Culinary Arts - Greater Belize Media

Sbarro Belize Officially Opens Its Doors in Belize City

Guess what! Belize just got a slice of New York! Sbarro, the legendary pizza joint from Brooklyn that’s been serving up cheesy goodness for sixty-eight years, has landed at mile three and a half on the Phillip Goldson Highway. They kicked things off with a grand opening event on Tuesday night, where lucky guests got to dig into their hand-made New York pizzas. News Five’s Paul Lopez was there to give us the scoop. Here’s his report.

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Sbarro Pizza has officially landed in Belize! Adding to its impressive tally of six hundred and eighty locations across twenty-eight countries, Belize is the newest stop on their global pizza tour. They’re all set to win hearts, and stomachs, with their hand-made New York pizzas.

Sbarro Pizza Customer #1

“One word, delicious. The flavor, richness, texture, everything in one.”

Sbarro Pizza Customer #2

“Delicious.”

Sbarro Pizza Customer #3

“Amazing.”

These are just some of the reviews from guests at the grand opening celebration on Tuesday night. There was no shortage of samples. The menu is extensive. Located at mile three and a half, Sbarro is whipping up its delicious pizzas from inside Publics Mini Mart, right next to Transparent BPO. Jenniffer Corzo, the CEO of Sbarro Belize, says they’re here to add even more flavor to Belize’s culinary scene.

Jennifer Corzo, C.E.O, Sbarro Belize

“It has been a journey but we are be happy to have a new franchise here in Belize because we want to enrich the culinary of Belize.”

Paul Lopez

“What makes Sbarro stand out from other pizzas we may be familiar with or tried in our lifetime?”

Jennifer Corzo

“Of course, the quality, the quality of our ingredients, the quality of our final products and our installations too.”

Paul Lopez

“Are there challenges we have had to overcome along the way to get to where we are today?”

Jennifer Corzo

“Yes of course, the importing of the ingredients, because we bring everything from outside.”

Well, almost everything. Corzo explained that the restaurant sources its vegetables and flour locally. But, in order to maintain certain quality standards, franchises like Sbarro are required to import most of their ingredients. The high cost of importation is arguably one of the primary reasons why franchises do not last in Belize. Belize City Mayor Bernard Wagner welcomed the franchise and contends that central government intervention is required to address this issue.

Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City

“We need more, we need more franchises and I feel excited with respect to the franchise taking footing in Belize City. We dah the commercial city with over seventy thousand residents living in Belize City and additionally we have thousands of people coming in to the city each and every day to work in our city. We have to make the incentives competitive for these franchise in terms of cost of production. It has to be a situation where the importation for the products that will make the end product, you have to give people some run in terms of what you charge with importation and that sort of thing.”

Eight talented Belizeans are now part of the team at the Publics and Sbarro mini-mart. And guess what? The chef is a local star too, trained specifically to whip up Sbarro’s famous pizzas. Sbarro Belize isn’t stopping here—they’re already plotting their next moves to Placencia Village and San Pedro Town.

Jennifer Corzo

“We are happy to be here. We are waiting and we open the doors tomorrow. We want all Belizean families to please try our products because we don’t jus have pizzas, we have strombolis and bread sticks.”

Reporter

“Do you feel your prices are competitive? What are the prices like for your pizza?”

Jennifer Corozo

“The prices, the whole pie is between fifty and sixty dollars. We sell the slices too and the slices between ten and thirteen dollars.”

Christopher Coye, Minister of State, Ministry of Finance

“We have had challenges with franchises in Belize, but I am very confident that this one will work and be very successful.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez

Mexico’s Ma Baker and Chef Products Now in Belize

There’s a new player in town that’s set to make life a whole lot easier for bakers and chefs, all without costing a fortune. Say hello to Ma Baker and Chef, a Mexico-based brand that’s just launched its exciting range of bakery and confectionery products right here in Belize. These goodies are being brought in by Mayito Cal Limited, and today, they teamed up with the manufacturers to host a hands-on training session in Belize City. This event wasn’t just about learning the ropes; it was also a golden opportunity for the importers to showcase their products to major supermarkets and hoteliers from all over the country. News Five’s Paul Lopez was on the scene and gave us the scoop on how this brand aims to elevate Belize’s culinary scene. Here’s his report.

