Seafood Sensashon moves to Bounty

The St Vincent and the Grenadines restaurant scene has a new contender.{{more}}

A woman of unique Christian faith, who bounced back from setbacks is now sitting pretty as the new manager and caterer at what was formerly The Bounty and is now the revolutionized “Seafood Sensashon at the Bounty”.

Things have been going well since her takeover of the Bounty late March, Lewis said.

She spoke to SEARCHLIGHT about what she considers to be her “little miracle”.

Being unemployed, she eventually took a job as assistant manager at the French Verandah for eight months, where she gained some valuable experience in the restaurant field and established some great contacts.

Having resigned from that position, Marslyn conceptualized an idea to pre-cook and vacuum pack seafood.

She then got a big break and boost for her self-esteem, when she won a Caribbean Small Business enterprise competition for the best business vision and mission statement and presentation of her product.

The win gave her a small stipend and put her name on the market; she suddenly amassed 3,000 followers on social media forum Facebook.

Lewis launched her packaging business in October 2012 from her apartment in Ratho Mill and experienced many difficulties getting her products in the supermarkets. It was this setback that propelled her to aspire to owning her own restaurant, where she could make her products readily available to customers.

“I redirected my life to God in an all-night prayer ministry — asking God for the provision of spiritual qualities (such as courage, faithfulness, and strength), as well as a physical location at a timely juncture,” she said.

Her prayers were answered as she stepped onto the third incarnation of the Bounty restaurant, hugely successful and originally run by Tracy Connell and his wife Toni dating back to the 1970s.

Seafood complements the time tested favourites to be had at the Bounty, where patties are still offered in the old flavours, plus a new addition of the conch patty. In fact, quite a few staples of the old menu still remain for regular patrons.

The fare offered now includes whelk and conch roti, conch and whelks souse, as well as chicken and fish meals.

As an attestation to Lewis’ warmth and innate hospitality skills, once one hits the steps leading to the restaurant (located upstairs Trotman’s Electronics opposite Singer), the oceanic decorations create an aura of culinary expectation. Inside is a wall of sea coral and mariners’ implements, beautiful ethnic paintings, comfortable seating, and the main dining area is the ‘Caribbean meets Paris at the Ocean side”. Service is speedy and friendly. You can listen to live jazz daily, while you dine in comfort.

Lewis herself comes from a family of chef oriented persons. Her grandmother has a cooking business on Union Island and her mother’s crab pelau is legendary on Union Island, where she often displayed her cooking skills at that island’s annual cultural festival Maroon and feast day. Lewis is an excellent hostess, amiable, and a pleasure to be around.