Food and Family
Food has always been our family’s love language. Cook Like a Jamaican started as a legacy project, and a way to document my mother’s Jamaican recipes. Growing up in Canada as the child of Jamaican-born parents, the duality of our dining table mirrored my experience of the world – one foot in Canadian culture and the other in my Jamaican heritage.
I always thought my mother was the best home cook in the world. She taught me and my sisters how to cook everything from roasted chicken to coffee cake, but Jamaican food was her sacred domain.
In fact, because we didn’t eat traditional Jamaican meals every day at home, as a child I saw Jamaican food as special, unique and even a little mystical.
Launching Cook Like a Jamaican in 2012 gave me the opportunity to learn my mother’s Jamaican recipes along with the people visiting our website. As traffic to our site and YouTube channel grew, we grew with it. Our mission was to teach the world about Jamaican cuisine beyond jerk chicken and beef patties and now it was happening!
Today Cook Like a Jamaican is a celebration of Jamaican culture and our love of traditional Jamaican food. Using our recipes, videos, cooking community and digital course, we teach you how to make our recipes on your own. As a member of our cooking community you can learn my mother’s recipes using her traditional methods. However, if you’re someone like me who wants to cook faster and healthier with the same tasty results, our digital course, Traditional Favourites Modern Ease, is especially for you! Welcome to Cook Like a Jamaican! – Angela
ANGELA LAWRENCE considers herself a foodie at heart. In addition to being the Founder of Cook Like a Jamaican, she is the Co-Founder and Brand Director of Chubby’s Jamaican Kitchen, a popular restaurant in Toronto, Canada. Before her foray into the food industry, Angela had careers in marketing and advertising, and magazine publishing.
FAY DeLEON LAWRENCE is a retired homemaker who was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica. She has lived in four countries and has been cooking mouth-watering dishes for her family for more than 60 years. Her vibrant personality, easy communication style and authentic recipes are integral to Cook Like a Jamaican’s success.
