Searching for a Piece of Home

How Students Get Access to Authentic Jamaican Food

By Shannay Porter Caribbean Delight Jamaican Store

As an international student from Jamaica, Morgan Salmon makes sure her suitcase is fully stocked with all her favorite Jamaican foods before leaving the island. From bun and cheese to beef patties and powdered seasoning, Salmon ensures that a piece of her home is taken with her each time she leaves the island.

Jamaican students at CAU have varying experiences with accessing authentic Jamaican foods during their time abroad, with some students preferring to bring all their food from home and others only bringing essentials and searching for Jamaican food in the U.S.

Jamaican cuisine is known around the world for its unique taste and mix of flavors. From fried

fish and bammy to rice and peas with oxtail, Jamaican food is enjoyed by people all around the world.

According to the website, About Jamaica, Jamaican food is reflective of the rich history of the country, which began with the island’s first inhabitants, the Tainos. Today, Jamaican

food has a plethora of influences, including African, Spanish, British, Asian, and Rastafarian influences. Some traditional Jamaican food includes dishes such as the country’s national

dish, ackee and saltfish, jerk pork, curried goat, and patty and cocoa bread.

Salmon explains that though she does take most food products from the island with her,

she can find a few products such as jerk seasoning and corned beef in U.S. stores such as Walmart.

Like Salmon, many Jamaicans living in America prepare and consume Jamaican food; however, many stand by the belief that Jamaican food doesn’t truly taste as good or as authentic when not prepared in their island home.

Britannia Croll, a CAU freshman, explained that her experience with accessing authentic Jamaican food is very complicated. She also believes that Jamaican food in the U.S. is very rarely authentic because the methods of preparing certain meals are different and the

availability of certain ingredients is often limited or not available at all.

“Thus far, I haven’t found a good authentic Jamaican restaurant, however, I found this one specific place in Atlanta, Caribbean Delight. I tried their Jamaican beef patties, and I was very surprised that they tasted very similar to those in Jamaica,” Croll stated about the Jamaican restaurant she found.

Salmon also discussed her experience with finding Jamaican restaurants in Atlanta, stating

that she has not found a restaurant that she is in love with yet, but she has tried Jimmas Jamaican Restaurant, which is the closest she has come to authentic Jamaican

curried goat in the United States.

Unlike Croll and Salmon, CAU student Lionae Heron had a different experience with finding a

Jamaican restaurant that she liked, as she stated that, “Finding authentic food in the U.S. has been quite hard because the seasoning and certain natural vegetables we use, they don’t have access to, so it doesn’t taste like back home.”

Though authentic Jamaican restaurants and grocery stores are not easy

to find, they do exist. One such example is Caribbean Delight. It is a small restaurant in the West End, which is a short walk from the CAU campus and is located along

the route of the AUC shuttle. This small restaurant specializes in traditional Jamaican foods

such as patties, coco bread, curry chicken, and goat as well as drinks

such as sorrel and Tropical Rhythm.

Another place to get Jamaican food is a Caribbean grocery store called Georgetown Food Market. This grocery store is located in Decatur, Georgia, and is small but holds many

food and everyday products from all over the Caribbean. Georgetown Food Market is also very affordable, and Jamaican students can find products such as the well-loved Maggie

All-purpose seasoning, water crackers, Milo, coconut milk, Lasco, salt-fish, and many other Jamaican foods.

Croll comments on her experience at Georgetown Food Market stating, “Georgetown Food Market was very nostalgic for me. I was happy to see authentic Jamaican food I grew up with as well as snacks...I’ve been searching for saltfish since moving to college; however, when

I went to Georgetown Food Market, I found it, and I was overly excited.”

For students who don’t want to travel to purchase food from Georgetown Food Market, the option to order from their website is available, however, the availability of products on the

website is more limited. Other online options include Caribshopper.com and 876snackbox.com. At Caribshopper.com, students can purchase Jamaican snacks, pastries, patties, and drinks as well as body care products, home decor, and clothing, while at 876snackbox.com, students can purchase Jamaican snacks.

Now being well-traveled, Salmon has adapted very well to America, and she has

grown to understand that good access to Jamaican food in America is dependent upon the area and population of Jamaicans in the area.

Food is an important part of every culture and for Jamaicans food and music are two of the most respected aspects of Jamaican culture, therefore, it is important that even abroad Jamaicans have access to their culture through food.