Bahamas News
Valerie Rolle Tonny – The Bread Lady of Sandals Emerald Bay, Every loaf in a Bahamian outdoor brick oven baked with heart
#TheBahamas, April 5, 2023 – In an age when real homemade bread baked in an outdoor brick oven is as rare as a trace metal, Valerie Rolle Tonny is reviving the tradition, treating hundreds of visitors every week to the edible treasure.
Tonny is the Bread Lady of Sandals Emerald Bay, Exuma. She’s a one-woman tourism ambassador who fed a family
of 13 when she was young, following in her dad’s footsteps.
“I never knew how he could make bread that tasted so good, but I was going to stay by his side until I learned,” she said. And did she learn. With a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye, Tonny whips up loaf after loaf, bun after bun, twist and tart after twist and tart of the sweetest breads this side of heaven, each with a distinct Bahamian taste – coconut, guava, dilly, potato, banana, pumpkin. There’s just about nothing she hasn’t tried and no day she doesn’t want to create something guests will devour.
She’s also a mother of four, grandmother of 12, great-grandmother of eight, still an athlete, a softball player, coach of the volleyball team in Nassau in the last Bahamas Games, and she’s participating in the celebrations leading up to the 50th anniversary of independence.
Tonny’s energy puts those Eveready bunnies to the test.
But most of all, she is the sweetness, the smile and the genuine warmth behind that bread that draws guests at the Sandals resort to line up on the days they know she is firing up the brick oven halfway between the beach and pool. They inhale the aroma as steam escapes from the oven and the loaf or twist of bread begins to rise.
“The guests love it and I bake for them even when it’s raining. Mr. Mutton (General Manager Jeremy Mutton) will tell me, ‘Ms. Valerie, don’t you go out there now, I don’t want you getting wet.’ But I just tell him I’m going because I love what I do. I tell him the rain’s going to let up by the time I am ready to serve, and I love seeing the smiles on my guests’ faces when I hand them the warm loaf. I do corn bread, guava, coconut, dilly, whatever is in season, and they tell me, ‘Ms. Valerie, this is the best bread I ever tasted in my life.’”
Tonny can’t remember a time she did not feel most at home in the kitchen. She left school at 14 to help out on the family farm in Exuma but every meal she was right there back from the field into the kitchen to help cook and serve and when it seemed there was just not enough food to go around for her parents, siblings, a sister who moved in with
her children, young Valerie would take a little piece from each portion until she had enough to fill that thirteenth plate. She grew the corn, picked it, shucked the cob and ground it on a mill right in the kitchen for grits and corn bread. Farm to table wasn’t a fad or a novelty. For Exumians like Tonny and other Family Islanders, it was just the way things were. It was what you did and how you ate. She once served 300 on the farm.
Born a Rolle, she’s been married now for 55 years and though she attempted to retire in 2016 to look after her husband, a mason who was injured in a truck accident that has severely limited his mobility, it wasn’t long before she was itching to work again. Sandals was happy to have her back at the brick oven they built for her in 2012 and in the pantry where she rules.
“I meet people from all walks of life and from all over the world,” says Tonny, one of hundreds of Bahamian staff members at the sprawling resort and one of a handful of Sandals superstars. “Baking the bread is what I love. It’s a piece of cake.”
Photo Caption: The bread lady of Sandals Emerald Bay, Exuma, Valerie Rolle Tonny is a Sandals superstar, a standout who guests adore and a great-grandmother who came out of retirement to go back to doing what she loves – baking bread in an authentic brick oven Sandals built just for her.
(Photo, Diane Phillips)
NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Bottling Company (CBC), local producers and distributors of Coca-Cola and Dasani products concluded their 10 weeklong Twist To Win campaign with four $5,000 Mall at Marathon shopping sprees.
The campaign which was available throughout the entire Bahamas allowed consumers to enter by purchasing a 20oz bottle with a yellow cap
from the following brands: Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola No Sugar, Sprite, Fanta Orange, or Fanta Grape. Each yellow-cap had a unique alpha numeric code underneath which they submitted to the Twist To Win WhatsApp number.
With each qualifying purchase, participants residing in The Bahamas were entered to win instant prizes and into a grand prize draw to win one of four $5,000 shopping sprees at the Mall at Marathon.
Participants also enjoyed exciting instant prizes such as: Airpods, JBL Speakers, premium Coca-Cola merchandise, $500 Visa gift cards and Amazon, Spotify and Apple Music digital gift cards.
Out of 76,000 plus submissions, Brian Bethel, Ashia Demeritte, Merlin Adams, and Taraceta Neely won the coveted Mall at Marathon shopping sprees at the following select stores, Kelly’s House & Home, The Sports Center, John Bull, Brass & Leather, and BTC.
Leading up to the grand finale shopping spree, Coca-Cola hosted a Trivia Showdown with the eight finalists to determine the four winners. Finalists were tested on their knowledge of World History, Pop Culture, Caribbean Bottling Company and Coca-Cola Facts!
