As you know, God has given us so many amazing opportunities to use our kitchen to serve the less fortunate through our community meals and mobile meals!  But, what you may not know is that we rent out our kitchen to various people - to those who have been in business for awhile and to those who need a place to start up a business.

We recently began renting to an individual named Tobias Brown and we wanted to share his story – one of those childhood dreams that has come true right here at our very own Cloverdale Community Kitchen! We hope you enjoy his story - and we encourage you to enjoy his food!  

Growing up in Jamaica, Tobias fell in love with cooking!  His Mom, known as Aunt Tommie, was an amazing cook who taught Tobias exactly how it needed to be done!  When he was a young boy, he loved to be in the kitchen with his Mom, so eager to learn.  Just the sound of the mixer was enough to send him running to the kitchen to help!  It started with patience!  First his Mom let him get the bowl and pass it on to her while he watched.  And then the spoon – and then he moved up to handing her the ingredients.  As his Mom saw his confidence build, she moved him up to actual prep of the meat.  Little did he realize - his Mom was training him to be a sous-chef! 

Tobias desperately wanted to be able to make the family's secret Jamaican Jerk recipe all on his own - he wanted to prove that he could do it and make his Mom proud!  This was a 500 year old recipe that had been handed down by his grandmother and her grandmother and her grandmother, etc.  His Mom taught Tobias exactly how to make it and he succeeded!  When Tobias moved to Canada, he wanted to share his culture with others - so right in the middle of Covid, he decided to open up Tommies Jerk (named after his Mom), fulfilling a childhood dream!   

Tobias needed a place to start up and, after meeting with Matt Campbell, he chose to open up shop here!  Although the church is off the beaten path, that didn't stop him - instead he took it as a challenge to succeed.  He began promoting his business to various businesses throughout Cloverdale and bit by bit they took the long road down 180th Street and discovered the hidden gem!  And Tommies Jerk began to grow. 

For Tobias, family is so important - he calls it the fam-bily connection.  So, he is so excited to be able to share this recipe with people here as it helps him keep the fam-bily connection with those he loves back home. 

The staff have all sampled his great cooking and we encourage you to give it a try!  

TOMMIES JERK 
Check out menu HERE! 

BUSINESS HOURS
Fridays & Saturdays
12 NOON to 8 PM

Check it out at @tommiesjerk

Call to order:  604-440-0261