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Kingston 11has been serving chefNigelJones“大海風情rful Jamaican dishes since he opened it in 2013 on Oakland’s Telegraph Avenue. Now the chef will find a new audience across the Bay Bridge atKaya, the Caribbean restaurant he will open with chefDaniel Pattersonin mid-January.
Accordingto theSF Chronicle, Jones and Patterson were connected by Jones business partner Adrian Henderson, who met Patterson through his work withRestaurant Opportunities CenterUnited(ROC); Patterson has been working with the organization on its racial equity pilot program at his Alta restaurants. They became friends, and a partnership emerged as Patterson decided to hold on to his soon-to-be-vacant restaurant space in Mid-Market (Alta在今年年底前將關閉,莫vedown the street and open in the Yotel at 1095 Market Street).
Kaya, which is both the title of a Bob Marley and the Wailers album and Jamaican slang for weed, will bring bold flavors to the neighborhood, replacing what was a California-focused popular among the employees of neighboring tech firms. Jones told theChron: “I bring my flavors. I’m not tamping down for anybody. It’s hard to tell if San Francisco is a place where my culture and food will be accepted, but I’m ready to find out.”
Those flavors include Jamaican staples like jerk chicken, plantains, salt fish fritters, and oxtail stew. These are the dishes that launched Jones’ pop-up to restaurant status five years ago, garnering a loyal following in the East Bay. Now he’ll work with Patterson to create a bigger opportunity to enjoy Jamaican flavors for a new audience, while creating careers — particularly for young people of color looking for chance in the restaurant industry.
“Everyone talks about how there’s no diversity, especially in fine dining, but then people will say it’s because there are no black or brown candidates to choose from,” Jones told theChron. “This would solve that problem. We all need connections.”