- Here, we make it easy.

We like this.

- Oh boy.

To your hands.

Okay.

- Like this.

- This is good.

Oh my god.

- Okay, are we ready?

- That's it?

- That's it.

- Wow.

- Voila.

- Wow!

This is so good.

You did that so fast.

Like, so when do you start doing this?

Like, when you're like, oh, so it's like you're a baby, you gotta, this is your- - Everybody.

By the time you're five years old.

It's like riding a bicycle.

- Chrissy (laughter)) - I never learned how to ride this bicycle.

I'm Chef Chrissy Camba.

From running restaurants to cooking for the circus, nothing excites me more than feeding people.

As a first generation Filipino American, the flavors from my family's kitchen make me feel at home.

Join me as I explore cultural grocery stores in the US and discover the recipes and stories that make this country's flavors so rich.

This is "The Grocery List Show."

(upbeat music) Labay Market is a Caribbean grocery store in the vibrant neighborhood of Flatbush in Brooklyn, also known as Little Caribbean.

The store is owned by a guy named Big Mac, who you would think was named because of his height, but I think it's because of his heart.

Are you like the mayor of Little Caribbean?

- Oh, maybe the block.

(both laugh) - [Chrissy] Why did you call it Labay?

- [Big Mac] Well, Labay Market, it's a famous market in Grenada and the countryside.

You see fresh vegetables, you see people coming to shop and getting all their fresh grocery.

So when people hear that name and they long for food from home, they come to Labay Market.

- Why did you leave Grenada?

- Well, they told us that there were milk and honey on the street here in New York, so I came here at 17 years old by myself.

- 17.

Alone.

- Yes.

Alone.

At that time, I was working construction, and I went back home, and I saw all the fruits falling on the ground and spoiling.

And I said to myself, "Wait, I can do something about this."

So we just decide to import the stuff.

Of course I found out that you had to have permits and you had to clean the fruit properly.

It was a journey.

And here we are today.

My wife is involved, my son, so it's a family thing.

(upbeat music continues) (cheerful music) - [Chrissy] This neighborhood is so vibrant with a certain energy that I felt like I was transported somewhere outside of Brooklyn.

- There wasn't a Little Caribbean in New York, even though we were, like, 20% of the population.

So the first thing we did is we made a map of Little Caribbean, like, what are the main corridors or avenues?

And so, in 2017, the designation was made and we started doing walking tours.

And this space also serves as a gallery and just sort of like a community gathering space.

- [Chrissy] Oh, I love it.

Shelly and her team support local Caribbean businesses while promoting community within the neighborhood.

Why do you think it's very important in this neighborhood to have a store like Labay?

- I think first and foremost, the fact that it's Black and Caribbean-owned is extremely important.

It's just more than a transaction.

Like, he actually can tell you what things are, how you can use them, whether it's medicinal or from a culinary standpoint.

He's familiar with all of it.

He actually eats it.

We have anchor businesses, and I would say definitely Labay is one of them.

- My stomach was really inflamed.

And Labay was the place I would come and get soursop.

And then my mom would make tea.

- Oh, with the leaves.

- The leaves of the soursop.

I had olive leaf.

- Also for tea?

Yes, soursop for tea and dandelion.

- So they pretty much had everything for you.

- They had everything that I needed.

He was very instrumental in cheering me on.

Brooklyn has been ever changing.

I'm glad to see that he's still here.

- [Chrissy] All of the fruit, it seems like it's fresh every day.

How do you manage getting in everything?

- It's a lot of logistics.

Sometimes I don't sleep at night because I have to track the fruits in my mind.

But money can't make you do this.

You have to have a passion in your heart to see people get good food, fresh fruits.

And you know what?

When you see that you can do it, it energizes you.

And this is why I'm here.

Some of these people became my family.

So, once a year, we have Customer Appreciation Day.

If you are around Saturday, I hope you like to eat because it's a lot of food.

- I do.

- We call it a fete.

- [Chrissy] A fete.

- Yes.

We are gonna have a fete.

- I love you so much.

You're so fun.

(upbeat music) Hi Big Mac.

Hi!

- Hello.

- You look like a busy man.

- Very busy.

- You're driving the truck, you're owning this, you're like... - Everything, everything.

- Can I help you out in any of- - Of course.

Of course.

- You want me to bring this in?

- You can bring (laughs).

We're gonna have you participate.

- Okay cool.

Awesome.

- Don't worry.

You're gonna be in it.

Today we're doing the special, which is a Grenadian national dish, -Yes.

- oil down.

So we're gonna have Miss Onicka today.

- Ooo.

- She's gonna show you how we prepare the food.

- Very cool.

- How we put together.

- I can't wait.

- So look forward to that.

- All right.

Thank you so much.

