FIRST CHOICE CARIBBEAN :: 451 FULTON STREET :: 518-272-4544
You may have seen Ricky Brown-Barrett, Owner and Head Chef of First Choice Caribbean, around downtown but may have not been able to place him. The reason why it is that he is everywhere. He has run his restaurant on Fulton Street for the past 17 years, in addition he maintains his vendor booth at the Troy Waterfront Farmers Market for the past 9 years. His customers for his lunch buffet and dinner service are diverse, including working professionals, students a lot of the Caribbean and Jamaican population within the capital District. He has found a way to expand his reach while staying in Downtown Troy, offering mix-and-match lunch options at his farmers market table. His customers also include the parents of local college students, out of town visitors on a day trip and regular friendly shoppers of the market.
With his inviting, cool and calm demeanor, Ricky is still a very driven entrepreneur. He did not expect to fall into the restaurant business. Originally from Kingston, Jamaica, he came to Schenectady in 2002. Growing up in Jamaica, he has fond memories of cooking with his aunt when he was 12 years old and eating with his friends, fresh coconut, fruit and the homecooked foods that the Island easily offers. His father was in the Navy in Guantanamo Bay at the time and he traveled often with him after high school, before coming to the US. Ricky has had diverse jobs in the fast food industry, such as KFC and as an auto body repair man, doing bodywork for cars.
When Roxanne Soul Food on Fulton Street was up for sale, he saw an immediate opportunity- there wasn’t any Jamaican food in Downtown Troy at the time. With the generosity of his friends and fellow restaurant owners, he learned where to buy ingredients and the detailed steps of running a business. His transition into entrepreneurship was very easy with the support of the community.
Ricky cooks with a Rastafarian influence in select dishes, which does not include use of sugar and black pepper and focuses on non-processed, plant-based ingredients. He made a conscious choice to change how he cooked seven years ago. Sea salt and cayenne pepper are used to season and he experimented with finding the perfect taste with his recipes, on a holistic level. The sauce for his jerk chicken is made from scratch and there are many vegetarian and vegan options as well. His specialty is red snapper and Ital Stew. First Choice Caribbean is only restaurant in the area offering the vegan stew of potatoes, carrot and plantains, simmered in coconut milk.
Ricky enjoys serving the people of Troy, NY. He says “They’re cool. There’s ups and downs, but they’re all cool.” About 9 years ago, his friend Nate, from Saratoga Apple, encouraged him to apply and vend alongside him at the Troy Farmers Market. Ricky created a space to offer hot to-go options at the market, when there were very few prepared food vendors at the time. You can still find him at the Market every Saturday morning. Then he packs up and heads to the restaurant for the evening crowd.
He is proud to have introduced many people to Island food, as he calls it. Many students have come through his space, interested in something home-cooked and maybe something they have never tasted before. He has seen many RPI, HVCC and Sage students grow up, graduate and come back to visit the City and eat his food again. The restaurant has opened different perspectives that he had never considered, as he cooly states, “Before you decide on knowing things, you have to know who you are and your values, cultivate self-love. Worrying won’t change anything. Try something else if it’s not working. What’s meant to be, is going to be.”
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