July 27, 2024 • 35 mins
Ever wondered what it feels like to face a hurricane head-on? Join me as I recount an eerie experience during a hurricane in Kingston where my apartment's glass doors vanished without a trace. Alongside Grace, we reflect on heart-wrenching stories from Haiti, including a father's unimaginable loss during a tropical storm. These tales shed light on the emotional challenges and resilience of Caribbean communities in the face of natural disasters.
Get ready to feast on the vibrant flavors and rich narratives of Caribbean culture. Grace and I discuss the fascinating creation of "Jamaican Eid" and the importance of authentically representing one's heritage through food and personal stories. We highlight how storytelling and cultural festivals strengthen community connections and offer a deeper understanding of Caribbean traditions and experiences.
Discover the journey behind launching a magazine dedicated to Jamaican and Caribbean culture. From initial funding struggles to transitioning to digital media, and the revitalizing power of social media, we explore it all. Learn about the unique value of printed magazines and how community events like Jamaican Eats and the Caribbean Board Games and Brunch bring Caribbean culture to life in Toronto. Listen in as we celebrate the power of storytelling, community support, and cultural celebration.
Follow us on
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Diivaontheradio/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/diivaontheradio
X aka Twitter:
https://x.com/CarleneHum8031
Website: https://nutmegnation.buzzsprout.com
Thanks for listening to Nutmeg Nation - I would like to thank my Editor Sean for helping with the audio of show, thanks to my Designer Yim for creating the logo and images for the show and thanks to my Guests!
Nutmeg Nation- Listen, learn and be apart of Grenada!
https://www.Nutmegnation.buzzsprout.com
https://www.facebook.com/Diivaontheradio/
https://www.instagram.com/diivaontheradio/
https://www.tiktok.com/diivaontheradio/
https://twitter.com/diivaontheradio
Email us at divaontheradio@gmail.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Nutmeg Nation with Carlene Humphrey.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Hi, I'm Carlene.
This is Nutmeg Nation.
I am here on Zoom with Graceand she is the creator of
Jamaica Magazine.
We're talking about thishurricane.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
So I was saying that with the recent hurricane barrel
going through the Caribbean,you know, a couple of things
came back to me while that wasgoing on.
One is a personal story where Iremember I was living in
Kingston on the waterfront, sooverlooking the harbor, and I
had an apartment that hadsliding glass doors, a balcony
(00:38):
etc.
And being sort of new to thewhole hurricane thing because
I'd left Jamaica so long, Ididn't put a barrier or board up
the sliding glass doors oranything.
So while the hurricane, whenthe hurricane was coming, my son
and I we decided to go down toa lower floor we were on the
ninth floor and sort of hunkereddown in the hallway with some
friends.
(00:58):
So we were there for a whileand then when the eye of the
hurricane came, you know, so itwas kind of calm.
We went back up to my apartmentand at first I thought, oh,
there's nothing, this is fine.
And then I realized, verystrangely enough, the sliding
glass doors, the glass of thetwo sides of the sliding glass
doors, had completely beenremoved.
(01:19):
There were no shattered glass,there was absolutely zero in the
apartment, on the balcony or inthe pool.
Below the two panes of glassfrom the glass doors were just
gone To this day.
I wonder about the sciencebehind that.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Like the hurricane hit so, so fast and so quickly
that it shattered the glass.
Like the amount of-.
It didn't shatter it becausethere were no splinters.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Oh, so when you say no splinters, can you?
There are no pieces of glass,there were no shards of glass,
there was nothing.
I know it's so.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
It takes a while to get you to think about it like
in terms of gravitational pullwhen there's a hurricane and the
, the pressure is so strongclearly, I don't even know what
the science is, the only thingsomeone could mention to me.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
I had only recently moved into that apartment.
I bought it and somebody saidmaybe the glass panes, at least
one or both of them, maybe theyhad at the very top some kind of
separation from the frame, andmaybe if the wind came in and
got behind it.
But I am telling you, and maybeif the wind came in and got
behind it, but I am telling you,to this day no shards of glass,
(02:27):
no splinters, no, nothing.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Yeah, that's like a miracle.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
It was a miracle, and then, obviously, I waited on.
The second half of thehurricane came, and so we left,
came back up and the only damage, or the only thing, was the
wind had blown some of the rainto about a third of the way into
the, into the apartment.
So the carpet, the flooring waswet and that was it.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
And what year?
When was this?
When did this happen?
Oh my gosh, this would havebeen 2008.
Yeah, because it's been a longtime since Jamaica's had a herd
right.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Yeah, I think it might have been Hurricane Ivan.
I don't remember a herd right.
Yeah, I think it might havebeen Hurricane Ivan, I don't
remember, but worse than thatwas.
I remember working at thegleaner and being on the news
desk and again hurricane seasonand a story came over the wires
about Haiti, which is always atragedy when tropical storms or
a hurricane goes through Haiti.
So I remember on the wirecoming across a story about a
(03:24):
father.
It was tropical storm had passedthrough Haiti and he was
looking for the bodies of hischildren because a lot of people
had been swept away, had diedin the, in the tropical storm.
It wasn't even a hurricane.
And his story is when the.
When the reporters spoke to him, the story over the wire said
that the waters came and he hadone child in each arm and the.
(03:47):
The surge was so strong he knewhe would not have been able to
save both of them and hecouldn't figure out which one to
let go, so he let go both ofthem I'm like flabbergasted I
don't even know what to say forthat.
It's like it was the saddestthing I ever read my gosh, and
so when the reporter saw him, hewas then looking for the bodies
(04:08):
of his children.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
So you said you saw the story in the gleaner.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
No I was working at the gleaner and as one of the
editors, we have access tostories that come over the
newswire Right, and so, being onthe desk, I was watching and
reading stories coming over thenewswire about this tropical
storm that had passed throughHaiti and hence came across that
(04:32):
particular story that talkeddoesn't take much for
devastation in terms of thewater and the wind that's caused
, and in this case, it wasn'teven a hurricane, it was a
tropical storm.
(04:53):
Those are the two things thatcame to mind in terms of this
hurricane that just went throughthe Caribbean.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
That just hit me Like having to decide in a tropical
storm, like who which childyou're going to hang on to.
That's probably like thehardest decision any parent has
to make.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Well, that's why he said he couldn't decide.
He said he knew he couldn'tsave both of them, but he
couldn't decide which one hewould save, so he let go of both
of them, and it's like why both, but it's hard either way.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
I think if any parent has to choose one child over
the other, it's still hard, likewhen you, when you choose one
and you let, if you held on toone and let the other one go.
You know.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Yeah, I didn't even bother questioning it, I just
thought to myself howdevastating that must've been.
He said he knew he just wouldnot have been able to hold on to
the two of them.
It was not possible.
The surge of the water andwhere they were, he didn't have
the strength and the wherewithalto save who of them.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
yeah, yeah, anyway yeah, it's very sad, you know
that, and I mean that's a tragicstory to read over the wire
that way, but you know, butthat's part of the story of the
Caribbean, isn't it?
Well, even now, I just followedup.
I mean talking about theCaribbean, and you know this
show is about Grenada firsthand,but I think it's important to
(06:13):
talk about the Caribbean as awhole because we all have a
story to tell and we all feelthe impact.
The hurricane, hurricane Beryl,that happened in Grenada, it
also hit grenada and jamaica andand I don't know what's
happening now.