After a few rousing rounds of trivia, the four winners were declared after each winning their spot in the shopping spree by answering their questions correctly and choosing the “Grand Prize” Coca-Cola labeled bottles at random.
The morning of the shopping spree Coca-Cola gave the winners exclusive access to the Mall at Marathon and its participating stores before
their usual operating hours. Grand prize winners were greeted with wide smiles from Coca-Cola brand representatives and morning bites before the big event.
At the start of the thirty-minute clock the grand prize winners along with each of their Coca-Cola shopping assistants ran to the various stores collecting items in their arms and carts.
Merlin Adams, a husband and father of four was proud to have executed his game-plan at the end of the shopping spree. With toys, a new phone and materials for his home from Kelly’s, Adams felt accomplished in what he gathered.
Taraceta Neely, a winner from Eleuthera collected beautiful bags for herself and relatives from Brass and Leather and Brian Bethel bought matching athletic and outdoor wear from The Sports Center for his family.
The final winner Ashia Demeritte bought linens and household items in addition to a new phone from BTC right in time for Christmas.
Caribbean Bottling Company is proud to share the real magic of Coca-Cola with the grand prize winners and the may instant prize winners across the Twist To Win campaign. For more updates on new products, promotions, and events follow www.cbcbahamas.com.
Bahamas News
The Coca-Cola Art Project Astonishes Art Lovers at The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival
NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Bottling Company (CBC), local producers and distributors of Coca-Cola and Dasani products displayed
their astonishing Coca-Cola Art Project (CCAP), during Baha Mar’s five-day Culinary & Arts Festival. Earlier this year, Coca-Cola partnered with The University of The Bahamas’ Visual Art and Design Department for a culturally rich art competition. UB’s art students were challenged to create pieces surrounding the theme, Bahamian music.
As a result, 20 student works of art were made, with four students declared as winners at the CCAP exhibit opening in Baha Mar’s ECCHO: Art Gallery in August. To recreate the culturally stimulating magic felt at the exhibit’s premiere, the CCAP was featured at the FUZE Art Tent during The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival.
Nine incredible pieces of art lined the walls of the Coca-Cola Art Project, four of which included the winning pieces from Jhanaisia Cole,
with ‘Gaulin Bride’; Alyssa Pinder, with ‘Shotgun Wedding’; Nelson Gray, with ‘Untitled’; and Jaela Bowe, with the piece ‘Whims of Obeah, a Folktail’. Additionally, an intimate listening room was built. It displayed students’ artistic processes, UB Visual Art and Design representatives, and a recap of the exhibit opening for audiences.
Art enthusiasts also enjoyed premium limited-edition CCAP keepsakes at the booth. Journals which featured a collage of all 20 student submissions on the front and back cover, postcards with an art piece on the cover along with the student’s name, title, dimension and materials on the back and pens designed with the CCAP’s dynamic logo.
Throughout the art festival diverse groups of people visited the art tent taking in the displays while enjoying the artistic insights from the
listening booth.
Community and culture are always at the forefront of Caribbean Bottling Community, and it was boldly showcased during The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival for the third consecutive year.
For more details on the Coca-Cola Art Project, events and new products visit www.cbcbahamas.com today!
NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Wines & Spirits (CWS), The Bahamas’ premier wines and spirits distributor delighted Jollification
attendees with bubbles from their Bottega and Bouvet Ladubay sparkling wines and Besserat de Bellefon champagne lines.
Located in the Monument Circle on The Retreat grounds, CWS transformed The Retreat Garden into a lush lounge with Besserat, Bouvet and their latest product addition, Bottega, during the two-day affair.
The festivities kicked off Friday during BNT Member’s Night. Guests enjoyed exclusive offerings from CWS’s catalogue, offered exclusively to members. Complimentary mixes or glasses on the rocks included El Tequileno tequila, Hard Truth whiskey, House of Angostura rum, Cross Keys gin, Nemiroff vodka and a slew of wines such as Fonesca Bin, Bottega and Besserat.
Guests also savored the ‘Jolly Paloma’ cocktail, an instant favorite made with El Tequileno tequila, Schweppes Grapefruit and Domaine de Paris rose wine. To end the night, guests were treated to branded limited-edition wine tumblers as keepsakes.
On Saturday and Sunday, Jollification attendees delighted in glasses or bottles of champagne and sparkling brut or rosé wines while taking
in the comfort of the chic lounge. In addition to purchasing bottles for onsite consumption, consumers were also able to purchase bottles as gifts whether for themselves or someone special.
The sophisticated “bubble lounge” lounge was decked with velvet couches, gold rimmed cocktail tables, blue and pink pillows, and a white floral branded backdrop created for capturing the perfect picture.
Caribbean Wines & Spirits, a historic partner of the Bahamas National Trust was pleased to support Jollification 2025 to kick off the festive season and share their expansive range of spirits.
To keep up to date with all CWS products and events, visit their website at www.cwsbahamas.com today.
