If you had asked Raymond Thomas if his plans to bring the food from his island homeland of Jamaica would garner interest from local and national media outlets he would probably say no but Thomas would have said there is a great interest and longstanding connection between Newfoundland and Jamaica that makes anything possible.

Taste of Jamaica grew from an idea that Thomas had after arriving in Newfoundland and being told by the taxi driver from the airport that Newfoundland and Jamaica shared a connection that started with trade.  Newfoundland would send codfish to Jamaica, who would in turn send rum back to Newfoundland.  This rum would become world famous as Newfoundland Screech Rum.  After researching the connection further, Thomas discovered similarities between the two islands and felt that the food from his hometown would be readily accepted by Newfoundlanders.

After going public with his ideas and putting his plans in motion to open Taste of Jamaica, interest boomed and the attention was amazing.  “It was exciting to be contacted and discover that there is a great interest for Taste of Jamaica.  It makes me proud to be able to extend the long history between these two islands,” Thomas says.  “The community has been a buzz about us opening.  The media coverage has definitely helped spread the word.”

Taste of Jamaica has received some great coverage including the following news articles:

• http://www.thewesternstar.com/Business/2015-06-17/article-4184487/Corner-Brook-getting-a-Taste-of-Jamaica/1
• http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/jamaican-flavours-coming-to-corner-brook-when-new-restaurant-opens-1.3117025
• http://www.downtowncornerbrook.com/listing/taste-of-jamaica/
• http://canadianrestaurantnews.com/atlantic/latest-news/A-Taste-of-Jamaica-comes-to-Corner-Brook

Thomas sends his thanks for the great media coverage and is excited to bring a Taste of Jamaica to Newfoundland.