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Ma Baker and Chef is the latest bakery and confectionery brand to make a splash in Belize. And guess what? Bakers and chefs are already singing its praises!

Neri Castilla, Culinary Instructor

“They have a wide variety of products. It is a lot cheaper than other brands here in Belize and it is accessible to us to get in any store. It is not like we have to order or wait for an order to come in.”

Ma Bakers and Chef Products are manufactured in Mexico and imported by Mayito Cal Limited, a company led by Miriam Cal.

Miriam Cal, Importer, Ma Baker and Chef

“Ma Baker in collaboration with us brought in two renowned chef to come and introduce the usage of their products and the many products they have in their catalogs. To answers question for the home bakers that might have doubts about the product or want to know more about the products, because some are already on the market. In this way we are introducing new products, I will be bringing them back into the country.”

Home bakers, supermarket reps, and hotel and resort representatives all gathered in one room to get the inside scoop on how Ma Baker and Chef products can boost their businesses and delight their customers.

Amalia Marin, Assistant, Ma Baker and Chef

“Guys Ma Bakers and Chef is one of the best brands in the baking industry. They bring in a long selection of products for pastries as a whole. This one is edible markers. It is not markers you can use to give your kids. It is edible markers. So, you can use it to write happy birthday in the fondant or maybe to decorate your cookies. You can be creative with this. We also bring in luster dust, edible paint in a dust form. Most bakers would mix it with vodka, a little bit, not much and they would paint away their flowers, cookies, cake, our pastries and that gives it a different color. If you are making flowers, you get these to color your flowers. Your flower would usually be white because of the material you are using, this is what you need to get and your dust it off and it becomes amazingly beautiful like the flower we show earlier that is edible. That is dust with this one.”

And those are just two of the many fantastic products Ma Baker and Chef has in their lineup. The two bakers who flew in to showcase these goodies spent the morning crafting and decorating a stunning Christmas-themed cake. The end result? A vibrant, eye-catching cake display with sharp contrasts, perfect for the festive season!

Miriam Cal

“As the chef just said, every product has a code at the back that can be scanned, and it will show them how to use it. And each one is made to make the baker’s life easier and to save time. Like I am just saying, time is the most limited resource we have. For example she used the royal icing to create three different things, she used it as an adhesive for her figurine. She used it to make the snow effect and she added more water to show snow on the figurine of the trees. So the same product can be used different ways. Its not only about introducing the product but how it can be applied throughout.”

Before today, these products were not available at supermarkets in Belize City. But, during the demonstration, Publics Supermarket committed to carrying all Ma Baker and Chef products in its grocery stores. The news came with applause from the audience.

Amalia Marin

“We have three sizes of fondants, the large, the medium and the smaller ones. The smaller one is good. People say it is small and they need the whole pack. Not every time a baker needs to buy the whole two pound if it only a piece they need. You don’t need to buy the two pounds. You can buy the small one and just use it for what you need.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez

Sunnyside Bakery: The Taste You Dream About

It’s day four for the staff at the Sunny Side Bakery at its new location and business is just as plentiful as ever. The family-owned bakery has been in the process of relocating for several years and finally, during the week of the death anniversary of late owner Elon Pitterson, the new bakery is here. News Five’s Britney Gordon visited the bakery today to hear how the family is keeping that same great taste and quality after nearly seventy years of service.

Britney Gordon

“You made the trip all the way here today to get something even though the old location is near your house. So why did you come all the way here to get them?”

Ashly Cole, Customer

“Because Sunny and Tan is the best and always been the best from ever since from I was a little boy. And I was born in what, 1958 and I start go to Sunny from I was about five years old.”

