From Nanny’s kitchen to food phenomenon
Craig McAnuff never set out to launch a food brand. While studying Graphic Design at BNU, his focus was on creativity, branding and storytelling.
Today, he brings those disciplines together across two ventures: a creative branding studio, CDStudio, and Original Flava, one of the UK’s leading Caribbean food platforms. What connects them is a shared foundation.
“Food is storytelling,” he says. “Branding is storytelling too. Both are about connecting with people.”
Original Flava began with a simple idea cooked up at grandmother’s table - sharing easy Caribbean recipes online. Filmed in her kitchen using a basic camera, Craig’s first video reached more than a million views within a week.
“That’s when we realised there was a real appetite for this.”
The idea came from a clear gap in the market. Caribbean food was widely loved, but many people didn’t feel confident cooking it themselves.
“People loved eating Caribbean food, but they didn’t necessarily know how to make it,” Craig said. “I know it can seem intimidating, but a lot of the recipes are actually really simple.”
Alongside his brother, Shaun, Craig set out to change that, and what started as a desire to change people views of Jamaican food has since grown into a major food brand, spanning online recipes, YouTube content, live demonstrations, best-selling cookbooks, TV appearances and brand collaborations.
At its core, Original Flava celebrates Caribbean culture while making traditional recipes accessible. For Craig, his love of cooking began at home, shaped by family recipes and Jamaican dishes from his childhood.
“I love ackee and saltfish,” he says. “It’s Jamaica’s national dish and something I grew up eating.”
Through Original Flava, Craig shares dishes such as jerk chicken, brown stew chicken, saltfish fritters and plantain, breaking them down into simple, easy-to-follow steps. His latest cookbook, Easy Caribbean, aims to make Caribbean food more accessible for modern lifestyles and everyday home cooks, such as using air fryer cooking.
“I wanted to show people that you don’t need specialist equipment or expert knowledge to cook Caribbean food well.”
Craig says his time at BNU helped shape the creative thinking behind everything he does today. Originally drawn to the university for its combination of graphic design and advertising, he quickly realised creativity could extend far beyond traditional design work.
“I loved the problem-solving side of creativity,” he says. “It’s something I still use now, whether it’s branding, content creation or making recipes easier for people to follow.”
During his studies, Craig gained experience through agency placements and industry opportunities, experiences he says gave him the confidence to pursue entrepreneurship and storytelling. Even Original Flava itself has roots in a university project exploring Caribbean culture and food.
“BNU encouraged us to create projects that reflected who we were personally, and that definitely stayed with me.”
That blend of creativity, culture and entrepreneurship has helped Original Flava grow into a recognised name in food media, with bestselling cookbooks, TV appearances and a growing online community. A standout moment came when Craig and his grandmother appeared alongside Mary Berry on Mary Berry's Country House Secrets, sharing family barbecue traditions and Caribbean cooking with a national audience.
“It was a proud moment because it wasn’t just about the food, it was about family and culture too.”
Looking back, Craig encourages current students to experiment, collaborate and stay open to unexpected opportunities.
“Take risks while you have the freedom to,” he says. “Try ideas, work with different people and don’t be afraid to create something personal.”
- Original Flavour is celebrating 10 years this year with a new Jamaican spiced rice product that will hit shelves in early this summer, a new cookbook in August and a cooking app - keep everything peeled!
- Find out more about the Graphic Design course and where it might lead you here.
