It all started on a blessed trip to the Cayman Islands where I met my new friend Barry, a Jamaican born contractor who 3 days a week makes the most amazing jerk chicken at his little road side stand on Cayman Brac. It’s the talk of the 14 square mile island of 2000 people who flock to his shed-turned-culinary-mecca every Wed, Fri and Sat. I lied awake one night infatuated by the smoky, sweet and spicy memories of the chicken from the day before and knew I had to talk to Barry and introduce myself. He was as friendly as they come and we talked for a while about island life, kids, how he makes his own charcoal, my dream of bringing his legacy back to Yellow Springs, the fact that he has always wanted to visit Ohio (he has a friend in Cincinnati. It was still hard for me to fathom why) and of course jerk chicken! He never wrote down a recipe but every word of our conversation still resonates in my mind. It was one of those magical moments I remembered why I’m in this crazy business. Quickly my infatuation grew into a full-blown obsession of all things Caribbean and the cuisines of neighboring Latin-America. I went back to my roots. Devouring cookbooks. Especially those with stories of different cultures and the evolution of its regional cuisine all tied together by the same ingredients. Some dishes we meticulously kept authentic. Others we gave our own culinary spin. All of them we stuck to my standards of sourcing locally and as sustainable as possible   I hope you enjoy the fruition of my obsession. I hope you can taste the sunshine, the music, the sound of the ocean and culture in our vibe and in our food. I believe that you will and I believe that Barry would be proud.