Misir Ramberran launches TriniYaad
‘It is a little piece of Trinidad in the heart’ of Kingston
Published:Thursday | August 17, 2023 | 12:08 AMShanel Lemmie/Staff Reporter
Following Misir Ramberran’s triumph in fusing Trinidadian and Jamaican flavours in his downtown venture, Wholesome Café, the chef is ready to launch his chefs-d’oeu·vre, TriniYaad.
Speaking with Food, the Trinidadian native says after the success following his interview in THE STAR earlier this year, there have been calls for more authentic cuisine from the twin-island republic.
“Since our first interview we got a lot of feedback. A lot of people asking for more Trinidad cuisine and they keep asking where is our spot, where is our spot. I think the time is right now for us to really to try this new venture and take on a new path in terms of the culinary cuisine of the country and the options and varieties.”
He continued, “It is going to be something new to Kingston. It is a little piece of Trinidad in the heart of the city and its called TriniYaad. It’s my Trinidadian cuisine but it’s done by Jamaicans, we call ourselves ‘Triniyaadians’. I compare Jamaica to three times the size of Trinidad. Our café back home was the same concept but a very small version, like a practice. So coming to Jamaica now and staring to use up more of the resources and have things more accessible to us, it makes it a lot easier to execute the vision I had back in Trinidad and I appreciate the fact that it’s a whole new audience so everyone can come on the journey at the same time.”
Carrying over their vegan-based menu, Ramberran says while all their meals will be largely accessible to most diets, patrons can add fish, shrimp, pork or beef.
EDUCATING PEOPLE
“These names are the real Trinidadian names. Now that we got our baby toe in [the] door in terms of Jamaican culture, I think I wanna not just introduce the food, I did that already. I want to educate people on our cuisine, on our culture, on our food so that is why I decided to put the real names that we call it and instead of having to word it differently and we’ll just explain it. So it makes us more user-friendly with the customer,” he explained.
Now with the anniversary of his migration to Jamaica well behind him, Ramberran says he is better able to access ingredients necessary to their flavours.
“Previously, that was our biggest challenge but we made some connections in the country. A lot of people live by the rivers that have a lot of the ingredients that we need in Trinidad. There is access to it in Jamaica but Jamaicans don’t use it. So to find it, it’s not easy. It’s hard to find, but once you find it, it’s easy to get.”
While prepared to offer all the famous local foods of Trinidad, Ramberran says their most famous offering will be ‘doubles’ and ‘buss up shot’.
“Doubles and a very close second is buss up shot, it is a soft flaky type roti and it’s served with chickpeas and pumpkin and four or five different veggie options, and you could also add meat to it, but that is like one of the main dishes back home. Customers love it and it caters to every dietary restriction possible.”
Officially open six days a week, Ramberran, who initially intended to be a stay-at-home dad in Jamaica, says he is happy to bring a piece of Trinidad to Jamaican shores.
“We went from stay at home dad to never at home dad,” he joked, “but my kids are at the café all the time. We try to [have] Sundays as our day so we have a lot of family time. I think they also enjoy having a little piece of home in Kingston. It just makes everyone feel better, and that was our goal. To bring a little piece of home to all the foreigners and even the nationals because it’s expensive to go to Trinidad. So if we can bring it here, people can at least get a sample of it.”