As a child, in a typical Bajan kitchen, you often heard ‘this needs a lil seasoning’ from your grandmother or mother.
Wayne Ifill fondly remembers those formative years for nurturing his love for cooking and his passion for flavour.
Influenced by his mother, who taught him everything he knows about Barbadian cuisine, Wayne stayed true to her philosophy in the kitchen – to make food flavourful – and created his brand of condiments, Auntie Phyllis.
“Phyllis was my mom. She has passed, so to allow her legacy to live on, I made the product and named it after her,” Wayne told Loop.
“Growing up, the first thing my mom used to tell me was, ‘Wayne, your food has to have flavour.'”
Beyond being catchy and easy to remember, Auntie Phyllis was an affectionate term bestowed upon Wayne’s mother by friends, neighbours and acquaintances. He explained that the brand’s identity sought to embody the friendliness, warmth and familiarity of an ‘Auntie’.
“Everybody may not have a biological auntie or mom at this time, but when you have a person that you revere very, very much, who do you refer to in the Caribbean? Auntie or Uncle. So hence Auntie Phyllis.”
Wayne was inspired to create his own barbecue sauce while running a restaurant in 2009. Dissatisfied with the available options on the market, he tailored a sauce that would be perfect for the Barbadian palate.
“I realised whenever I went the supermarket and bought barbecue sauces, I had to come and enhance those sauces so I decided let me do some research and let me get involved in doing my own sauces because I love cooking,” he shared.
He proceeded to launch his first product, Original BBQ flavour, which he confidently assured was immaculate and didn’t require enhancers.
“You don’t have to enhance any of the flavours. You can buy, open and use directly from the bottle.”
Of course, after the success of the Original Flavour, Auntie Phyllis wouldn’t stop there.
Wayne went on to implement a bit of Bajan culture – rum. He launched Rum Fusion, Pineapple Saga and Mega Burn.
“Barbados is the birthplace of rum and it would be an injustice not to prepare a product that has rum in it so we had the Rum Fusion,” Wayne said while chuckling he added that Mega Burn was for “for the guys who like to test their ego”.
Due to the amped interests and local sales, Auntie Phyllis’ manufacturing line has ‘graduated’ from Wayne’s home to the International Food Science Centre in Christ Church.
“It gives people the assured comfort that this is a safe product that can be used,” he noted, adding that he was better equipped to be export ready.
Currently, Auntie Phyllis is available in Harrison’s Cave, Piece of Barbados Sunset Crest, Nicholls Bakery branches, Art Splash in Hastings, the Gap Convenience and Dover Market, but soon persons in the United Kingdom will be able to get a taste of the 100 per cent Bajan BBQ sauces.
“We are delving into the export market with the help of Export Barbados, and we will be expanding to the UK soon,” Wayne informed Loop Lifestyle.
He exclaimed that big things are in store for Auntie Phyllis!
