A dad-of-five who once cooked in the back of a barber shop turned his dream into reality by opening his own Caribbean restaurant.
Ever since he was young, Wayne Ellis, who grew up in Kingston, Jamaica, loved cooking and learned his craft by watching his mum prepare her secret recipes for the church.
He moved to the UK more than a decade ago and joined the Royal Artillery from 2001 until 2007 before serving some tasteful dishes in the back of a barber shop in Lewisham.
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With his customers urging him to open his own restaurant, Wayne decided to save money towards this goal.
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The 45-year-old, who lives in the borough of Lewisham, told KentLive: “I saw that there wasn’t a Caribbean restaurant in the area at the time, and I always wanted a restaurant.
“I used to cook in the back of a barbershop but when I started the customers loved my cooking, they said ‘you need to get your own restaurant’, they boosted me and I started to look for a place and save the money and try to get something in the area.”
He became a lorry driver for British building materials company Tarmac and ended up opening Grace Caribbean Cuisine in 2019.
The restaurant, which celebrates its third anniversary this year, has attracted people from all backgrounds and ethnicities despite opening its doors just a few months before the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
It was named Grace as a thank you to God. “The grace of God allowed me to have this restaurant,” he said.
The owner said he always had a passion for cooking. “I’ve got a passion for cooking. I used to watch my mum cook. She taught me how to cook back in Jamaica and she gave me some secret recipes. And she used to cook for the church.
(Image: Reach Plc)
“I’ve got five sisters and four brothers, and they all know how to cook.
“I cook with a lot of love and when you cook with a lot of love, customers will enjoy your food.”
When asked about the challenges he faced while setting up his business, Wayne said: “I had some haters. I heard some of them saying I wasn’t going to last six months and I’m going three years now.”
He said the feedback he received from his customers has been widely positive with some saying it reminded them of Jamaica.
“I get a lot of people saying that, and even on the website, people are saying it’s the best Caribbean restaurant in the area,” he said.
“I cook my recipes to keep the consistency. Any chef I get, they have to cook it my way, so by cooking it my way, the consistency remains.”
(Image: Reach Plc)
While the pandemic has forced several local businesses to shut down permanently, Wayne found ways to ensure he was still able to serve his customers during those difficult times.
“I used Just Eat and Deliveroo during the pandemic which wasn’t that bad for me because I was able to do takeaways,” he said.
Wayne is now hoping to open a new branch and welcome a greater number of customers.
For further information visit the restaurant’s website.
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