I haven't been following thingsbecause there's so much
happening in the world and andlife, and you know things are
(06:34):
always happening, right, so dowhat we can.
But yeah, we're, you're here totell your story.
I mean, obviously you'retalking about your experience
with living back home andexperiencing a hurricane itself.
You know what I mean, and soit's obviously bringing back
those, those memories, right?
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Right, Absolutely, Absolutely.
It's only in going back that Irealized and I went back 1998
until 2009, really that Irealized just the depth, the
whole devastation of hurricanes,because I left when I was
sufficiently young enough that,yes, I had experienced, must
have, but it didn't.
You know that, having theresponsibility to cope as an
(07:16):
adult, I didn't have that when Iwas young and living there.
But going back and then alsoworking in the media, you get to
see and read stories like theone I just told you about the
hurricane and the impact that itcan have.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
But I think, as someone who went to school for
English, I studied English Well,first I studied professional
writing and then I went intoEnglish.
But hearing you talk aboutbeing in the media and I think
this is the reason why youcreated this magazine from what
I remember in our previousconversation is that you had an
(07:50):
idea when you were working atGleaner Well right.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
When I was at the Gleaner, I was one of the
editors.
I was a lifestyle editor andunder my desk, the lifestyle
desk, we had several sections,and the food section, which was
weekly, was one of the sectionsthat I had responsibility for,
and when I took it over, thefood section every Thursday was
basically, you know, full ofjust grocery and food specials
(08:17):
for the week, so to speak, andso we decided to take it and
make it a real food section,talking about the food, the
people, recipes, the whole thing.
That made it a lifestylesection and people responded to
that.
It was amazing the response.
I mean I would be driving intowork from the country where I
lived at one point and, on aThursday morning, seeing these
(08:39):
guys sitting on the bridge orthe side of the road reading the
food section.
And, in addition to that, thediaspora, because the gleaner
got online and got in terms ofdigital publication and digital
outreach they were very early onthat and so the diaspora
responded very positively to thefood section as well as many of
(09:01):
the other sections, but thefood section, and so it was a
good thing.
I knew that the circulation forthe Thursday paper because the
food section came out on aThursday increased.
So it was all good.
So that is what got me intothinking about a food magazine.
And I actually proposed that tothe senior people at the
gleaner because I kind of had nointention or the thought had
(09:24):
not occurred to me to do my ownthing.
So I approached the seniormanager of advertising and
talked it through, you know, andthey went away, thought about
it and came back and saidsomething to that Well, what if
it doesn't work?
And I was so blown away becausethe response was so great that
I thought how could it not work?
And the gleaner had theinfrastructure great that I
(09:45):
thought how could it not work?
And the gleaner had theinfrastructure overseas, I
thought to make it work.
And so that's what gave me theidea that a Jamaican food
magazine was not really existingand that there was a niche,
there was a place for it.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Okay.
So they said, what if it didn'twork?
And that was.
Is that only reason that theygave you for not taking you up
on the idea?
Like they wouldn't invest in it, Like it was just too much of a
risk at that time?
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Like I have no clue.
I just remember the comment waswhat if it didn't work?
Which blew me away, because ithad already been proven how
popular that section was and howmuch people wanted to get in it
.
How popular that section wasand how much people wanted to
get in it and that thecirculation had grown and that,
specifically, the diaspora wasresponding to it in numbers, in
(10:32):
positive ways.
And when did this happen?
This would have been the mid,like 2005.
It would have happened aroundthen, yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
I mean as someone who's been writing for a long
time, like at that time in media, like how was it working for a
newspaper at that point?
Like, I think it's.
It's not like 2008 when thestock market crashed, where
they're like, oh, they'reworried about losing money.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Investments, like this was a very prominent
newspaper that you were workingfor Well, I didn't really bother
myself in thinking too muchabout that.
I know that the gleaner was,and most likely still is, the
largest media house in theCaribbean, with offices at the
time and, I think, still now inLondon and Toronto and New York
and so on.
So that's what I meant when Iproposed the idea.
(11:17):
It wasn't just on a whim, itwasn't just that people overseas
were responding, it's also thatthe gleaner had the
infrastructure in my mind, or myunderstanding of things, to
make it happen.
Once I said that I didn'tbother myself too much to ponder
and think about their thing andtheir reasoning.
That would be a waste of mytime and energy.
(11:39):
But the idea did occur to methat I could look at doing my
own.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Yeah, and so what was the push?
What motivated you to go andwork on this on your own?
It takes like passion, Like youknow what drove you to do this.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Well, I mean it was such a pleasure working on the
food section.
The food section was part of myresponsibility.
We also had a Saturdaylifestyle section.
We had a Monday pullout sectioncalled forget what it was
called, but mainly aimed towardswomen, although men read it as
well and the youth section.
So I had four sections thatcame under my responsibility
(12:16):
plus special project.
That came under myresponsibility plus special
project.
What I found out about the foodsection and I only knew this or
learned this working on it washow much food was not just about
eating or recipe.
What people were responding toin the food section were the
stories that we were tellingaround food, the people in food,
the connections that you makethrough food, the connections
(12:39):
that you make when you breakbread together.
And for me, the storyteller inme responded to that.
That's where I saw thepossibilities.
So while recipes were a part ofit, it wasn't so much or just
about recipe.
It was about the story of food,who grew it, who cooked it,
what's the history, the culture,the coming together, all of
(13:01):
that around food?
Yeah, and Jamaican cuisine.
You know that's what struck me.
It also for me.
I realized quickly in theprocess that this was a way
again, as a storyteller that'swhere I come at it from.
Storyteller, that's where Icome at it from.
(13:22):
It was a way of telling ourstory in our own way, in our own
voice, using food as the media.
Our stories have been and arebeing told through music and
sport, which is absolutelyamazing.
But this is just another way oftelling our story and of who we
are.
And I will say quickly, at thevery beginning, a few people
said to me why call it JamaicanEid?
Why not call it Caribbean Eid?
(13:43):
So I want to address that rightaway.
I did think about that, but Ifelt that I didn't have the
authority to call it CaribbeanEid because I did not have that
intrinsic understanding of theCaribbean that I would want.
It wouldn't have felt authenticto me because the Caribbean is
not a monolith.
You know, we're very similar.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
So when you say monolith, can you elaborate on
that for those that are not Verywell versed in the English
language?
As you are, you know what Imean.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Like yeah, Monolith, meaning that we're not just one
blob, we're not just one big oldthing, no-transcript, intrinsic
(14:52):
understanding that I couldpresent whatever I was doing
authentically where I didn'thave that with the rest of the
Caribbean.
So my thought was to have itJamaican eats and then invite
whenever, wherever and as oftenas possible, the participation
and contribution and contentfrom other islands and countries
(15:13):
in the Caribbean.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
You know I understand that I mean because, in order
to do something well, you haveto be well versed in it, or you
have to have an idea, like youknow, start with the idea or
have knowledge of it somewhat.
Like, not that you knoweverything about Jamaican work,
recipes or stories, but you area storyteller and you're telling
(15:35):
your story.
The eyes of others will createJamaican dishes.
You know what I mean.
Like a lot of people loveJamaican boozy and they're
always looking for somewhere newto go Like.
I mean right now we're it'ssummertime and so it's all about
the food festival and you know,you know carnival, carnivals
coming up, you have Jamaica daycoming up.
All the things that you knowbring people together through
(15:57):
food.
Like, when you're, like, whenyou're what do you call it?
