How Boom J's Became Montreal's Go-To for Authentic Jamaican Eats

Boom J's owner Jermaine Wallace was six years old when he first learned to understand spice, flavour, and a love of cooking from the women who raised him in Jamaica. His grandmother taught him how food brought people together, and how taste carried memory.

“In Jamaica, cooking is important,” he says. “Our grandparents put that flavour in you. We don’t want to lose that.”

After moving to Montreal at the age of 10 and growing up in Little Burgundy, Jermaine eventually found himself working seasonal jobs in the summer, so winters became difficult. Unemployment meant uncertainty, and Jermaine wanted to make a path out of something he had always known: cooking.