Something’s Cooking: Jamaican Kitchen

VERNON, Conn. (WFSB) - A Vernon restaurant owner is serving up some tasty jams in more ways than one.

We’re inside the original Jamaican Kitchen. The food is phenomenal and so are the drinks.

Red Stripe is great, but the real secret ingredient here isn’t a beverage or a dish, it’s a person.

“I’ve never seen my dad fail at anything, you know so I was confident that this would succeed,” said MJ Jackson.

Jackson’s dad, Milton, grew up in Jamaica under challenging circumstances.

‘You’d have a couple people the community that had bathrooms running water electricity and we just thought that they were rich,” said Milton.

Milton moved to Connecticut as a teen. It wasn’t easy, but he built a career in the food business--and even owned 5 subways across the state. But he dreamed of creating his own restaurant and started Jamaican Kitchen in 2017.

Customers devoured Milton’s food, especially the slightly spicy jerk chicken, delicious curried goat, and unbelievably rich oxtail.

Jamaican Kitchen’s soundtrack is a combination of the Caribbean and Connecticut listen closely.

That’s not Bob Marley singing it’s Milton, who also happens to be a reggae musician under the name Foreign!

“It’s just something that I can’t stop the songs just come in my head and I have to write them down.”

Milton’s music is lovely but Jamaican Kitchen is his biggest hit!

Milton has already opened two other locations in Rocky Hill and Windsor Locks. Its hard work but the love he feels from his customers keeps him going.

“I’m so tempted a lot to run back to Jamaica to the warmth every year, but I feel guilty to just turn my back on something I’ve created that people appreciate.”

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