When you're having a gathering,it's usually, they say, people.
When you invite others, it'slike there's food involved.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Yeah.
So here's the thing Again.
I didn't just start out just togive recipes.
It was about telling the storyof Jamaica, our culture, through
food.
So it was about food andculture and I had an intrinsic
understanding of Jamaica.
And let me point out, had I notgone back to Jamaica to live
(16:26):
and work, if I had not gone backand had that experience, I
don't think I could have done itauthentically Because, having
left in my early teens andcoming to Toronto and growing up
here, I didn't have thatconnection again until I went
back and worked, and I thinkspecifically worked in the
gleaner.
That's what brought me to thatplace of that intrinsic
(16:49):
understanding, that where I feltthat I could go ahead and tell
our stories in that way.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
It's very interesting that you say that because this
show here Mount Magnesium.
I had this idea because I'vehad a lot of girls say things
about Grenada.
You know, grenada is a smallisland.
People don't know it exists.
You know, you hear all the whatdo you call it?
The negative ideas that peoplehave.
(17:17):
I created this, I thought ofthis idea to educate the world
on Grenada.
Like you said, the Caribbean is, it might be too broad, it's
hard, it's definitely you haveto have who are well-versed in
the Caribbean different parts ofthe Caribbean, different
countries in order for it towork, as you call it, caribbean.
But where I'm saying, where Irelate to you what you're saying
(17:38):
in my expertise, that I am notwell versed in Grenada, and when
someone said to me I hadsomeone um on the show a few
months back and she was like why, why did you create the show?
You're, you don't even live inGrenada, like you're not here.
You're like you're not part ofthe culture.
And she has a point there.
I have more of a backgroundcanadian culture than in
(18:01):
grenadian culture, but for methis idea was important because
I feel like to leave a mark onthe world, however possible,
even if I'm edging myself andothers and learning as I go and
I think, um, yeah what I wouldsay to that.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
I don't think you have to be in the country or the
island to be able to.
Whatever you tell your story inyour own way, as it applies to
your experience.
You know the way you would tellthe story, or stories may be
different from somebody whotells a story who lives there
and who's always lived there,and that's fine.
There are many different voices.
There is absolutely, as amatter of fact, I was going to
(18:40):
say there's nothing wrong withthat.
Let me change that.
There's everything right aboutthat.
We're not just one story people, we have many stories.
So there's absolutelyeverything right about that.
Your story from your point ofview and your understanding of
it.
I just think it's importantthat we tell our stories in our
(19:07):
way that is positive, upliftingand elevating, because when
others tell our stories for us,it tends not to be as positive
or as uplifting.
You know where others may seestruggles and whatever, and so
on.
Yes, there may be that, but Ialso see it as Jamaicans and I
would say Caribbean people ingeneral, as being very resilient
(19:31):
and offering a lot to the world.
That's how I would tell ourstories.
Other people may choose to tellour stories for us from the
point of view of victimhood.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Well, you know um, it's very tough.
Like you said, you have to tellour story our way, or how we
interpret it.
And for me, I born in grenada.
I left when I was very youngbut I've always been connected
to my family there and they say,it's not where you're going,
it's where you're from, and Imean Grenada is a part of who I
(20:00):
am, like the culture, you know.
There, grenada is a verybeautiful place, and the same
thing with Jamaica, like youknow what I mean.
Like, like you said when wetalked about this before, it's
our Caribbean story, and it'snice to talk to other people
from the Caribbean who have astory to tell because I can tell
with you there's so muchpassion, like it's just I could
(20:22):
feel it even though we're onzoom.
You are so strong, my race, I'mtelling you, you know what I
mean it's.
It's.
It's the passion, the desire,determination to create what
you've created.
And if they hadn't said no,then it might not have happened.
Never know in life.
There's a reason why it happenedand you have a story to tell,
(20:43):
like, I mean going back.
What I want to ask you, though,from the beginning, if we go
back to the beginning, where youwere born in Jamaica, like,
what did you know?
How did you start off?
Like, growing up?
Speaker 1 (20:53):
Okay, so I was born in Kingston and I left in my
early teens, for those who itmatters to.
I went to Arden High School fora couple of years before I
moved to Toronto.
But I knew from the beginningthat I was always into writing.
I was always writing.
I was that kid in theneighborhood who would also give
other kids spelling tests whenI ran out of books to read.
(21:15):
I read the dictionary.
I was always writing andthought I would be writing.
I mean, it was that that wasjust me.
So I knew who I was from thevery beginning.
So going into journalism here,having come to Toronto and
attended high school here, thengoing to what was then Ryerson,
into the journalism program,that was like a natural for me.
(21:36):
So that is my formal backgroundthen in terms of writing and
communications and so on, youknow.
And I stayed in Toronto and didsome amount of writing and
journalism work and whatever,but decided to go back to in
Toronto, did that for a while.
I actually went to Jamaicatwice.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
When you were in Toronto.
Where did you, where did youstart off your writing career?
Speaker 1 (21:58):
I was in Toronto just after graduating from Ryerson
Journalism Program.
I actually moved to Jamaica inthe mid to late 70s and worked
for two years.
This was before the last move.
So I made two different moves.
Back to Jamaica, I worked oneyear for what was the Daily News
(22:18):
the Jamaica Daily News, I thinkit was called for one year and
worked for a radio station forone year and then came back to
Toronto, was in Toronto, took onrunning a neighborhood
newspaper called the Ward 7 Newsthat had been started and that
had been running by the formermayor, John Sewell.
(22:39):
I took that over and ran it.
We changed the name over to theCabbage Town Riverdale News.
So it gives you an idea ofwhere in Toronto it was.
Did that for a while and thengave it up and then had various
communications role for variouscompanies in Toronto and then I
decided to move to Vancouver.
So there's a lot of moving.
(23:01):
Lived and worked in Vancouverfor a while and then in the
beginning of 1998, decided Iwould go back to Jamaica and
live and work for a while.
And it was in that second moveback to Jamaica, where I was
working at the Gleaner, that Ithen also started Jamaican Eats
magazine.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
And how did you fund the magazine?
I remember, as we look back,it's always getting the ball
rolling, getting everythingstarted.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
Supporting you, no early on and so on.
But I also had advertisers.
I'm going to mention her name,zane Issa, as one example from,
I think it's Super Clubs, whowas very supportive, as well as
(23:52):
a number of other investors whoadvertised in the magazine.
So I had a number of that.
I quickly had subscribers aswell in various countries,
because I'd done a surveyfriends and family about what
did they think of such amagazine and the word spread in
that way.
So that was how I did it andjust bootstrapped it wherever I
(24:13):
could and hung in there and keptit going.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
So now, with the way of the world, everything's going
digital and so many of yoursubscribers can, you know,
subscribe online, you know, readthe magazine online or order it
and get you know the paper copyRight.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
So Right, Well, OK, so I came back to Canada, went
to Vancouver, yeah, In 2009, andkept the magazine going, which
was very tricky because, yes, atthat time the world started to
change in terms of digital interms of 2008, 2009, the rough
economy and I did try, I thinkin 2010 or so, to go fully
(24:54):
digital and the readers justwere not having it.
And I remember that I keptgoing until 2012, when I started
a bakery or I took over abakery in Vancouver and decided
that I couldn't do both that andthe magazine, and so I
suspended the magazine in 2012.
And at the time, I kind of wasthinking of not bringing it back
(25:18):
.