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Customers are waiting to enter Sunny Side Bakery in Belize City, also known as the famous Sunny and Tan Bakery. It’s only been four days since the bakery opened the doors of its new location, and already, the loyal customers are back and for good reason. The Sunny Side Bakery is one of Belize’s oldest and most beloved bakeries in the old capital. Zebedee Pitterson started the business in 1959, and today, his granddaughters Elony and Christiana Pitterson are carrying on his legacy.

Elony Pitterson, Manager, Sunny Side Bakery

“This family business is very important to me because from when my grandfather had it was, he was doing really great and it was something for me and my sister to look up to. So that’s why both of us wanted to continue the bakery.”

Britney Gordon

“So growing up in a baking family, do you feel that influenced your love for the craft of baking? Is it something that you take pride in doing?”

Elony Pitterson

“Yes, it is something that I take pride in doing because ever since I was about eight years old I have always been in the bakery with my dad doing pastries after school learning to make pastries, so it’s something that I really love.”

The bakery offers a variety of pastries such as cinnamon rolls, doughnuts, and cakes, but it is the Sunny and Tan bread and buns that Belizeans cannot get enough of. Norman Melton, a customer that has been coming to the bakery since he was a child says that he just can’t get bread like this anywhere else.

Norman Melton, Customer

“Well, I used to go there because they got the best bread, you know, and Sunny and Tan bread is nicer than everybody else bread. So we want the best all the time for our money. We don’t want bread that we buy it today, tomorrow it done look spoil, jun de pon you know. But for them bread could last you three, four days before it gets spoiled or hard.”

Elon Petterson, the son of Zebedee Pitterson, was at the forefront of thebusiness for decades. It was his dream to take the bakery to a new location so he designed the new store himself. However, Elon died of a heart attack in 2021, so it was up to his wife and children to make his dreams a reality. Christiana Pitterson tells us that it is a bittersweet feeling to see her father’s dreams accomplished without him.

Christiana Pitterson, Manager, Sunny Side Bakery

“It was his dream. He wanted to relocate the bakery. So when suddenly my dad passed away while he was renovating it. So this was mostly like a shell, but we had the design and the idea of what he wanted. And so now we’re here in this beautiful bakery and making his dream come to life. We’re very excited that we we’ve opened up the bakery. This is our fourth day opening and we have an amazing customer base who love the building, love the location, even our products, so we’re very grateful for them again. lastly too, I want to say thank God for giving us health and strength for us to continue this legacy as well.”

Sunny Side Bakery, at its core, remains a family business. And it is the love that each member has for the craft and for their customers that keeps people coming back for years to come.

Britney Gordon

“How long have you been going to the other location?”

Rupert Robinson, Former Employee

“Oh, man, many, many. I used to work for mister Pitterson himself, the boss.”

Britney Gordon

“And what was that experience like for you? How was he as a person?”

Rupert Robinson

“He was a very good guy. Good gentleman. He had his wife. He had his two sons and he had a daughter and I usually was a good boss to me in the 1990s.”

Britney Gordon

“And so you feel good to come out and support the family that’s trying to continue his legacy?”

Rupert Robinson

“Well, I know that the family was torn apart by death of the father and one of the son so I’m trying to support them.”

Pitterson says that despite the change in location, business has been booming just as much as ever and she is grateful for the people that continue to enjoy the food after so many years.

Britney Gordon

“Do you feel that the customers have really been turning up to your doors now that you’ve moved here? Or have you noticed like maybe a dip as people get used to the new location?”

Christiana Petterson

“No, there’s been a great increase in customers. It has been amazing. So again, we’re very grateful for it.”

Britney Gordon for News Five.

New Menu, New Look: Le Petit Café is Back

It’s been six months since Le Petit Café in Belize City closed for renovations. And the public has since eagerly awaited the return of the beloved café. Now, the wait is finally over. From six am to one pm, Belizeans can stop by the new Le Petit Café on Marine Parade Boulevard to satisfy their hunger and quench their thirst. Earlier today, News Five’s Britney Gordon stopped by the café for a taste of the new selection. Here’s the story.

