Family-run Caribbean eatery crowned restaurant of the year – with £100,000 prize
A family-run business in Portsmouth has been crowned Uber Eats’ restaurant of the year.
Natty’s Jerk won £100,000 as well as the title, beating thousands of restaurants nationwide.
Owner Natty Crutchfield established the business in 2017, leaving behind life as a London cab driver to pursue his dream of setting up a street food style eatery.
“I love Caribbean food, it’s just so comforting, so I had this thing that I really wanted to do and one day I decided I’d had enough,” he told Money.
“I was sitting on a taxi rank and drove to a catering shop to buy a load of equipment, and then I came home to my wife and proclaimed that this is what we’re doing now.”
With his four children, wife, sisters, mother and nephew chipping in, the family has managed to grow the business, opening up two more restaurants in Bournemouth and Southampton in the last few years.
Natty is thinking about using the prize money to expand further, but wants to make sure the customer experience remains at the heart of the restaurant.
Having missed out on the award a couple of times previously, at this year’s ceremony he decided to “hide in the corner” and wait for it to be over.
“I didn’t want anyone to see me cry again and when they called my name, truthfully, it went in slow motion. I just couldn’t stop the…
