In addition to preparing delicious Jamaican food, local restaurant Rashe’s Cuisine is active in both educating and supporting the Athens community.
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thens restaurant Rashe’s Cuisine is renowned in LAYOUT BY AUDREY ENGHAUSER town for its delicious Print Editor-in-Chief Jamaican soul food, but that isn’t the only thing that sets it apart in town. GRAPHICS BY EVA ORBOCK Editor-at-Large Owner Rashe Malcolm’s relationship with her customers and her contributions to her community make Rashe’s Cuisine a special place to many Athenians. Located less than three miles from Clarke Central High School, Rashe’s Cuisine officially opened in 2013. Previously on Tallassee Road as a dine-in establishment, Rashe’s Cuisine is now nestled in Triangle Plaza on Vine Street and offers carry-out meals. Hungry community members may also find her cuisine at the Jittery Joes Roaster on Barber Street, where Rashe often serves customers from her food truck. The restaurant is Rashe’s latest endeavor in her journey with food and community -- a journey that started when Rashe was a young girl. "I loved being around my mom’s friends. When they were in the kitchen cooking, that’s where I wanted to be. I wanted to see what was going on. I didn’t want to just taste it, I wanted to see how it was made," Rashe said. "A lot of times, I could just look at something and be able to mimic it. So I knew early on I had a gift." Rashe’s passion for food and cooking was fueled by her grandmother, a role model in her life. "She loved my mother, so everything that my mother did, Rashe would end up doing," Rashe’s mother Denise Brightwell said. "She watched a lot of what my mother was cooking. My mother did a lot of Jamaican foods and African foods, and she fell in love with it. It’s not my forte per se, but the way that (Rashe) prepares it, I love it." With a mother in the military, Rashe grew up moving all around the U.S. Her exposure to different areas of the country, along with her Jamaican and Southern cultural backgrounds, heavily influence her cooking. "I’ve lived in Jamaica, I have a Jamaican husband and my kids were born in the U.S., (but) we raised them for a time in Jamaica," Rashe said. "I come from very humble beginnings -- I raised (my kids) with very humble beginnings. Taking all of that in, it really (influences) how I cook and how I create, because (Rashe’s Cuisine) started as a culture, period. As Black Americans, as Jamaicans, as a culture, period. We really had to, at a lot of times, take nothing and STORY BY ISABELLA WESTRICH Variety Staffer
turn it into something." As a teenager inspired by her community, Rashe began teaching others to cook and donated food she made to those who needed it. "It was the nature of how our community worked," Rashe said. "Everyone had a talent, and everyone lended that talent to help all of us be able to continue our lives." Rashe transitioned from preparing food for the community into owning and operating her own catering business at 18. "I was already (cooking) in a community setting, and when my mom asked me what I was going to do once I got out of school, the spirit just told me I was going to have this business," Rashe said. "I didn’t really know what that was going to look like, so I essentially just kept doing what I had already been doing, and eventually it came together." Although Rashe continued her catering business through the following years, it was not yet a main source of income. In 2013, however, she hurt her leg and could no longer continue her previous job as an Environmental Protection Agency contractor. "I was just like, ‘Okay, that’s owner of Rashe's Cuisine not how this is going to work, I still have young kids at home.' And so I took my little life savings and we started the restaurant on Tallassee Road," Rashe said. Inspired by her family and cultural background, Rashe’s restaurant serves Jamaican soul food, but Rashe works to provide customers with more than just good food, but a rich cultural experience. "You get a little bit of community, you get a little bit of cultured food, you get a real experience when you deal with us," Rashe said. "You really do feel like you’ve known me forever." Rashe's dishes have contributed to the visibility of Jamaican food and culture in the Athens community. For example, community member Csherri Sims believes that her relationship with the restaurant has widened her perspective on cultural cusine. "Everyone thinks Jamaican food is hot, it’s too spicy. And that’s the impression I had, too, because we only had one other Jamaican restaurant here in Athens, and so that’s the only one I could relate to," Sims said. "(But) when I was introduced to Rashe and her restaurant, I was like, ‘Okay, this is Jamaican, but it’s not too spicy. I can eat this without fanning my mouth and everything.'" Rashe educates the community by providing them with a Jamaican experience, although it takes additional effort. "A lot of Americans know what an empanada is, the Spanish have done a very great job of introducing their foods and ensuring
"I wanted to see what was going on. I didn’t want to just taste it, I wanted to see how it was made."
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-- Rashe Malcolm,
