This is the ninth of a 10-part series looking at entertainers making a name outside of their field.
DANCEHALL music rocked American clubs and charts during the 1990s. Shabba ruled the roost, and not far behind were Mad Cobra and Patra, queen of the pack.
Sporting trademark braids, 42-year-old Patra says music is still a big part of her game. But she and husband Donahue Jarrett are preparing to expand their lifestyle brand in July by launching the Chateau 7 restaurant at Red Gal Ring, St Andrew.
“Food has always been my passion, besides music. I used to cook for the people at VIBE (magazine) and (record company) Sony,” she recalled. “Shabba paid me to cook for him.”
Chateau 7 has been in operation since March, offering mainly traditional Jamaican dishes. Jarrett, who has recorded songs with Third World’s Stephen ‘Cat’ Coore, is the son of Terrence Jarrett, founder of the Altamont Court hotel in Kingston.
He said Chateau 7’s menu will not be conventional.
“We’re specifically about jerking, soups, salads. We’re not fully open but making sure what we offer in terms of service and food is fresh,” he told Splash.
‘Fresh’ includes treats like Jerk Pork soup, and using different spices to make their jerked meat stand out.
Patra said she has been cooking since she was eight years old in Westmoreland where she is from. In the 1990s when she was part of the successful Specs/Shang team of impresario Clifton ‘Specialist’ Dillon, she had a number of hit songs including Think About It and Worker Man, from her 1993 album Queen of The Pack.
A cover of Grace Jones’ Pull Up to The Bumper was also a chart-rider.
Her love for food grew as she travelled the world. Opening a restaurant, albeit 20 years later, seemed only natural.
“I love creating new menus, love history and travelling. Anything that keeps the mind active,” she said.
Food is not the only attraction on Chateau 7’s menu. A live band, unplugged performances and comedy night will be part of its weekly entertainment package.
Patra has recorded periodically in the last five years, and performed in African countries such as Uganda. A ‘comeback’ is imminent, she said.
“I’m patiently waiting on everything to be structured, then I’ll be out!”
Patra is preparing to release a cookbook this summer titled Cooking with the Queen.
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