You know that, oh, I would giveit up, but at that time
Facebook was just becoming athing and I had signed up the
magazine.
Facebook Didn't even reallyknow what I was doing.
I just remember somebody said,oh, you should have a Facebook
page or group or something.
So I did that and what that didin 2012 onward, readers who had
joined and who kept joining theFacebook group or page,
(25:42):
whichever it was, would not goaway and they wouldn't leave me
alone.
I would get messages like MissGrace or Grace, we'll wait for
you.
We're still waiting for you.
There were people who hadsubscribed and I kept saying you
know, I'll send you back yoursubscription money we're not
talking about a lot of money,but nevertheless and they go no,
we don't want it back, Keep it,because we know you're coming
(26:02):
back.
And finally, when I closed thebakery in 2015.
What was the name of the bakery?
The bakery was called JoyceBakery, you know.
So in 2015, when I gotsufficient enough messages
saying Grace, you know when areyou going to start again?
We're waiting for you.
I decided to take a look at thenew world of publishing to see
(26:23):
how it might be possible to comeback, Because I knew that I
couldn't go back to publishingthe way that I used to pre-2009,
and discovered that, given therise of digital printing not
online, non-paper, but digitalprinting, where printing was
made more accessible andaffordable that indeed it's
(26:46):
something that I could do.
So I investigated that and thendecided to restart or continue
the magazine from 20.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
And I guess it seems like the resurgence, like
starting Facebook, like socialmedia, in a way brought the
community together to get backto you know, jamaican, it did
get people to harass me.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
To get you back to you.
Know, jamaican, it did getpeople to harass me.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
They're like Grace, we're waiting.
If we have to pour in the money, we'll get the whole community
to endorse you to help get backon your feet again.
You know, to get this startedBecause at the end of the day,
you need some funds to get this,even if it's digital.
You know.
Well, I don't want toromanticize it no, of course not
(27:27):
romanticizing it.
But when you're an entrepreneurlike, you need a little bit,
even if it's like a hundredbucks, like some people start
off with less.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
But yeah, you need that.
You need a lot of people whoare willing to contribute, not
just money, but in so many ways.
You need a lot of people whoare just rooting for you.
You need so many.
And if I say nothing else, letme stop here and say I am so
eternally grateful to so manypeople who not only subscribe
(27:54):
they got gift subscriptions forother people, they sent messages
of support, they are rootingfor me and so on and so forth.
They contribute in so many waysin terms of recipes and stories
and ideas and just moralsupport.
It's been so.
Thank you for saying that,because it's been absolutely
(28:15):
amazing and I don't know thatwithout that that I could have
started and or would havecontinued.
So that has been absolutelyamazing.
Because the world of publishingis tough.
But I find that, although thereis a digital magazine that
people can subscribe to and orbuy, most people want the paper
(28:36):
magazine.
Because I think, when it comesto certain subject matter, you
want the paper, you want to seethe pictures, you want to go to
it whenever and wherever youwant.
And also keep in mind, if themagazine was only about some
jerk chicken recipe, then whocares, you can go online and
find that, but because you canread the stories that resonate
(28:57):
with people.
That's why people come, not tosimply get some rest, because
these days you can search aroundand you can find that.
So people come to get thestories they want to read about
other people.
They want to see what otherpeople are doing.
They want the tidbits, thehistory, the culture.
They want to see the way thatJamaican and Caribbean food
connect with the rest of theworld.
(29:19):
And that's what's coming.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
You know what?
It's a beautiful thing.
It's like you said people canrelate to a story.
That's what keeps them comingback.
It's the stories.
It's that story of that chef,like how he came to be.
You know what I mean Like foryou as someone who created the
team, the people that helped you.
What story over the yearsstands out in your mind?
(29:41):
I'm sure there's more than one,but if you could say, oh, my
goodness.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
I don't know.
I don't even know.
Well, this is the time periodof time to talk about it.
I remember we did on severaloccasions, but we did stuff
around the Olympics, and thoseadditions tended to be very
popular and, in fact, in 2016,actually led to a cookbook that
I produced called 10 Reasons whyJamaicans Run so Fast.
(30:08):
And again, there we go.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
Another, yes, another .
You know what?
Let me stop you for a second.
You know the Olympics coming up.
It's very exciting.
I'm glad you brought that up.
It's always been the back andforth between Jamaica and the US
, especially when we're lookingat 100 meter-meter dash same
fold.
You know I digress, I'mchanging the subject here.
(30:30):
But going back to food, I meanfood is important for sustenance
, for everything overall.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
But you know what?
What that did?
Number one I was prompted towrite that book, with
contributions from manydifferent chefs and cooks, I
must say, that are clearlyidentified in the book.
But number one it was promptedbecause people kept asking me
why do Jamaicans run so fast?
Because I hadn't really thoughtabout it.
But I thought about it, talkedto a number of people and
(30:59):
basically put something togetherthat again, didn't just have
recipes but spoke to the culture.
So for and some of it was funnyor maybe not so funny, but even
things like spoke to the culturewhere we could say well, you
know the reason why St Bolt andpeople in that part of the
island or in the countryside runso fast.
(31:20):
They're used to outrunning theduppies or the goats, so they
had to learn to run fast andwhat helped them was the yam
that grew, you know.
So we got to tell stories aboutagain, about who we are.
We got to tell a story aboutthe Sarasote that you would have
to drink at the end of thesummer going back to school, and
that was part of what fueledyou, you know, cleaned out your
(31:43):
system and all of that.
Whether it's true or not, thatwas part of our culture and part
of the way we grew up.
So again it allowed the wholething of without being
scientific, because there'sabsolutely no claim about this
being scientific for us to tellanecdotal stories, for us to
talk about the culture and howwe grew up and who we are, and
(32:05):
then add to that stories ofpeople and recipes to it, so
that if somebody should buy thatbook they may never ever cook
anything, but they read thestory.
They may read the story of the105-year-old woman who said
she's lived that long because ofX, y, z.
There is that story in there,you know.
So again it's about thestorytelling and again it's
(32:28):
about us presenting ourselves ina light that's positive and
uplifting.
Because you know that is a partof my mission is to elevate and
celebrate Jamaican andCaribbean food and culture.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
I think that the most important thing is leaving an
impact and I think legacy,legacy and when you talked about
the community forming onFacebook and saying that they're
going to wait, that means thatyou left an impact when you left
, when you stopped writing for awhile, you took a break.
You know we all need a break inlife.
Sometimes things happen.
So, but when?
When people ask about somethinglike Jamaican Eats, the
(33:06):
magazine that I startedorganizing Caribbean themed
events?
Speaker 1 (33:28):
in Toronto, which is almost like a living magazine,
but through events as opposed tothe pages of a magazine, and so
, for example, I've done severaltimes an event called Caribbean
Board Games and Brunch.
Speaker 2 (33:43):
I remember the last event they had a few months back
in the winter yeah, in Januaryand I was watching some of the
footage of the event and I, youknow, I wish I was there,
because it did bring a lot tothat event too, with music and
contests and, like you said,it's like a live experience.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
That particular event was called Jamaica in January
Right, and I had done it duringthe pandemic once as a virtual
event and for the first timethis year, 2024 January, did it
in person, live, and it crowd.
So the diversity is somethingelse.
So it drew Jamaican andCaribbean people from all walks
(34:30):
but it also draws just like themagazine readership people who
just have an interest in thingsJamaican or things Caribbean.
So people are invited to cometo the table, no matter who you
are.
