The spicy aroma of jerk fills the room at Island Grill restaurant in Manor Park. It’s easy on the nostrils, even for a committed vegan like Leonie McDonald.
McDonald was in Jamaica recently, pitching her Strictly Vegan Jamaican Cuisine to owners of Island Village in Ocho Rios.
“They (management) say there’s no vegan outlet in that complex so I’m looking at getting a licence from the (Jamaica) Tourist Board to set up a salad bar,” she told the Jamaica Observer.
McDonald plans to set up her Rasta Taco Jamaican eatery there early next year. It would be the 65-year-old’s first restaurant since launching Strictly Vegan six years ago.
Leonie McDonald with AJ Brown
She started the company in her hometown of Los Angeles, 15 years after becoming a vegetarian.
Strictly Vegan Jamaican Cuisine has served artists (such as Protoje and Third World) and fans at major events like the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Reggae On The River, Sierra Nevada World Music Festival and the Monterey Jazz Festival.
“The healthy people who are not used to having this kind of food at these festivals are the main reason for my being at these shows. My clientele is about 10 per cent Jamaican,” she said.
Some of the favorites on Strictly Vegan’s menu are the reggae wrap, a tortilla ‘sandwich’ with vegetables, black beans and avocado; curry tofu and the jerk-based hot and spicy.
McDonald, who was born in Westmoreland, migrated to the US in 1962 and settled in Queens, New York, with her mother.
A Los Angeles resident since 1977, she previously worked as a legal records manager at various law firms.
Lloyd & Leonie McDonald
Though she lived abroad, McDonald got immersed in Jamaica’s roots-reggae scene during the 1970’s. Her husband is Lloyd “Bread” McDonald of the Wailing Souls.
Being the wife of a roots stalwart introduced her to the reggae festival scene on the US west coast, which is her biggest market.
The Wailing Souls
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