Faces in the Crowd: Jerry Franklin, OJO Labs

Jerry Franklin, vice president of International Operations at OJO Labs in Saint Lucia, is a Texas native who at one time worked in the oil industry and had the chance to experience amazing food cultures from all over the world. When he helped opened OJO’s operations in Vieux Fort, Saint Lucia two years ago, he saw to it that the operation contained an industrial-strength kitchen so he could share his love for food with OJO team members. Now OJO’s chefs source ingredients from local growers and serve meals to the group’s 300 staffers during all three shifts – assuring that no matter what time you’re working, you’ll get to experience a great meal, courtesy of Jerry and OJO.  In Jerry’s words: “I had my own restaurant way back in the day before I got in to the whole sales thing 20 years ago. It was a small little whole in wall that was really pretty simple. Food has always been important to me. I grew up very poor and didn’t really have a lot to eat. My dad got hurt in his construction job and really never worked a steady job after that. My travels out of college in the oil field with my engineering degree took me all over the world. This is  where I was introduced to may foods and cultures. I traveled to may poor countries where I found a love for simple foods. Taking that and an understanding of how food makes even people with no money feel rich made me really appreciate coming together for a meal. Being able to balance cost and available items allows me to put together pretty amazing food combinations and feed the masses for very little money, not to mention, I’m able to bring types of foods to people that have never had such as…Mexican, Greek, Thai, and so on. It makes me feel good knowing we’re providing not just a meal but a story behind each creation we serve daily.“