It's just that we're in chargeof telling the stories because
it's our story, you know.
So we get a diversity of peopleat these events, as well as the
(34:52):
readership of the magazine.
But again, we're telling ourstory and it's in a way that's
celebratory, you know, and whenwe make fun we can poke fun at
ourselves, but it's in our ownway.
Thank you for listening toNutmeg Nation with Carlene
Humphrey.
Welcome to Nutmeg Nation with Carlene Humphrey.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Hi, I'm Carlene.
This is Nutmeg Nation.
I am here on Zoom with Graceand she is the creator of
Jamaica Magazine.
We're talking about thishurricane.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
So I was saying that with the recent hurricane barrel
going through the Caribbean,you know, a couple of things
came back to me while that wasgoing on.
One is a personal story where Iremember I was living in
Kingston on the waterfront, sooverlooking the harbor, and I
had an apartment that hadsliding glass doors, a balcony
(00:38):
etc.
And being sort of new to thewhole hurricane thing because
I'd left Jamaica so long, Ididn't put a barrier or board up
the sliding glass doors oranything.
So while the hurricane, whenthe hurricane was coming, my son
and I we decided to go down toa lower floor we were on the
ninth floor and sort of hunkereddown in the hallway with some
friends.
(00:58):
So we were there for a whileand then when the eye of the
hurricane came, you know, so itwas kind of calm.
We went back up to my apartmentand at first I thought, oh,
there's nothing, this is fine.
And then I realized, verystrangely enough, the sliding
glass doors, the glass of thetwo sides of the sliding glass
doors, had completely beenremoved.
(01:19):
There were no shattered glass,there was absolutely zero in the
apartment, on the balcony or inthe pool.
Below the two panes of glassfrom the glass doors were just
gone To this day.
I wonder about the sciencebehind that.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Like the hurricane hit so, so fast and so quickly
that it shattered the glass.
Like the amount of-.
It didn't shatter it becausethere were no splinters.
Speaker 1 (01:44):
Oh, so when you say no splinters, can you?
There are no pieces of glass,there were no shards of glass,
there was nothing.
I know it's so.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
It takes a while to get you to think about it like
in terms of gravitational pullwhen there's a hurricane and the
, the pressure is so strongclearly, I don't even know what
the science is, the only thingsomeone could mention to me.
Speaker 1 (02:06):
I had only recently moved into that apartment.
I bought it and somebody saidmaybe the glass panes, at least
one or both of them, maybe theyhad at the very top some kind of
separation from the frame, andmaybe if the wind came in and
got behind it.
But I am telling you, and maybeif the wind came in and got
behind it, but I am telling you,to this day no shards of glass,
(02:27):
no splinters, no, nothing.
Speaker 2 (02:30):
Yeah, that's like a miracle.
Speaker 1 (02:32):
It was a miracle, and then, obviously, I waited on.
The second half of thehurricane came, and so we left,
came back up and the only damage, or the only thing, was the
wind had blown some of the rainto about a third of the way into
the, into the apartment.
So the carpet, the flooring waswet and that was it.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
And what year?
When was this?
When did this happen?
Oh my gosh, this would havebeen 2008.
Yeah, because it's been a longtime since Jamaica's had a herd
right.
Speaker 1 (03:01):
Yeah, I think it might have been Hurricane Ivan.
I don't remember a herd right.
Yeah, I think it might havebeen Hurricane Ivan, I don't
remember, but worse than thatwas.
I remember working at thegleaner and being on the news
desk and again hurricane seasonand a story came over the wires
about Haiti, which is always atragedy when tropical storms or
a hurricane goes through Haiti.
So I remember on the wirecoming across a story about a
(03:24):
father.
It was tropical storm had passedthrough Haiti and he was
looking for the bodies of hischildren because a lot of people
had been swept away, had diedin the, in the tropical storm.
It wasn't even a hurricane.
And his story is when the.
When the reporters spoke to him, the story over the wire said
that the waters came and he hadone child in each arm and the.
(03:47):
The surge was so strong he knewhe would not have been able to
save both of them and hecouldn't figure out which one to
let go, so he let go both ofthem I'm like flabbergasted I
don't even know what to say forthat.
It's like it was the saddestthing I ever read my gosh, and
so when the reporter saw him, hewas then looking for the bodies
(04:08):
of his children.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
So you said you saw the story in the gleaner.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
No I was working at the gleaner and as one of the
editors, we have access tostories that come over the
newswire Right, and so, being onthe desk, I was watching and
reading stories coming over thenewswire about this tropical
storm that had passed throughHaiti and hence came across that
(04:32):
particular story that talkeddoesn't take much for
devastation in terms of thewater and the wind that's caused
, and in this case, it wasn'teven a hurricane, it was a
tropical storm.
(04:53):
Those are the two things thatcame to mind in terms of this
hurricane that just went throughthe Caribbean.
Speaker 2 (04:58):
That just hit me Like having to decide in a tropical
storm, like who which childyou're going to hang on to.
That's probably like thehardest decision any parent has
to make.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
Well, that's why he said he couldn't decide.
He said he knew he couldn'tsave both of them, but he
couldn't decide which one hewould save, so he let go of both
of them, and it's like why both, but it's hard either way.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
I think if any parent has to choose one child over
the other, it's still hard, likewhen you, when you choose one
and you let, if you held on toone and let the other one go.
You know.
Speaker 1 (05:31):
Yeah, I didn't even bother questioning it, I just
thought to myself howdevastating that must've been.
He said he knew he just wouldnot have been able to hold on to
the two of them.
It was not possible.
The surge of the water andwhere they were, he didn't have
the strength and the wherewithalto save who of them.
Speaker 2 (05:51):
yeah, yeah, anyway yeah, it's very sad, you know
that, and I mean that's a tragicstory to read over the wire
that way, but you know, butthat's part of the story of the
Caribbean, isn't it?
Well, even now, I just followedup.
I mean talking about theCaribbean, and you know this
show is about Grenada firsthand,but I think it's important to
(06:13):
talk about the Caribbean as awhole because we all have a
story to tell and we all feelthe impact.
The hurricane, hurricane Beryl,that happened in Grenada, it
also hit grenada and jamaica andand I don't know what's
happening now.
I haven't been following thingsbecause there's so much
happening in the world and andlife, and you know things are
(06:34):
always happening, right, so dowhat we can.
But yeah, we're, you're here totell your story.
I mean, obviously you'retalking about your experience
with living back home andexperiencing a hurricane itself.
You know what I mean, and soit's obviously bringing back
those, those memories, right?
Speaker 1 (06:51):
Right, Absolutely, Absolutely.
It's only in going back that Irealized and I went back 1998
until 2009, really that Irealized just the depth, the
whole devastation of hurricanes,because I left when I was
sufficiently young enough that,yes, I had experienced, must
have, but it didn't.
You know that, having theresponsibility to cope as an
(07:16):
adult, I didn't have that when Iwas young and living there.
But going back and then alsoworking in the media, you get to
see and read stories like theone I just told you about the
hurricane and the impact that itcan have.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
But I think, as someone who went to school for
English, I studied English Well,first I studied professional
writing and then I went intoEnglish.
But hearing you talk aboutbeing in the media and I think
this is the reason why youcreated this magazine from what
I remember in our previousconversation is that you had an
(07:50):
idea when you were working atGleaner Well right.
Speaker 1 (07:53):
When I was at the Gleaner, I was one of the
editors.
