Article & Photos By Deborah Vernon

A few weeks ago I was asked what my favorite Belizean breakfast was. For me, simple is better. Johnny cakes, cooked on a fire hearth with home made guava jelly. Not only do they taste fantastic, they remind me of a time when Placencia was still a relatively quiet fishing village.

Years ago, there were a hand full of women who cooked their meals over the open flame of a fire hearth. Every morning around 5:00 a.m. my neighbor, Ms. Cuncu, would start up her grinder and grind a few coconuts to make fresh coconut milk, one of the key ingredients in a good Creole johnny cake.

By 6:00 a.m. people would begin gathering around the fire hearth, watching Ms. Cuncu knead her dough, roll it to perfection with a soda bottle, and gently place the discs into the pot. If you didn’t get there early, you were out of luck.

Going to buy johnny cakes in the morning was as much of a social gathering as an errand to get breakfast. People discussed village business and talked about the day ahead. A little gossip, surely, was passed around. Sitting by the smoky fire was one of the primary news sources in the village. You might say it was the pre-computer equivalent of Facebook.

The fire hearth is basically a wooden box, filled with sand where a nice bed of coals could be produced. The cooking is done in a large pot over the coals, with a bed of smoldering coconut husks placed on top of the pot lid (which is generally an old piece of zinc roofing). This cooking environment gives the johnny cakes their distinctive smoky flavor.

Unfortunately, hurricane Iris destroyed the last few remaining fire hearths. Ms. Cuncu never rebuilt hers, much to my disappointment. I was sure the days of women cooking outdoors over an open fire were long gone. We now have fancy kitchens with gas ovens. Who needs to fight the smoke and heat of outdoor cooking?

You can imagine my excitement when I came across that familiar smoky smell, while walking down the road the other day. I saw Ms. Edna standing over a brand new fire hearth and jokingly asked, “Can we expect johnny cakes in the morning”? When she replied that she was cooking them now, I was so excited I could barely contain myself. I bought a stack full for my family and sat down to my first fire hearth johnny cake in nearly 10 years.

I was not disappointed. The warm, soft bread, flavored lightly with coconut and the smokiness that can only be achieved on a fire hearth, brought a smile to my face. This is what I’ve been missing all these years. This, to me, was the flavor of Placencia. It was reminiscent of the old days by the fire, when life was just a little simpler.

I went back again the next day and there it was -a small gathering of people, waiting for their johnny cakes. This time the discussion was what tastes best with your hot johhny cake. It was obvious, I was not the only one who missed them.