Trinidad Charlie
He's as seasoned as his sauce
Maura Curley
Sit with him for a moment and you'll be in for a ride.
In a matter of minutes he'll sum up his life, make observations about yours,educate you about plants and talk philosophy and politics.
In between he'll respond to numerous greetings he receives from his neighbors in St.John.
Meet Charlie Deyalsingh also known at Trinidad Charlie, St.John's first condiment king who began developing his legendary hot sauces back in 1985.
The island was far less commercial years ago when he began growing his own peppers in St. John, adding spices from his native Trinidad and packaging and labeling the products in his kitchen.
Yet today Deyalsingh still grows his peppers and manufactures' his hot sauce at home, with a little help from his friends.
Deyalsingh says he's learned that small is beautiful.
He sells his products to local restaurants and specialty shops in St. Thomas and St. John.
Though he offers mail orders and ships his sauces around the world upon request, he doesn't mega market anything.
Now in his 60’s Deyalsingh is as seasoned as his sauce, and his farming and daily swims in Hawksnest beach are calming influences on a life that has seen its share of turbulence.
Born to a well-heeled family in Trinidad, where his uncle was a high court judge, Deyalsingh moved to St. John in the mid 1960's and worked at a variety of responsible jobs including as a galley cook, bartender, line cutter and landscaper before becoming a hippie and alienating some folks at genteel Caneel Bay Resort.
Deyalsingh soon decided to party in the mainland - but not before marrying an heiress at one of the first weddings at Hawksnest Beach.
He recall traveling in the same circles as Ritchie Havens and Salvador Dali.
He says Bob Dylan was his mentor noting he was attracted to the lyrics of love and peace, but soon got disillusioned when all the hippies became yuppies.
These days Deyalsingh works his two acres with a green fist, growing more than just the peppers for his sauces.
He cultivates an impressive variety of plants and produce from throughout the Caribbean and South America, which include teak trees, coffee, cocoa, palms, hibiscus orchids and local fruits.
Looking back he says he now has no baggage. He's cultivating within.
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Maura Curley is publisher of virginvoices.com
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