I was a lifestyle editor andunder my desk, the lifestyle
desk, we had several sections,and the food section, which was
weekly, was one of the sectionsthat I had responsibility for,
and when I took it over, thefood section every Thursday was
basically, you know, full ofjust grocery and food specials
(08:17):
for the week, so to speak, andso we decided to take it and
make it a real food section,talking about the food, the
people, recipes, the whole thing.
That made it a lifestylesection and people responded to
that.
It was amazing the response.
I mean I would be driving intowork from the country where I
lived at one point and, on aThursday morning, seeing these
(08:39):
guys sitting on the bridge orthe side of the road reading the
food section.
And, in addition to that, thediaspora, because the gleaner
got online and got in terms ofdigital publication and digital
outreach they were very early onthat and so the diaspora
responded very positively to thefood section as well as many of
(09:01):
the other sections, but thefood section, and so it was a
good thing.
I knew that the circulation forthe Thursday paper because the
food section came out on aThursday increased.
So it was all good.
So that is what got me intothinking about a food magazine.
And I actually proposed that tothe senior people at the
gleaner because I kind of had nointention or the thought had
(09:24):
not occurred to me to do my ownthing.
So I approached the seniormanager of advertising and
talked it through, you know, andthey went away, thought about
it and came back and saidsomething to that Well, what if
it doesn't work?
And I was so blown away becausethe response was so great that
I thought how could it not work?
And the gleaner had theinfrastructure great that I
(09:45):
thought how could it not work?
And the gleaner had theinfrastructure overseas, I
thought to make it work.
And so that's what gave me theidea that a Jamaican food
magazine was not really existingand that there was a niche,
there was a place for it.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Okay.
So they said, what if it didn'twork?
And that was.
Is that only reason that theygave you for not taking you up
on the idea?
Like they wouldn't invest in it, Like it was just too much of a
risk at that time?
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Like I have no clue.
I just remember the comment waswhat if it didn't work?
Which blew me away, because ithad already been proven how
popular that section was and howmuch people wanted to get in it
.
How popular that section wasand how much people wanted to
get in it and that thecirculation had grown and that,
specifically, the diaspora wasresponding to it in numbers, in
(10:32):
positive ways.
And when did this happen?
This would have been the mid,like 2005.
It would have happened aroundthen, yeah.
Speaker 2 (10:40):
I mean as someone who's been writing for a long
time, like at that time in media, like how was it working for a
newspaper at that point?
Like, I think it's.
It's not like 2008 when thestock market crashed, where
they're like, oh, they'reworried about losing money.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (10:55):
Investments, like this was a very prominent
newspaper that you were workingfor Well, I didn't really bother
myself in thinking too muchabout that.
I know that the gleaner was,and most likely still is, the
largest media house in theCaribbean, with offices at the
time and, I think, still now inLondon and Toronto and New York
and so on.
So that's what I meant when Iproposed the idea.
(11:17):
It wasn't just on a whim, itwasn't just that people overseas
were responding, it's also thatthe gleaner had the
infrastructure in my mind, or myunderstanding of things, to
make it happen.
Once I said that I didn'tbother myself too much to ponder
and think about their thing andtheir reasoning.
That would be a waste of mytime and energy.
(11:39):
But the idea did occur to methat I could look at doing my
own.
Speaker 2 (11:43):
Yeah, and so what was the push?
What motivated you to go andwork on this on your own?
It takes like passion, Like youknow what drove you to do this.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
Well, I mean it was such a pleasure working on the
food section.
The food section was part of myresponsibility.
We also had a Saturdaylifestyle section.
We had a Monday pullout sectioncalled forget what it was
called, but mainly aimed towardswomen, although men read it as
well and the youth section.
So I had four sections thatcame under my responsibility
(12:16):
plus special project.
That came under myresponsibility plus special
project.
What I found out about the foodsection and I only knew this or
learned this working on it washow much food was not just about
eating or recipe.
What people were responding toin the food section were the
stories that we were tellingaround food, the people in food,
the connections that you makethrough food, the connections
(12:39):
that you make when you breakbread together.
And for me, the storyteller inme responded to that.
That's where I saw thepossibilities.
So while recipes were a part ofit, it wasn't so much or just
about recipe.
It was about the story of food,who grew it, who cooked it,
what's the history, the culture,the coming together, all of
(13:01):
that around food?
Yeah, and Jamaican cuisine.
You know that's what struck me.
It also for me.
I realized quickly in theprocess that this was a way
again, as a storyteller that'swhere I come at it from.
Storyteller, that's where Icome at it from.
(13:22):
It was a way of telling ourstory in our own way, in our own
voice, using food as the media.
Our stories have been and arebeing told through music and
sport, which is absolutelyamazing.
But this is just another way oftelling our story and of who we
are.
And I will say quickly, at thevery beginning, a few people
said to me why call it JamaicanEid?
Why not call it Caribbean Eid?
(13:43):
So I want to address that rightaway.
I did think about that, but Ifelt that I didn't have the
authority to call it CaribbeanEid because I did not have that
intrinsic understanding of theCaribbean that I would want.
It wouldn't have felt authenticto me because the Caribbean is
not a monolith.
You know, we're very similar.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
So when you say monolith, can you elaborate on
that for those that are not Verywell versed in the English
language?
As you are, you know what Imean.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
Like yeah, Monolith, meaning that we're not just one
blob, we're not just one big oldthing, no-transcript, intrinsic
(14:52):
understanding that I couldpresent whatever I was doing
authentically where I didn'thave that with the rest of the
Caribbean.
So my thought was to have itJamaican eats and then invite
whenever, wherever and as oftenas possible, the participation
and contribution and contentfrom other islands and countries
(15:13):
in the Caribbean.
Speaker 2 (15:15):
You know I understand that I mean because, in order
to do something well, you haveto be well versed in it, or you
have to have an idea, like youknow, start with the idea or
have knowledge of it somewhat.
Like, not that you knoweverything about Jamaican work,
recipes or stories, but you area storyteller and you're telling
(15:35):
your story.
The eyes of others will createJamaican dishes.
You know what I mean.
Like a lot of people loveJamaican boozy and they're
always looking for somewhere newto go Like.
I mean right now we're it'ssummertime and so it's all about
the food festival and you know,you know carnival, carnivals
coming up, you have Jamaica daycoming up.
All the things that you knowbring people together through
(15:57):
food.
Like, when you're, like, whenyou're what do you call it?
When you're having a gathering,it's usually, they say, people.
When you invite others, it'slike there's food involved.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Yeah.
So here's the thing Again.
I didn't just start out just togive recipes.
It was about telling the storyof Jamaica, our culture, through
food.
So it was about food andculture and I had an intrinsic
understanding of Jamaica.
And let me point out, had I notgone back to Jamaica to live
(16:26):
and work, if I had not gone backand had that experience, I
don't think I could have done itauthentically Because, having
left in my early teens andcoming to Toronto and growing up
here, I didn't have thatconnection again until I went
back and worked, and I thinkspecifically worked in the
gleaner.
That's what brought me to thatplace of that intrinsic
(16:49):
understanding, that where I feltthat I could go ahead and tell
our stories in that way.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
It's very interesting that you say that because this
show here Mount Magnesium.
I had this idea because I'vehad a lot of girls say things
about Grenada.
You know, grenada is a smallisland.
People don't know it exists.
You know, you hear all the whatdo you call it?
The negative ideas that peoplehave.
