Like father, like son - Mickel Dussie sustains beloved seafood legacy in Westmoreland

Steadfastly following in his late father’s footsteps, Mickel Dussie has kept seafood-loving faithfuls reeled in at his adored roadside spot in Llandilo, Westmoreland. "I grew up in the business. It's my life, and I love what I do," declared Dussie of the culinary business he took the helm of, after his entrepreneur dad passed in 2022.

Dusk's arrival in the western parish on a recent Wednesday saw Dussie in routine mode along the main thoroughfare connecting Savanna-la-Mar to Negril. 

He's set up shop in a tarpaulin-roofed vending space with wrapped bowls of pre-seasoned conch flavoured with what he asserted is "a family secret recipe I got from my dad”. Indeed, all the freshly caught snapper, grunt, turbot, angelfish and lobster options —  available daily from 4 p.m. and cooked to order — are made with that closely guarded fusion of special ingredients. Rotis and bubbling pots of either fish or conch soup cooked by Mickel's mother, Carrol Dussie, are also on the menu. It's a literal recipe for success.  

For more than three decades, between the dearly departed patriarch and his offspring, the Dussies have been satiating the appetites of Westmoreland's denizens. Job satisfaction for the second-generation culinary entrepreneur comes from the consistency of pleased customers. "It's the love that the people give you," said the laidback Mickel, who turned 34 last week, as he wrapped conch and stuffed fish into individual aluminium packets to foil-cook on a grill before him. "I give them an Indian style of food and seasoning, that's what it's all about."

The senior Dussie pioneered the roadside biz back in 1992 at a crossroads intersection in Barlett's River, close to Sav. Positive word of mouth echoed through the town, and in short order, his became an after-hours hotspot. "My father invented this business and expanded it. He started at the bridge at Barlett's River and then moved here to Llandillo," Mickel shared, a deep sense of pride evident in his chipper reminiscing. "He had a lot of workers who came around him and 'catch' the business (a number of them would subsequently venture out on their own). But what they did not catch was the secret ingredients he used."

In the case of general practitioner Vincent Chisholm, enchantment came 32 years ago with a lip-smacking, fantastic first taste of Dussie's seafood. He was immediately hooked. "I met Michael in 1994, and we became the best of friends until his passing," divulged the recently retired physician who runs a popular private practice in the parish capital. "My typical order is either fish tea or conch soup, depending on which of the two Carrols cooks for the night, and I also get the steam roast fish," Dr Chisholm elaborated, noting that the 'old wife' or turbot is his preferred option. 

The good doc sings the gospel of seafood divinity. "I am out there almost every night, and everyone that passes, the first person they ask for is Mickel," he told Food. "If they don't see him, it's as if they don't want to stop. He knows how to mix what we would consider the finest seasoning to put in the fish and conch."

As a de facto paternal figure for Mickel — the second of four children for his late bestie and homemaker spouse — Dr Chisholm wants him to walk into the greatness of his potential. "We say it all the while, he doesn't fully appreciate how important he is to the family business and how well he learned from his father in terms of preparation of the food. Everybody will tell you he does the best seasoning on the Llandilo strip," the Dussie family confidante proclaims. As goodwill envelops from Chisholm and countless well-wishers in his hometown, Mickel said plans are on the drawing board to expand the business.

A wooden, zinc-roof structure that once housed the Sunday-to-Sunday operational seafood business was a casualty of Hurricane Melissa's destructive landfall in Westmoreland last October. "I am looking towards an upgrade now, and building a bigger building. We are looking to have it completed soon."

This Dussie son —  there are brothers Tarn and Trey, and sister Tenisha, too — recalled his father's long-ago repeated words from his childhood and adolescence. "He would say I should watch him, so I can catch it. I can remember him always saying, 'Son, one day you are going to take over this', so I decided I was staying at his foot. Then mi start catch it, and even catch it better."