Gumbo Jamaica satisfies corn dog cravings with a unique twist

One year after quitting his 9-to-5 job and starting Gumbo Jamaica, Jermaine Dunkley, has absolutely no regrets and is happy he could have conceptualised a new corn dog craving in the country.

During a recent interview, Dunkley told Food that people from as far as Portland, St James and other sections of the island, have been travelling to the corporate area just to try his various corn dogs now being offered in six flavours: original, classic mozza, original mozza, sweet mozza, classic potato and potato mozza.

“When persons come across the brand [on social media], as far as they are concerned, this is a big brand across the country. People will reach out and ask, ‘Do you guys have a store in Montego Bay? Do you guys have a store in Portland?’ That is how they approach us.”

Dunkley also shared that he did not have a background in culinary arts or a love for cooking.

He said that the way Gumbo Jamaica is presented has led callers to believe it’s a franchise from abroad, but it is, in fact, a Jamaican brand.

The name Gumbo Jamaica was inspired by Dunkley’s love for gumbo stew dishes served in the United States with rice. The idea to start the business first came to him in 2021, before its official launch on November 11, 2023.

“Three years ago, I got really intrigued by street food culture, and as time went on, the more I did this [researching about corn dogs], the more I learned that when it comes to food, it is like a language. And what I’ve learned is that different people like different things, because of our palates,” he explained.

Initially, while researching street foods from around the world, Dunkley came across a dish called elotes, a type of fancy corn often served in hot dog form.

“It’s like regular sweet corn on the cob, so initially, that was where I was headed. But at the same time, I wanted to make this more unique, and not just [as a product] sitting in the market or in the culture as Mexicans ... . That landed me into the Korean culture and the different and different ways that they go about making their corn dogs.”

While working for a logistics company in 2021, Dunkley realised it was time to move on and decided that starting his own business selling various flavoured corn dogs would be his next step. Taking a leap of faith, he resigned in 2023.

Before fully committing, he ran a pilot phase in 2021, hosting pop-ups among family members and close friends. He recalled that the first event was marred by heavy rain, which nearly turned the day into a disaster. That experience discouraged him from pursuing the venture further that year.

“I didn’t push further with it at the time because of a job opportunity that I had gotten which would have spanned from 2021 all the way back to 2023. But, within all that time, I never actually lost track of the fact that this is something that I am heavily planning on pursuing; so during this time, I was still experimenting with different recipes.”

As the idea came together, launching the business, he admits, was another hurdle to overcome as he was a one man show

“[On the official launch day] I was doing this alone. I didn’t even have assistance, so I had to start a launch day completely by myself. This means that I was preparing the corn dogs with all the preparation as needed. And then when persons would come for pickups, I would have to also be the one that would bring out the orders, so as you can imagine, that was not easy,” he said.

Dunkley initially planned to operate on just one day of the week, but the high demand driven by “the power of social media” has since forced him to expand to three days. Now, he offers only pick-up service at Red Hills Road, Kingston 19 or delivery through food courier services.

For 2025, his goal is to open his first restaurant, where customers can walk in and enjoy freshly baked corn dogs.

ainsworth.morris@gleanerjm.com