “So I started my own business.”

She said she began procuring leaves from friends in Couva and Maracas, St Joseph. Her husband would do most of the cutting then have it transported to their home at Dorameah Trace, Las Lomas, where they continue the process.

“We would cut about 15 palms, which would have about 11-12 leaves each,” she said. “Then we burn the leaves, we sanitise them, package them and freeze them."

After the process then the leaves are ready for sale. They named the brand Sharon's pastelle leaves – after Perotte's mother-in-law who came up with the idea.

She said her husband and a team would do most of the processing on the weekends, and she would do deliveries during the week. She said she uses social media – Whatsapp and Facebook in particular, to contact customers and make sales. Perotte advertises her products using marketplace and other platforms on Facebook, while taking orders on the phone.

The leaves come in two sizes 9x9 and 7x7 inches. Large leaves are sold for $60 and smaller ones for mini pastelles are $45.

Like many other businesses, Perotte's fig leaf business was laughed at when she first started.

“People were saying, 'Oh, I could get that in my backyard.' Others said the business would never make money.”

But then calls started coming in.

“This year we started getting orders from as early as April,” she said.

As business grew, she expanded to groceries such as Low Cost Supermarket.

“One person even tracked me down to make orders,” she said. “She called me and said, ‘I have been looking for you for so long. The grocery ran out of your leaves, and I have been searching everywhere to get on to you.’ She told me to keep doing what I was doing.”

She said this year it is so busy that she must put other businesses – selling food and catering – on hold until after Christmas.

Anyone who has ever made pastelle can tell you, it is a difficult and time-consuming dish to make. Caterers, who are also customers of Perotte's, added that finding clean and properly treated leaves is the most difficult part of the process.

As they could make up to a thousand pastelles for the season, caterers said a steady supply of leaves is an excellent service, one which supplements a well-established cottage industry.

Judy Garcia, a caterer from El Dorado and founder of Judy's Sauces and Catering Services says she does hundreds of pastelles for the season and having someone prepare the leaves beforehand improves her productivity.

“It really saves on time,” she said

Dawn Ramkissoon, Charlieville-based owner of Aurora Fine Delights, an east-Indian delicacy and catering service, was able to get a supply of leaves for pastelles even before Christmas.

“I did pastelle for Christmas in July and they were able to supply leaves, and I got supplies from them for Christmas as well.”

“Before I started purchasing from Toni, I got my leaves from all over,” Ramkissoon said. “I would buy from groceries and other people. I actually saw her product on the grocery shelves and called.”

Both caterers lauded Perotte's service. Ramkissoon said dealing with the professionalism ensures that she is a return customer.

“It is really hard to deal with unprofessional people. As soon as they are that way I am out. But they are very professional. From the first time I called them they were very friendly.”

Garcia said she would usually use another supplier, but that person did not have any leaves this year.

She also lauded Perotte's professionalism.

“As soon as I messaged her she responded. I asked her for a supply, and she said she would deliver it in a few days’ time, but then she called the day after and asked if I would be ready to take the order. It was a surprise to me that she was able to deliver early.”

Karel Allen, owner of San Fernando-based Karel’s Kulinary Kreations, said this was the first year that he had done pastelles since covid19, and was in a rush to get the supplies he needed. He said a direct supply of leaves eased the process.

“I had over 500 pastelles to do this year. I would usually get leaves from trees close to my home, but they had been cut down.

“I remember speaking to them over the phone and telling them I had a last-minute order, and they brought it right to my door.”

“It really eases the process, and knowing that the leaves are clean and sanitised is good too, because when looking for the leaves you worry about insects and bacteria and other things, so it is really convenient to have someone do that part of the process for you.”

Perotte is now hoping to expand her business. She told Business Day that what she needed to take her to the next level was more capacity.

“I need to get more freezers so I can store more leaves,” she said.

She plans on starting even earlier.

She also wants to expand to other groceries, to better supply customers.

“If I can get into more stores, I would just have to deliver to the stores and when they need, I could just tell customers the locations that sell them."