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Jerk Up Central All the Way up, with Jerk Up
BY SIMONE J. SMITH
Easton Robinson had no idea what his life was going to be like when he and his siblings moved from Jamaica to Canada on May 3rd, 1985. He remembers thinking, “Wow, this is farin,” as he took in the bright lights of the city, the thousands of cars whizzing by him, and the fact that even though it was May, it was significantly colder than Jamaica. Easton was a 17-year-old young man, who had most recently migrated to Canada to stay with his mother. Although the lights were bright, everything looked shiny and new, and new adventures awaited him, he was homesick. He missed his life back in Jamaica; the ability to run next door and visit his friends, and of course he missed the family he had left behind.
“You Guys Watch What I am Doing so You Can Take Care of Yourself!” ~ Poppa Robinson
Easton’s mother had gone ahead of them to Canada, and she had left him, and his four siblings: Carlton Robinson (oldest), Easton (middle child), Adolph Robinson (middle child), and Suzette Robinson (youngest), with their father. As one can imagine, it could not have been easy taking care of four children on your own; he was responsible for the cooking, the cleaning, and the day-to-day emotional, and developmental care of all four children. One thing dad did was make sure that all the children helped out in the home; this meant that everyone was responsible for their own chores, and he made sure they were in the kitchen cooking alongside him. His goal as a father was to instill independence and responsibility and it is something that remained a huge part of Easton’s personal schema. The time had come, and mom had sent for all four of the children; now that he is older, he understands the pain his father must have felt when he saw his children excitedly packing up to leave. Dad knew it meant a better life for them, but this did not help with his heartbreak. The wonderful ending to this part of Easton’s story is that he remained close with his father, and his dad visited all the children in Canada whenever he could.
“Put in the Work, You get Rewarded!”
As he began to live his new life in Canada, the thought of cooking with his father remained in his mind; the picture in his mind had begun to evolve, and now he was seeing things on a grander scale. Now, the possibility of owning a restaurant began to take precedence. It almost seemed like beginners luck when a gentleman who was retiring offered to sell him his business for $30,000. In 1992, an offer like this was tempting, and Easton put into action a way to buy this man’s business. His mom was worried because she was unsure of his ability to cook at the level a restaurant required, but Easton reassured his mom that things would work out. Unfortunately, he was unable to raise the funds to buy the restaurant, so he shelved the idea, and tried out the 9 – 5 work life.
Easton went on to work in the oil, and welding industry, and he moved up very quickly in his company. In just under four years, Easton was promoted to Supervisor, then Lead Manager, and then finally Production Manager where he was responsible for managing 120 people. He believed things were going well, but then the oil market took a hit, and the owners of the building decided that they would have to make cuts. This included scaling back Easton’s position. Easton was not having that, and as terrifying as it was, he walked away from what many would see as security.
“Just Move Forward!” ~ Easton Robinson
As you can imagine, when Easton told his wife about what his next move was going to be, she was scared; how were they going to pay the bills? He reminded his wife to have faith, and he took the next year to come up with his very own product Jamaica Style Jerk Up Sauce. What makes this sauce special is the fact that it is handmade with all natural products and is low in sodium. It is also the key ingredient in all of the dishes at Jerk Up Central. He had the opportunity to release the product to the public when his wife – Nkechi Robinson – had a series of events that were catered by Easton. People loved his recipe, and this was followed by requests for other catering opportunities. He figured, “Why not just turn my basement into a catering kitchen?” Well, the city had other thoughts about this and told him that his home was not zoned for a catering business. Not shaken, Easton’s thoughts went to getting a loan from the bank. After spending $3,000 creating a business plan, his proposal was denied and disheartened Easton thought he would have to go back and do something he swore he would not do, work for someone else. After sleeping on it, he woke up with a different plan, and he returned to the bank with a different request; now he asked for a loan as a manufacturer of the product Jerk Up. Two days later he was approved, and April 2017 Jerk Up Central became a reality.
What makes this restaurant unique is that they use grain fed meats in their recipes from two farms: Beverly Creek Farm, and Capon Farms. It is a little more expensive on the back end, but the quality of the food is unmistakable. Jerk Up Central will continue to be an exclusive experience because it is Clean Caribbean Eating; we can now be rid of the stigma that eating West Indian food is somehow bad for you. We can enjoy it knowing that we are eating the finest in natural earth given ingredients. Jerk up Central, we at the Toronto Caribbean Newspaper applaud you. Keep up the good work!
For more details, you can visit them at www.jerkupcentral.com