Storm Chefs! - Bull Bay residents cook up a storm as Beryl hits

Shortly before the big, bad Hurricane Beryl huffed and puffed its way over the island, Omar Forbes, a resident of Bull Bay, St Andrew, was seen making his own breeze to light a coal stove in an unfinished restaurant called Fire Flame.

Forbes, the designated chef, was tasked with preparing a meal for his friends as they gathered on Jamaica's southeast coastline.

"We're making sure the fire live man," declared Bunny Fireside, who regularly operates as the cook in the streetside cookshop.

When a power outage interrupted their FIFA gaming session, group members turned to cooking and reasoning.

"In the midst of the storm we a cook, we're used to it man. It's a rough life," they said in a chorus.

Their menu for the evening was equally fitting their simple view of weather, "Baked bean and salt fish and we ago mek some cornmeal dumplings, a rainy time so the flour haffi stand up inna yuh belly."

This gathering wasn't a one-off event born out of necessity. For the past decade, these neighbours have weathered storms together, often when nearby ponds overflow and flood their homes.

However, cooking and playing games outside during the storm wasn't the only reason people left their homes. Tanisia Sterling, owner of Valley Sports Bar, said she opted to camp out in her bar to deter potential looters despite having a secured house in Wickie Wacky.

"At home is safer but it's more important to secure the shop and the bar" she stated.

"We are here from last night because we want to keep the place secure. We don't want anybody breaching our stuff. So, we just want our presence to be known."