(17:17):
I created this, I thought ofthis idea to educate the world
on Grenada.
Like you said, the Caribbean is, it might be too broad, it's
hard, it's definitely you haveto have who are well-versed in
the Caribbean different parts ofthe Caribbean, different
countries in order for it towork, as you call it, caribbean.
But where I'm saying, where Irelate to you what you're saying
(17:38):
in my expertise, that I am notwell versed in Grenada, and when
someone said to me I hadsomeone um on the show a few
months back and she was like why, why did you create the show?
You're, you don't even live inGrenada, like you're not here.
You're like you're not part ofthe culture.
And she has a point there.
I have more of a backgroundcanadian culture than in
(18:01):
grenadian culture, but for methis idea was important because
I feel like to leave a mark onthe world, however possible,
even if I'm edging myself andothers and learning as I go and
I think, um, yeah what I wouldsay to that.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
I don't think you have to be in the country or the
island to be able to.
Whatever you tell your story inyour own way, as it applies to
your experience.
You know the way you would tellthe story, or stories may be
different from somebody whotells a story who lives there
and who's always lived there,and that's fine.
There are many different voices.
There is absolutely, as amatter of fact, I was going to
(18:40):
say there's nothing wrong withthat.
Let me change that.
There's everything right aboutthat.
We're not just one story people, we have many stories.
So there's absolutelyeverything right about that.
Your story from your point ofview and your understanding of
it.
I just think it's importantthat we tell our stories in our
(19:07):
way that is positive, upliftingand elevating, because when
others tell our stories for us,it tends not to be as positive
or as uplifting.
You know where others may seestruggles and whatever, and so
on.
Yes, there may be that, but Ialso see it as Jamaicans and I
would say Caribbean people ingeneral, as being very resilient
(19:31):
and offering a lot to the world.
That's how I would tell ourstories.
Other people may choose to tellour stories for us from the
point of view of victimhood.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Well, you know um, it's very tough.
Like you said, you have to tellour story our way, or how we
interpret it.
And for me, I born in grenada.
I left when I was very youngbut I've always been connected
to my family there and they say,it's not where you're going,
it's where you're from, and Imean Grenada is a part of who I
(20:00):
am, like the culture, you know.
There, grenada is a verybeautiful place, and the same
thing with Jamaica, like youknow what I mean.
Like, like you said when wetalked about this before, it's
our Caribbean story, and it'snice to talk to other people
from the Caribbean who have astory to tell because I can tell
with you there's so muchpassion, like it's just I could
(20:22):
feel it even though we're onzoom.
You are so strong, my race, I'mtelling you, you know what I
mean it's.
It's.
It's the passion, the desire,determination to create what
you've created.
And if they hadn't said no,then it might not have happened.
Never know in life.
There's a reason why it happenedand you have a story to tell,
(20:43):
like, I mean going back.
What I want to ask you, though,from the beginning, if we go
back to the beginning, where youwere born in Jamaica, like,
what did you know?
How did you start off?
Like, growing up?
Speaker 1 (20:53):
Okay, so I was born in Kingston and I left in my
early teens, for those who itmatters to.
I went to Arden High School fora couple of years before I
moved to Toronto.
But I knew from the beginningthat I was always into writing.
I was always writing.
I was that kid in theneighborhood who would also give
other kids spelling tests whenI ran out of books to read.
(21:15):
I read the dictionary.
I was always writing andthought I would be writing.
I mean, it was that that wasjust me.
So I knew who I was from thevery beginning.
So going into journalism here,having come to Toronto and
attended high school here, thengoing to what was then Ryerson,
into the journalism program,that was like a natural for me.
(21:36):
So that is my formal backgroundthen in terms of writing and
communications and so on, youknow.
And I stayed in Toronto and didsome amount of writing and
journalism work and whatever,but decided to go back to in
Toronto, did that for a while.
I actually went to Jamaicatwice.
Speaker 2 (21:54):
When you were in Toronto.
Where did you, where did youstart off your writing career?
Speaker 1 (21:58):
I was in Toronto just after graduating from Ryerson
Journalism Program.
I actually moved to Jamaica inthe mid to late 70s and worked
for two years.
This was before the last move.
So I made two different moves.
Back to Jamaica, I worked oneyear for what was the Daily News
(22:18):
the Jamaica Daily News, I thinkit was called for one year and
worked for a radio station forone year and then came back to
Toronto, was in Toronto, took onrunning a neighborhood
newspaper called the Ward 7 Newsthat had been started and that
had been running by the formermayor, John Sewell.
(22:39):
I took that over and ran it.
We changed the name over to theCabbage Town Riverdale News.
So it gives you an idea ofwhere in Toronto it was.
Did that for a while and thengave it up and then had various
communications role for variouscompanies in Toronto and then I
decided to move to Vancouver.
So there's a lot of moving.
(23:01):
Lived and worked in Vancouverfor a while and then in the
beginning of 1998, decided Iwould go back to Jamaica and
live and work for a while.
And it was in that second moveback to Jamaica, where I was
working at the Gleaner, that Ithen also started Jamaican Eats
magazine.
Speaker 2 (23:22):
And how did you fund the magazine?
I remember, as we look back,it's always getting the ball
rolling, getting everythingstarted.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (23:30):
Supporting you, no early on and so on.
But I also had advertisers.
I'm going to mention her name,zane Issa, as one example from,
I think it's Super Clubs, whowas very supportive, as well as
(23:52):
a number of other investors whoadvertised in the magazine.
So I had a number of that.
I quickly had subscribers aswell in various countries,
because I'd done a surveyfriends and family about what
did they think of such amagazine and the word spread in
that way.
So that was how I did it andjust bootstrapped it wherever I
(24:13):
could and hung in there and keptit going.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
So now, with the way of the world, everything's going
digital and so many of yoursubscribers can, you know,
subscribe online, you know, readthe magazine online or order it
and get you know the paper copyRight.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
So Right, Well, OK, so I came back to Canada, went
to Vancouver, yeah, In 2009, andkept the magazine going, which
was very tricky because, yes, atthat time the world started to
change in terms of digital interms of 2008, 2009, the rough
economy and I did try, I thinkin 2010 or so, to go fully
(24:54):
digital and the readers justwere not having it.
And I remember that I keptgoing until 2012, when I started
a bakery or I took over abakery in Vancouver and decided
that I couldn't do both that andthe magazine, and so I
suspended the magazine in 2012.
And at the time, I kind of wasthinking of not bringing it back
(25:18):
.
You know that, oh, I would giveit up, but at that time
Facebook was just becoming athing and I had signed up the
magazine.
Facebook Didn't even reallyknow what I was doing.
I just remember somebody said,oh, you should have a Facebook
page or group or something.
So I did that and what that didin 2012 onward, readers who had
joined and who kept joining theFacebook group or page,
(25:42):
whichever it was, would not goaway and they wouldn't leave me
alone.
I would get messages like MissGrace or Grace, we'll wait for
you.
We're still waiting for you.
There were people who hadsubscribed and I kept saying you
know, I'll send you back yoursubscription money we're not
talking about a lot of money,but nevertheless and they go no,
we don't want it back, Keep it,because we know you're coming
(26:02):
back.
And finally, when I closed thebakery in 2015.
What was the name of the bakery?
The bakery was called JoyceBakery, you know.
So in 2015, when I gotsufficient enough messages
saying Grace, you know when areyou going to start again?
We're waiting for you.
