‘It was all a dream’: With The Jerk Shack, Nicola Blaque brings Caribbean cuisine to San Antonio
https://www.mysanantonio.com/sa-inc/...e-17129057.php
At the top of a wall inside The Jerk Shack are five words spelled out in big, bright letters: “It was all a dream.”
The words are from the song by Notorious B.I.G. but they also tell the story of the restaurant’s origin. Nicola Blaque, owner and founder of the Caribbean restaurant, said she was inspired to open it by a vision received after a 2017 visit to Jamaica for the funeral of her aunt. While there, she ate “some of the best jerk chicken of my life.”
“I felt like, honestly, my aunt was talking to me from the grave,” Blaque said. “When I ate that jerk chicken, I was like, ‘This is what I need to be doing in San Antonio. I need to be paying homage to my heritage and using my chef’s skills to the best of my ability.’”