TOWN OF DICKINSON (WIVT/WBGH) – Today’s Food and Farm Showcase highlights how a local chef started in her home, and now sells her meals on store shelves.

Sweetay’s is a family owned catering business that specializes in everything sweet, such as custom cakes, and bread pudding, plus homemade soul food to go, including jerk chicken, steamed cabbage mac-n-cheese and potato salad.

It opened in 2021.

Through a partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension and Taste New York, you can find Sweetay’s to go boxes in the Taste New York building on Upper Front Street and in the Southern Tier Welcome Center off of I-81.

The owner, Chantay Skrine, says that being able to utilize CCE’s commercial kitchen has propelled her business to the next level.

“Coming from my home, to the commercial kitchen, this has been able to allow me to put my stuff in the stores, do catering jobs, and bring food. Bring that soul food, that southern food, and my West Indian heritage all of that into play,” she said.

Skrine has been cooking on her own since she was 16.

She says that she started out with sweet treats such as cakes and donuts, but didn’t want to put a ceiling on her business, so she branched out into western Indian and southern style meals.

Skrine says that customers have been asking for her to open up a brick and mortar, sit down spot.

For now, she says she will continue to operate out of a ghost kitchen, but says getting a brick and mortar space isn’t out of the question.

“Cause food is love. I really cook with my heart I really really do. So, to see people take that in, and it’s appreciated, it melts my heart.”

Sweetay’s does custom baked goods and caters meals for special events.

Skrine says the best way to get in touch with her is via Facebook at Sweetay’s LLC.
Or her website, http://SweetaysLLC.com.

You can find her product in the Broome County Regional Farmer’s Market on Upper Front Street every Saturday.