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The two began as one fried chicken shop on Dyre Avenue in the Bronx.
Jamaicans Vincent and Jeanette HoSang started Kingsbridge Delights in 1978, their daughter Sabrina HoSang recounted recently.
At Kingsbridge, Jeanette contributed her cooking skills to create "delicious Jamaican cuisine," Sabrina said.
As the companies grew, chiefly with the increasing demand for their Jamaican patties, they were forced to relocate to Mount Vernon, but even there was no match for the growing number of Jamaicans and Caribbean nationals who demanded the "taste of home," according to Sabrina.
So the HoSangs made the move to separate the companies by identifying an even larger and permanent home for their flagship product, the Jamaican patty.
In 1994, CFD was relocated to a 103,000-square-foot manufacturing facility on 10 acres in Tappan.
Today, Caribbean Food Delights make Jamaican-style beef, chicken and vegetable patties and Jamaican baked products, hard dough bread, bun, bulla and cakes are made by Royal Caribbean Bakery.
The companies’ products are widely distributed with CFD’s patties being available globally. The Caribbean Food Delights branded patties can be found at Wal-Mart; club stores Sam’s, BJ’s and Costco; major supermarkets Price Rite, HEB, Publix, Winn Dixie and Harris Teeter; local grocery stores; and Commissaries worldwide.
Vincent and Jeanette HoSang are both from Jamaica. "My mom is from Spanish Town, and my dad is from Springfield, St. James, in Montego Bay. Ironically, they didn’t meet in Jamaica. They met in the Bronx," Sabrina said.
Sabrina lives in Rockland County and serves on a few nonprofit boards.
Doing so, she said, makes her feel "proud."
"I have met so many wonderful people through those organizations and am honored to be a part of their goals and visions. It’s a great feeling to know we can help those in need."
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