Postby TriP » September 30th, 2016, 3:00 am
People of Trinidad and Tobago ~ Arthur and Daphne (nee Cha Cha) Phillips
Chee Mooke Bakery Ltd. is, at 85, perhaps the oldest surviving on-site bakery in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago.
For over eight decades Chee Mooke Bakery Ltd. has maintained the traditional variety of baked products and has delivered consistent quality to many, many loyal customers. Chee Mooke Bakery Ltd. is a family-run private limited company, whose goals are to provide traditional local bread specialties and to maintain original recipes passed on from the founders.
Established by Arthur and Daphne (nee Cha Cha) Phillips as Columbus Bakery, in the 1920s – east of the present site where the Riverside Plaza stands, on the Old St. Joseph Rd, Mr Phillips delivered home made bread from the domestic operations via a carrier bike around Port of Spain and environs.
An opportunity to occupy improved accommodation for the business arose, and since that move to the present site in 1931, the bakery has been located at 14 Independence Square, Port of Spain. So determined was Arthur for the success of his bakery, he sold his piece of land on which the Hilton Trinidad now stands, in order to move to the present location.
The bakery was soon housed in 650 m2 of a Spanish Colonial building (which records suggest was the Spaniards’ Treasury at the time).
The family, with a staff of just three, baked using 70 kg of flour per day. Up until 1975, a Dutch wood-fired brick oven baked a limited variety of products.
Among customers’ favourite items were Hops, Coconut Sweet Bread and Roti.
Arthur Alexander Phillips passed away in the mid-1930s. After his death, Daphne married Mr. Boysie Chee Mooke -- hence the name change to the Chee Mooke Baking Company-- and she continued the work of her first, late husband.
By the late 1960s, Leon Taffari Phillips, youngest son of Arthur and Daphne, returned from studying Chemistry in British Colombia, Canada.
On his return he found the bakery was still popular but highly inefficient. Understanding that technology and training were important to the survival of the bakery, Leon revolutionised the business. He standardised the product formulations, reorganised and mechanised the production introducing industrial mixers, ovens and other equipment.
To acquire his mother’s numerous home-made recipes, Leon literally followed her as she mixed products, weighing and documenting the measurements of the ingredients.
In 1974, the bakery became a limited liability company and the business name was changed to Chee Mooke Bakery Ltd. In the following year, the property was purchased from Mr Jose T Gonsalves, the landlord.
The original brick oven was dismantled to give way for a larger production area.
At the height of the recession, production dropped as low as 10 bags per day.
In the 1990s Leon’s son, Stokely, returned from Berlin, Germany, as a fully qualified baker, bringing a new level of sophistication to the production, having both practical experience and successfully completing his Diplom Ingeneur in Cereal Technology as a geselle.
When Leon passed away in June 2010, Stokely was appointed as the new General Manager. He is supported by his two sisters, Nathalie and Simone, who are responsible for Human Resources and Sales, respectively.
Further, members of the fourth generation are already involved in business operations with Nathalie’s son working as a Mixing Assistant and Stokely’s daughters in other aspects of operations
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