While the traditional Bajan ham cutter is available year-round, the Yuletide season transforms Cherwin Reece’s sandwich into a prized commodity.
Thick, juicy slices of freshly boiled ham — yes, boiled and not baked — tucked into warm salt bread, become a must-have for many Barbadians during Christmas.
From Monday to Friday, from as early as 7 a.m., it is normal to see a line forming outside his shop on Beckles Road, St Michael. Customers wait patiently, sometimes for two and even three hours, watching the clock, murmuring softly, but rarely leaving their place. The wait itself has become part of the ritual.
Some customers arrive for one or two cutters, others place orders for their entire work department, family or organisation. Reece recalled that the largest single order he has ever filled was for 120 ham cutters.
Reece said he has been selling ham cutters since 1986, starting alongside his mother and father at their family shop on St Mary’s Road before later relocating to Beckles Road.
Asked what makes his cutters so special that hundreds of customers flock to his small shop each week, the 63-year-old was humble in his response.
“I don’t know. People would have to tell you that, but I really can’t tell you. There is no secret.”
“Unlike other people, I boil the ham because baked ham isn’t as sweet. The only other thing I could think of is the water. I use Bajan tap water to boil the hams,” Reece said, laughing.
Reece described the work as a labour of love. He usually wakes at 4 a.m. to begin preparations for the day, using large pots to boil at least four hams at a time. During December, he said, at least ten hams are used daily to meet customer demand. Throughout the rest of the year, he sells cutters from 7 a.m. until he is sold out, but the festive season remains his busiest period.
When a Barbados TODAY team visited the shop recently to capture the scene, the popularity of the cutters was unmistakable.
On that particular day, customers who arrived around 10 a.m. were told to return at noon. When the doors reopened, a flood of people poured in. One woman ordered about 20 cutters for her work department, another customer asked for six, another two, another ten. The pattern continued steadily. Two hours later, the shop was still filled to capacity, with orders seemingly unending. Within that space of time, three hams were used.
Despite the pressure, Reece did not rush. He took his time and remained calm. From slicing thick pieces of ham into bread, to collecting money, washing his hands and starting the process again, he moved steadily. Even amid murmurs, sighs and the occasional frustrated face, he remained composed.
He credited that calm to his mother. “I don’t really get too riled up on how much things are,” he said. “I just keep it cool.”
The father of one said he does not usually need an assistant, explaining that he can handle the workload himself. However, on occasions when orders reach 100 or more within a short space of time, he does accept help from a woman who assists with the preparation.
Despite rising costs, Reece has managed for years to hold his price at $10, offering what customers describe as a heavy cutter, thick with meat.
Still, he acknowledged that an increase may be inevitable.
“I would say it’s going to go up now. Probably next year I’ll carry it up,” he said, noting that the rising cost of both bread and ham has made it increasingly difficult to maintain the current price.
For someone so closely associated with the Christmas season, Reece does not consider himself a Christmas person. He said he enjoys Christmas Day as a quiet and relaxing day. Still, even then, the pull of the ham cutter proves hard for some to resist.
“Even on Christmas Day, people still show up,” he said, shaking his head at the memory. “I have to tell them I am closed.”
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
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