Local chef Diego Smith has gone global with his street-food business, D’s Pizza, featured in the first episode of a docuseries produced by international media company VICE in partnership with the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism.
The nearly 14-minute episode of the VICE Munchies X Cayman Islands series, ‘Street Food Icons: D’s Pizza’, which premiered on 2 Jan., shares Smith’s culinary journey, from cooking for his family, to being a private chef, to opening his own food-truck business, which serves deep-dish, Detroit-style pizza with an authentic Caymanian twist.
“It was amazing. We didn’t expect that we would be able to work with such a well-known media company, especially that we’re a pretty new business,” Smith told the Cayman Compass at a private screening held on 27 Dec.
In the five days following the docuseries’ premiere, the video had garnered more than 260,000 views. Smith takes viewers on a typical day on the job, showing off his mouth-watering pizza menu and his signature Caymanian touch.
‘It’s a journey’
Commenting on his professional evolution, which began more than 10 years ago, in the video Smith says, “It’s a journey; it’s a learning experience, but at the end of the day, it’s fun… it keeps you going and growing as a person.”
Smith and business partner Jose You were chosen from a pool of small businesses in Cayman by VICE producers. The Canadian-American digital media and broadcasting company, which has a global reach of over 5 million YouTube followers, is known for telling authentic stories about lifestyle, news and politics, culture, food, art and people.
“Our experience in the Cayman Islands was very special and memorable. It was our entire production team’s first time there and even months later, we’re still reeling from the magic we experienced on island,” Ike Rofe, director of all three VICE Munchies episodes featuring the Cayman Islands, told the Cayman Compass.
“Beyond just the natural beauty we saw across Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac, we were immensely impressed by the culinary diversity, friendly nature of everyone we met, and most of all, the flavour! It’s clear to us why Cayman prides itself as the ‘Culinary Capital of the Caribbean’.”
‘Rich diversity of Cayman’s cuisine’
Rosa Harris, director of the Department of Tourism, told the Compass, “It’s incredible to see our local culinary talent featured in this series with VICE Munchies. Small businesses are at the heart of our tourism industry, and this project is one of many initiatives led by the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, designed to celebrate small businesses and showcase our local culture and flavour, while promoting our identity as the ‘Culinary Capital of the Caribbean’.”
She added, “Thanks to VICE’s reputation for authentic culinary storytelling and reach to over 10 million viewers worldwide, this programming will promote the unique local dining experiences that travellers today are actively seeking to audiences in the US and worldwide. This collaboration reflects our commitment to meeting expectations while highlighting the rich diversity of Cayman’s cuisine.”
Harris confirmed to the Compass that an important component of the partnership was the “direct investment” in Cayman’s creative community, “by requiring VICE to hire a Caymanian as part of the production crew to ensure that Caymanian culture is celebrated throughout”.
She added, “The resulting storytelling is a reflection of the efforts behind our Visiting Journalist Program, which supports our ongoing mission to showcase all facets of our tourism industry, bringing global attention to the stories, flavours, and people that make the Cayman Islands so special. We can’t wait for Caymanians and the rest of the world to see the next two episodes, which also feature local culinary businesses and personalities throughout the Cayman Islands.”
Those episodes are set to air in the coming months on the Munchies YouTube page.
As for the future, Smith said, “We would like to expand D’s Food Pizza. We’re trying to decide which way to go in terms of continuing as a food truck or going into an actual brick and mortar. Besides that, just continue growing. We have some other products to bring forward.”
Smith confirmed he will once again be participating in this year’s Cayman Cookout as D’s Pizza.
Additional reporting by Henri Morineau.
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