Britney Gordon, Reporting

There is little more that one could wish for than a refreshing drink after travelling under the blazing Belizean sun. Perhaps a spot of shade, or a cool place to rest their feet. At the Le Petit Café located on the Marine Parade Boulevard, visitors can find all that and more. After six months, the café has reopened, boasting the sweet treats Belizeans know and love as well as some tasty new additions.

Efren Alvarez, Food & Beverage Manager, Fort George

“The concept we started with the concept The same concept, but we added more values, our drinks, coffees, pastries. Especially now with the smoothies, because that’s something we don’t have in the last years, but we added more value for that. And maybe the portion was a little more big, than we have in the past. And the concept will start to change, that the people can see more different things, and we start to present it, a special items that the people can feel comfortable with them. Price and ingredients quality.”

A new menu and a new look. Despite being on wheels, customers can sit back, relax and sip on a drink while the sea breeze wafts over them. All the while gentle music plays from nearby, creating an atmosphere of utmost relaxation.

Efren Alvarez

“It’s more that cafeteria We’re looking for more like ice place that we have a families here. They can get a seat in that place We have umbrellas. We have a chairs and the people can come enjoy the Coffee and they can take a seat. They can see the ocean. There’s smoothies. They can get like a fresh smoothie. They can say I want to have something with me in front of a watermelon and that’s something fresh Okay, that’s something what the people can get very easy here because we have the fresh ingredients every day.”

The menu boasts drinks that satisfy the tongue and strengthen the body. They are made with ingredients such as yogurt, carrots, spinach and strawberries and lightly sweetened with honey.

Efren Alvarez

“People is in this moment from yesterday and today, we see the people asking more like a healthy drink, for example. We have the tropical green, it’s a smoothie made with the spinach pineapple. Watermelon. We don’t add any like a sugar or something like that for the smoothie. We need something like a more healthy drinks in the morning that they’re looking for. Especially the people is working in this area that they’re looking for in this place.”

Chef Luis Vega says the same love and attention poured into the drinks are kneaded into the pastries made fresh every day.

Luis Vega, Chef, Le Petit Café

“We try to do, of course, the best presentation of our products, but we try to don’t loss the quality of the products, which is very important, how I tell you. For us, it’s very important the freshness of the products. The presentation and the quality of the of our product. And we, for us, it’s very important that our customers be happy with our products.”

Whether it’s for an afternoon snack or breakfast on the go, anyone can stop by and choose from a variety of foods made with the customer in mind.

Britney Gordon

“Le Petit’s known for their pastries. We got cookies, muffins, banana bread, but can people come Belizean stuff like powder bun and Johnny cake?”

Efren Alvarez

“We have powder bun, Johnny cake. We have both. That’s something we cannot miss actually here because we know the local guests and at the end of the day, this is very important to keep in the place. Always is asking for powder bun always is asking for Johnny cakes in the morning. And we cannot delay that.”

And with confidence in the team behind the counter, plans to expand the menu and opening hours are already underway, so that anyone craving something of Le Petit’s quality, can find it any time they want.

Efren Alvarez

“We starting six o’clock in this, in at the moment until one o’clock. But in the moment we’ll see if we can increase our schedule maybe at night for, do something different here. But this is something we’ll look at it in the future.”

It’s not just a bakery at Le Petit, it’s an experience.

Luis Vega

“It is a very nice atmosphere because we are in front of the sea. We have small tables by the food truck. And you can sit there, enjoy your food, your bakery, your coffee, fresh coffee. Also, we have a very nice coffee. And the, our products, which is very important. Also, we have the fresh smoothies and different kind of drinks. It’s not only bakery, we can offer to our customers different kind of the products. It’s very important for us that our customer can be happy with their, our things or what things are we are offered to them.”

Britney Gordon for News Five.