- All right.

Okay.

- Hi, Chrissy.

- [Chrissy] Hi, Miss Onicka!

- [Onicka] So, you ever had oil down before?

- No.

I know nothing about it.

- Okay.

- Well this is gonna be interesting.

- So I need to know ingredients, technique.

I heard I'm helping you in the kitchen maybe.

- Yes.

- Now why is it called oil down?

(Onicka sighs) - Because of the oil from the coconut.

From the coconut.

- Oh, can't wait.

- So people does their oil down differently.

All the vegetables first.

- Huh.

- Usually they put it last and then they put the dumpling on top.

- Yeah.

- Well we put it first because it makes it easier to remove.

We have the turmeric, fresh turmeric.

- Yeah.

- Our bread fruit.

We have our green bananas, white yam.

We have sweet potatoes.

- Yeah.

- And then we have the coconut.

- [Chrissy] So preparation is ready.

- Yeah, uh-huh.

- And then packing... - And then packing in the pot.

- Okay.

- So you can go ahead.

- Okay, perfect.

- That's enough for this.

- [Chrissy] All the veggies first.

- Yeah.

- And this is specific to Labay or to like your family?

- Labay, here.

That's how we get it done.

- [Chrissy] Yeah (laughs).

- All right, so we have all of these in.

Now we get our breadfruit, which I left in the fridge, move to the side.

So we could allow the other vegetables.

- Okay, so like a- - Which are called ground provision.

Oh, you're doing well.

- Thank you.

Thank you so much!

(Onicka laughs) Hired.

- So, and here we got the big two.

Trinidad is known to make oil down, but it looks different to ours.

(Chrissy laughs) And we of course have the best oil down.

- I was gonna ask, but I didn't wanna like step there.

- We of course have the best oil down, no offense, but when we look at them it's like, "That's not oil down.

You should try our oil down."

And then what is it?

I told you before.

- You did, hold on.

Coconut milk!

- Coconut milk, yep.

- I was like, "Why is it, what?"

- (Onicka laughs) Yeah.

With turmeric, that's why it's yellow.

- [Onicka] With turmeric, yes.

- [Chrissy] And you do this every Saturday?

- [Onicka] Every Saturday.

- [Chrissy] Is oil down like specific to any, like, celebration?

- We celebrate our independence.

The whole of the country do oil down.

Any, each block you go to?

Oil down.

How we call it in Grenadian term, when the pot stop bubbling, then we add in our dumpling.

We knead it, press it in.

Get that folded in.

And then you put it down, and then you will roll it out.

You can make really small ones.

You can make it flat if you like.

- [Chrissy] Depends on your personality - and how you're feeling?

- Yeah, Uh-huh.

So like that?

- Mm-hmm.

And then that's it?

- Yeah.

- Thank you so much.

- You're welcome.

- I really appreciate it.

- All righty.

Now you can cook oil down.

- Yeah.

I'll do it when I get home.

(Onicka laughs) Thank you.

It's really good.

It's all melded together as it's cooked.

The dumplings are a little, are firm on top, and they look like bananas so I keep thinking I'm eating bananas, but they're not bananas.

But the green that she put on the bottom is, like, perfectly cooked where it's soft and tender.

But Big Mac told me to save room, so I'm gonna try.

(calm music) I was surprised how many people still turned out even in the rain, which was a testament to both the community and the delicious food.

The rain doesn't stop you.

- [Big Mac] Well, not today.

- I've seen you run around all day.

- I've been doing that.

- [Chrissy] And you said you have more food coming too?

- We have a lot more food coming.

A lot more food.

- How many people usually come to this?

- [Big Mac] Maybe four, five hundred.

- [Chrissy] That's amazing.

How long has it been?

How many?

- [Big Mac] It's been, like, about five years.

- The food is free.

You bring in the ice cream guy.

- Everything is free.

Ice cream truck.

So the kids, you know they would love me because I give them free ice cream.

My culture where I came from, - Yeah.

- we always celebrate around food.

You want to appreciate somebody, you cook for them.

- Yeah.

- And that's what I do.

- That's what Filipinos do too.

So I understand.

- It feels real good though.

- Yeah.

- That a guy like me from a small island, 13 square miles, could come to a big city like this and make a difference.

- [Chrissy] And bring everyone in.

- [Big Mac] It feels real, real good.

- I feel like, you just let us in, like, we were your family, and I think that's what you try and do.

- Yes.

- You're gonna make me cry.

Thank you.

- Thank you so much.

- We love you.

- I love you.

(calm music continues) Big Mac, his family, and Labay Market bring a special and generous spirit to the community.

He told me they show their love through cooking and feeding people.

And I left that experience feeling that my heart was full.

(calm music continues) (cheerful music) (cheerful music continues)