Waterloo-Wellington’s Black meals entrepreneurs are remodeling the native meals scene, introducing new flavors, celebrating cultural legacies, and offering important providers for his or her communities. One distinguished determine on this motion is Chef Kevin Thomas, proprietor of Huge Jerk in Kitchener. He continues the culinary legacy of his dad and mom, Jim and Lucinda Nicholas, who had been key gamers within the area’s meals scene from the Seventies onwards, serving Jamaican delicacies to dignitaries like Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, provincial premiers, and Olympian Donovan Bailey. After his father’s passing, Thomas determined to proceed the household enterprise, utilizing his father’s tools to make Jamaican patties, guaranteeing that his father’s legacy lived on.

To assist introduce Jamaican meals to a broader viewers, Thomas, alongside Liam Cameron of Loopy Canuck, innovated by creating Jerk Hen Poutine. This distinctive fusion dish combines jerk sauce with hen, cheese curds, and fries. Moreover, Thomas’s spouse, Brenda, urged the creation of Jerk Hen Tacos, mixing their Jamaican and Nicaraguan heritages. These creative dishes replicate a shift in direction of making Caribbean flavors extra accessible and interesting to a wider vary of tastes.
Different notable Black-owned meals companies within the area embrace Café du Monde in Cambridge, Muya Restaurant in Kitchener, and Shine Household Restaurant in Guelph. Every of those institutions contributes to the varied and evolving meals tradition of Waterloo-Wellington.

Chef Malcolm Henry, the proprietor of MH Wonderful Meals in Cambridge, has additionally made his mark by creating candy potato-based sizzling sauces and salad dressings. Henry sources 90% of his inventory from native or Canadian producers, with a concentrate on supporting native companies and holding cash throughout the group. Different Black-owned meals producers within the area embrace Ce Meals Expertise (Waterloo), Laza Meals and Drinks (Guelph), and Depraved Good Scorching Sauce (Kitchener).
Bolatito Alawode and her husband, Bisi, launched MyChopChop.ca in 2017, Canada’s first on-line African grocer, to supply African groceries throughout North America. Their enterprise has not solely catered to the rising demand for African meals but additionally influenced meals classification selections by Canadian authorities.
Cheyenne Sundance, an city farmer born in Toronto, operates Sundance Harvest in Mount Forest. She grows quite a lot of produce, medicinal herbs, and flowers, contributing to native meals sustainability. Sundance co-founded Sundance Commons, a nonprofit group devoted to supporting younger Black farmers by providing free land entry and tools, nurturing the following technology of agricultural entrepreneurs within the area.
Tag a buddy who must attempt these wonderful flavors! 🍛❤️ #BlackOwned #SupportLocal #FoodInnovation #CaribbeanCuisine #AfricanFood #WaterlooFood #WellingtonEats #JamaicanFood #UrbanFarming #FoodEntrepreneurs