I decided to take a look at thenew world of publishing to see
(26:23):
how it might be possible to comeback, Because I knew that I
couldn't go back to publishingthe way that I used to pre-2009,
and discovered that, given therise of digital printing not
online, non-paper, but digitalprinting, where printing was
made more accessible andaffordable that indeed it's
(26:46):
something that I could do.
So I investigated that and thendecided to restart or continue
the magazine from 20.
Speaker 2 (26:53):
And I guess it seems like the resurgence, like
starting Facebook, like socialmedia, in a way brought the
community together to get backto you know, jamaican, it did
get people to harass me.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
To get you back to you.
Know, jamaican, it did getpeople to harass me.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
They're like Grace, we're waiting.
If we have to pour in the money, we'll get the whole community
to endorse you to help get backon your feet again.
You know, to get this startedBecause at the end of the day,
you need some funds to get this,even if it's digital.
You know.
Well, I don't want toromanticize it no, of course not
(27:27):
romanticizing it.
But when you're an entrepreneurlike, you need a little bit,
even if it's like a hundredbucks, like some people start
off with less.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
But yeah, you need that.
You need a lot of people whoare willing to contribute, not
just money, but in so many ways.
You need a lot of people whoare just rooting for you.
You need so many.
And if I say nothing else, letme stop here and say I am so
eternally grateful to so manypeople who not only subscribe
(27:54):
they got gift subscriptions forother people, they sent messages
of support, they are rootingfor me and so on and so forth.
They contribute in so many waysin terms of recipes and stories
and ideas and just moralsupport.
It's been so.
Thank you for saying that,because it's been absolutely
(28:15):
amazing and I don't know thatwithout that that I could have
started and or would havecontinued.
So that has been absolutelyamazing.
Because the world of publishingis tough.
But I find that, although thereis a digital magazine that
people can subscribe to and orbuy, most people want the paper
(28:36):
magazine.
Because I think, when it comesto certain subject matter, you
want the paper, you want to seethe pictures, you want to go to
it whenever and wherever youwant.
And also keep in mind, if themagazine was only about some
jerk chicken recipe, then whocares, you can go online and
find that, but because you canread the stories that resonate
(28:57):
with people.
That's why people come, not tosimply get some rest, because
these days you can search aroundand you can find that.
So people come to get thestories they want to read about
other people.
They want to see what otherpeople are doing.
They want the tidbits, thehistory, the culture.
They want to see the way thatJamaican and Caribbean food
connect with the rest of theworld.
(29:19):
And that's what's coming.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
You know what?
It's a beautiful thing.
It's like you said people canrelate to a story.
That's what keeps them comingback.
It's the stories.
It's that story of that chef,like how he came to be.
You know what I mean Like foryou as someone who created the
team, the people that helped you.
What story over the yearsstands out in your mind?
(29:41):
I'm sure there's more than one,but if you could say, oh, my
goodness.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
I don't know.
I don't even know.
Well, this is the time periodof time to talk about it.
I remember we did on severaloccasions, but we did stuff
around the Olympics, and thoseadditions tended to be very
popular and, in fact, in 2016,actually led to a cookbook that
I produced called 10 Reasons whyJamaicans Run so Fast.
(30:08):
And again, there we go.
Speaker 2 (30:09):
Another, yes, another .
You know what?
Let me stop you for a second.
You know the Olympics coming up.
It's very exciting.
I'm glad you brought that up.
It's always been the back andforth between Jamaica and the US
, especially when we're lookingat 100 meter-meter dash same
fold.
You know I digress, I'mchanging the subject here.
(30:30):
But going back to food, I meanfood is important for sustenance
, for everything overall.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
But you know what?
What that did?
Number one I was prompted towrite that book, with
contributions from manydifferent chefs and cooks, I
must say, that are clearlyidentified in the book.
But number one it was promptedbecause people kept asking me
why do Jamaicans run so fast?
Because I hadn't really thoughtabout it.
But I thought about it, talkedto a number of people and
(30:59):
basically put something togetherthat again, didn't just have
recipes but spoke to the culture.
So for and some of it was funnyor maybe not so funny, but even
things like spoke to the culturewhere we could say well, you
know the reason why St Bolt andpeople in that part of the
island or in the countryside runso fast.
(31:20):
They're used to outrunning theduppies or the goats, so they
had to learn to run fast andwhat helped them was the yam
that grew, you know.
So we got to tell stories aboutagain, about who we are.
We got to tell a story aboutthe Sarasote that you would have
to drink at the end of thesummer going back to school, and
that was part of what fueledyou, you know, cleaned out your
(31:43):
system and all of that.
Whether it's true or not, thatwas part of our culture and part
of the way we grew up.
So again it allowed the wholething of without being
scientific, because there'sabsolutely no claim about this
being scientific for us to tellanecdotal stories, for us to
talk about the culture and howwe grew up and who we are, and
(32:05):
then add to that stories ofpeople and recipes to it, so
that if somebody should buy thatbook they may never ever cook
anything, but they read thestory.
They may read the story of the105-year-old woman who said
she's lived that long because ofX, y, z.
There is that story in there,you know.
So again it's about thestorytelling and again it's
(32:28):
about us presenting ourselves ina light that's positive and
uplifting.
Because you know that is a partof my mission is to elevate and
celebrate Jamaican andCaribbean food and culture.
Speaker 2 (32:42):
I think that the most important thing is leaving an
impact and I think legacy,legacy and when you talked about
the community forming onFacebook and saying that they're
going to wait, that means thatyou left an impact when you left
, when you stopped writing for awhile, you took a break.
You know we all need a break inlife.
Sometimes things happen.
So, but when?
When people ask about somethinglike Jamaican Eats, the
(33:06):
magazine that I startedorganizing Caribbean themed
events?
Speaker 1 (33:28):
in Toronto, which is almost like a living magazine,
but through events as opposed tothe pages of a magazine, and so
, for example, I've done severaltimes an event called Caribbean
Board Games and Brunch.
Speaker 2 (33:43):
I remember the last event they had a few months back
in the winter yeah, in Januaryand I was watching some of the
footage of the event and I, youknow, I wish I was there,
because it did bring a lot tothat event too, with music and
contests and, like you said,it's like a live experience.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
That particular event was called Jamaica in January
Right, and I had done it duringthe pandemic once as a virtual
event and for the first timethis year, 2024 January, did it
in person, live, and it crowd.
So the diversity is somethingelse.
So it drew Jamaican andCaribbean people from all walks
(34:30):
but it also draws just like themagazine readership people who
just have an interest in thingsJamaican or things Caribbean.
So people are invited to cometo the table, no matter who you
are.
It's just that we're in chargeof telling the stories because
it's our story, you know.
So we get a diversity of peopleat these events, as well as the
(34:52):
readership of the magazine.
But again, we're telling ourstory and it's in a way that's
celebratory, you know, and whenwe make fun we can poke fun at
ourselves, but it's in our ownway.
Thank you for listening toNutmeg Nation with Carlene
Humphrey.
Popular Podcasts
Bookmarked by Reese's Book Club
Welcome to Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club — the podcast where great stories, bold women, and irresistible conversations collide! Hosted by award-winning journalist Danielle Robay, each week new episodes balance thoughtful literary insight with the fervor of buzzy book trends, pop culture and more. Bookmarked brings together celebrities, tastemakers, influencers and authors from Reese's Book Club and beyond to share stories that transcend the page. Pull up a chair. You’re not just listening — you’re part of the conversation.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com