Authentic Caribbean comfort food

at it as him having a job.

in the Twin Cities. She currently employs 15 people in her West Indies Soul Food business, but that number drops to between five and seven employees in the wintertime.

“We cater for schools, corporations and graduations,” she added, in addition to operating a food truck at events throughout the metro area and a booth at the Minnesota State Fair for 18 years. “We do a little bit of everything,” she said, “and we also have three specialty lines of sauces.”

MSR: What made you want to come to the United States?

CS: My sister came to the United States first. She was one of the first African Ameri- cans at St. Kate’s [Saint Catherine University in St. Paul]. When I was at home, and I looked at the TV, I saw this beautiful snow and people having a good time in it. I’m like, I want to experience that. I was trying to go to school to be a dietitian. So, I talked to my sister, and she said they had a chef’s program. I came over here so that I could enroll in the chef’s program at St. Kate’s, but to also experience the snow. Once I got here and I experienced the snow, I tried to go back home after four months. Just looking at it on TV it looks beautiful. Looking at people doing stuff in the winter, it looks beautiful. But living in it is totally different.

MSR: What inspired you to launch your business?

CS: When I came here and I tasted the food here I was like, I’ve got to do something a little bit different. I said I was going to do some healthy, authentic Caribbean food. A lot of the Caribbean restaurants here are not authentic.

MSR: What is it about cooking that made you interested in exploring it as a business?

Chef Sharon: I grew up with some ladies who cook—my mom and her sisters. I grew up just seeing her and her sisters in the kitchen cooking. My mom had a Seven-11 [convenience store] and my dad was a butcher in the market. My mom was an entrepreneur, and my dad was an entrepreneur. I never looked at it as him being an entrepreneur. I just looked

I just love cooking. It brings me peace of mind. I’m a praying person. I bless my food every day before I come to the kitchen, so that people can be healthy and that it would nourish them.

MSR: What would you consider your most popular items on the menu?

CS: Well, it’s a mix. A lot of people like the Jamaican patties, which are turnovers with meat on the inside. Then another group of people like the Jamaican jerk chicken, which we do a little differently. I’m also seeing the oxtails kicking butt.

MSR: What’s been your biggest challenge in running a business?

CS: My biggest challenge in running my business is getting financial help. Because I’m always cooking, I’m always in the kitchen. I love cooking. I love creating recipes. I’m not the type of person that’s out there networking, and I can’t receive the grants that other people are receiving.

MSR: What’s the most rewarding part of owning your business?

CS: Generational wealth.

To me, generational wealth is wealth for the community. I’m creating generational wealth by offering jobs to people in the community. I’m establishing and creating generational wealth when I teach young people some culinary skills, how to work, and some life skills. It’s not just about my family, it’s about just the community.

I’m establishing and creating generational wealth when I teach young people some culinary skills, how to work, and some life skills.

MSR: How does your business impact the community?

CS: We give back a lot. One of the schools that we catered for before Covid, 90 percent of the kids were homeless. The food that I provided for them was home-cooked food. I wasn’t paid for what the food would cost me. The school was trying to help the young people, so my gift was cooking a good meal and using my money to keep it going. We were at HSRA [High

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