Belizean Chef Gains Culinary Diploma Alongside Professionals

In late April, twelve Belizean chefs from across the country completed a diploma in a culinary arts program through the B.T.B., the Ministry of Education and the Florida International University. Over the course of nine sessions, these chefs were trained in various culinary skills with assistance from Belize’s own Chef Sean Kuylen, who blended Belizean culture into the experience. We spoke with a recent graduate today, to hear how they plan to make use of the knowledge and skills imparted on them. News Five’s Britney Gordon reports.

Britney Gordon, Reporting

Part of Belize’s reputation as a melting pot of cultures, includes the wide variety of food offered throughout the country. Across various hotels, restaurants and vendors, food tourism is a large contributor to Belize’s economy. Thus, creating opportunities for more people to hone their skills in the kitchen is a necessary part of keeping Belizean chefs in business. Recently, twelve people were able to gain a diploma in a culinary arts program through the BTB, the Ministry of Education and the Florida International University. Mirna Paul Greenidge chose not to become a professional chef but wanted to join in on the experience to gain the skills and knowledge.

Mirna Paul Greenidge, Culinary Arts Program Graduate

“It was a culinary arts class and it was a basic skills learning about different aspects and techniques of cooking and preparation of food and also doing safety, which is very important.”

Britney Gordon

“So how did you get involved in this program?”

Mirna Paul Greenidge

“I got involved because I saw an advertisement from BTB, kudos to the people at BTB, the minister for his vision and his entire team, Mister Enriquez, who is the person that do all the training for the different aspects of hospitality in the country. Miss Tracy, who was very helpful for us, for encourage us and get us to get this training completed.”

The participants mastered a variety of skills, including cold food preparation and menu design.

Britney Gordon

“So I know you’re not a chef by profession. What made you decide that? Okay, I’m going to go and try this.”

Mirna Paul Greenidge

“I have a passion for cooking. I’m really interested in being a barrister. And, of course, you understand that there is a principle of preparation, meeting, opportunity. So, I believe that we always have to learn new skills. That’s how I became also a masseuse. So, in that quest of trying to get self development.That is how I end up in this course. And of course, I plan to use it at home and who knows, maybe sometime doing some catering.”

Paul said that although this was all new to her, she was able to become adept through the guidance of her mentors and fellow classmates.

Mirna Paul Greenidge

“Well, basically you learn techniques and you don’t take for granted especially in food preparation. There is a lot of measures of safety that you have to take, um, the purchasing of the food, how you store your food costing if you’re interested in being a chef, because many of my classmates were chefs, of course, and they’re working already in restaurants or resorts and it’s very important because at the end of the day, we are able to handle food properly and be able to cost it and do everything that we need to do in a good measure.”

She explained that the environment was welcoming to diverse participants, which only made her enthusiasm for the experience grow.

Mirna Paul Greenidge

“It was very inclusive and we had good integration because we were very helpful. Those who had a little bit more experience, we were able to gain from that because we did a lot of group sessions. We also had theory in the few months that we were doing it and We’re at the commissary at Boeing and Boeing. That is where we did the practice. Level four kitchen. That’s the best of the best, the top. So we were able to even be exposed to what is expected in a real scenario of a restaurant. So everybody pitching, we did several things. We had chef Kuylen with us. That was very interesting. Putting the Belizean flavor to the French cuisine because that’s basically what we learn a lot about.”

The program began in June 2023 and concluded in April of this year. The BTB said that they are planning to make the course available again for more Belizeans to participate in. Paul said that she encourages Belizeans to participate so that they can become asset to Belize’s growing hospitality industry.

Mirna Paul Greenidge

“The course is very interesting. It’s a way of enhancing your skills. And of course the better prepared people are for the hospitality and to serve the tourists. I think that is a plus for Belize. And I think that everybody you shouldn’t just be educated or just. You should be very much in tune to what you’re doing and have the skills and the qualifications to back it up.”

Britney Gordon for News Five.